Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: In recent decades, local news has seen a sharp decline while political polarization has seen an increase. In this paper, I will analyze how these two trends affect one another. I hypothesize that as local news declines, there will be an increase in polarization. To test this, I use figures on newspaper circulation from Pew Research Center as a proxy for local news as well as Voteview’s polarization scores given to each US Congress. After conducting my data analysis, I found support for my hypothesis. There are statistically significant figures that show that as newspapers in circulation decrease, polarization increases. This research is timely. As the United States becomes more polarized, it is crucial to look for the causes of polarization to combat this issue.
Author: Stanley D. Taylor
Language: English
Topic: Media Influence and Politics
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3182386832