The Impact of Locally-Based Media on Political Trust, Knowledge, and Participation Michael Barthel, Patricia Moy, Sheetal Agarwal, Department of Communication University of Washington Eike Rinke , Universität Mannheim
Local media • Local media important to democracy – Social trust: Provide information about local social environment – Political trust: Shape perceptions of government – Locally relevant political knowledge: Localized reporting gives information not otherwise available – Civic participation: Distributes information about local opportunity structure – Political participation: Publicizes information, influences general political cognitions
Media localism • Local media most common source of news, but not all is produced locally • FCC concerned with diversity of local media: more voices, more perspectives • Coverage of local community depends on presence of media outlets • These differences may have effects on political attitudes and behaviors
Influences on trust • Diverse local media linked to greater community attachment, social capital • Communities with fewer local media outlets will have less diversity – H1: Level of media localism is positively related to level of social trust.
Influences on trust • Trust in government influenced by media • Lack of coverage will shift perceptions, but unclear in which direction • More influence on local than national – H2a: Level of media localism is related to trust in government. – H2b: Level of media localism are more strongly related to trust in local government than federal government.
Political knowledge • Coverage of local politics (almost) exclusively in local media • More likely to expose and elaborate information if more personally relevant • Greater local news use tied to greater knowledge – H3: Levels of media localism are positively related to locally relevant political knowledge.
Participation • Most participation occurs locally • Local media needed to publicize opportunities for participation • More relevant to civic forms of participation than political – H4a: Levels of media localism are positively related to levels of civic participation. – H4b: Media localism is more strongly related to civic than political participation.
Data • 2006 Saguaro survey – Representative samples of 11 cities – N = 5603 • Variables – Trust in local/state government, social trust, knowledge, civic/political participation, media use, demographics – Exposure to local media = media use x presence of local media
Media localism index • TV: for news broadcasts in community, percentage produced in community • Radio: for news/talk stations in market, percentage with locally-produced news • Newspapers: number of local papers available in community (daily, weekly, specialty) • Source: Bowker’s News Media Directory 2006
Results: Trust Note: all figures represent before-entry betas, controlling for all variables in previous blocks; * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; a = p < .10
Knowledge, participation Note: all figures represent before-entry betas, controlling for all variables in previous blocks; * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; a = p < .10
Summary of results Social Trust in Trust in Political Political Civic trust local gov fed. gov knowl. part. part. TV +/- + - - Radio - + + Newspapers - - - -
Trust • H1: Exposure to local TV raised social trust, but TV and radio localism both decreased social trust • H2a: Newspaper localism and exposure decreases trust in local government; radio localism increases trust in local and national government • H2b: More media effects on trust in local than national government
Knowledge, participation • H3: TV localism increases knowledge, but newspaper localism decreases • H4a: Local TV exposure and newspaper localism decrease political and civic participation • H4b: Presence of local media better explains civic participation, use better explains political participation
Findings • Media localism affects democratically important attitudes and behaviors • However, its effects are primarily negative – especially for newspapers • Further study is needed • Localism should be a concept of interest to public opinion and media scholars
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