Reusing the News: Duplication in Local Places

• In Event: Narratives from the Political Right

Abstract

Local television news in the United States provides a vital democratic function. As local newspapers disappear, local television news plays an increasingly central role in providing news coverage around critical community issues. Over 12 million people across the U.S watch local television news on over 6,400 broadcasts every day, far outstripping any other news source. And they are the most likely to vote across all media types. However, the local TV broadcast system has become increasingly consolidated over the last 20 years. Media firms claim that consolidation does not affect content. Until now that has been an impossible claim to examine at scale. Using cutting edge methods in data science, we have created a database that makes that possible, examining news content across 861 stations in all 210 television markets over a three-month period. We found that duplication occurred in almost 40% of markets. How much duplication occurs? Who controls those stations? What might that mean for media policy? Are local places losing independent news voices?

Authors

• Danilo Yanich, Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, Univ of Delaware

• Benjamin E Bagozzi, University of Delaware