Local News and Perceptions of the Rhetoric of Political Advertising

Abstract

As viewer numbers of national news have declined, local news has grown in importance as a source of political information. Yet prominent research into its effects concludes that its impact on political attitudes and behavior is minor. We theorize and demonstrate that the influence of local news may be indirect and subtle but nevertheless important. Using multiple methods, we show a clear relationship between perceptions of campaign rhetoric and watching local news, even when controlling for individual-level characteristics; this response, in turn, has an indirect effect on turnout. We explain this finding as a combination of the “mean social world” presented by local news, the nature of political coverage, and the perception of local news stations as simply another player in the campaign. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results for the role of local news in politics and what might be done to make its contribution more positive.