Whether it’s a new round of journalist layoffs or further consolidation into the hands of a few owners, the problems confronting local media in the U.S. are easy to see.
Many of these problems have an underlying source: Fewer people are watching and reading local news. Media consumers have far more options than in the past, and this has reduced the size of the local news audience.
Instead of watching local TV news, people can tune in to cable TV focused on national politics. Rather than subscribing to a local newspaper, they can find out about community events on social media. Researchers have linked this decline in attention to local news to increased polarization and more party-line voting in state and local elections.
The economic pressures on local news have implications that go beyond politics. Large staffing cuts in the newspaper industry included reporters covering the statehouse or city hall. But those cuts also included sizable numbers of journalists covering local sports, community events and lifestyle beats. These changes chip away at the types of local, nonpolitical stories that drew many consumers to local media in the first place.
Whether it’s a new round of journalist layoffs or further consolidation into the hands of a few owners, the problems confronting local media in the U.S. are easy to see.
Many of these problems have an underlying source: Fewer people are watching and reading local news. Media consumers have far more options than in the past, and this has reduced the size of the local news audience.
Instead of watching local TV news, people can tune in to cable TV focused on national politics. Rather than subscribing to a local newspaper, they can find out about community events on social media. Researchers have linked this decline in attention to local news to increased polarization and more party-line voting in state and local elections.
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