News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement

by Danny Hayes, Jennifer L. Lawless

In recent decades, turnout in US presidential elections has soared, education levels have hit historic highs, and the internet has made information more accessible than ever. Yet over that same period, Americans have grown less engaged with local politics and elections. Drawing on detailed analysis of fifteen years of reporting in over 200 local newspapers, along with election returns, surveys, and interviews with journalists, this study shows that the demise of local journalism has played a key role in the decline of civic engagement. As struggling newspapers have slashed staff, they have dramatically cut their coverage of mayors, city halls, school boards, county commissions, and virtually every aspect of local government. In turn, fewer Americans now know who their local elected officials are, and turnout in local elections has plummeted. To reverse this trend and preserve democratic accountability in our communities, the local news industry must be reinvigorated – and soon.

Genres: Journalism

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2021

Reviews

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the final crest of this book, I’ll say it’s really good. If you hate reading studies, just read the conclusions to each sub-section of the chapters, then all of the final two chapters. Engaging in local politics is important, and I intend to come out of this book doing my part to learn more about the politics of the town I live in, where I lived in the past, and wherever I go in the figure. You don’t have to be a long term resident to care about what is happening in the community you live in, but you should care about what is going on. Great book, I look forward to writing my paper on it today.

[April Helms · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this for anyone with an interest in the news industry and its importance to local communities. Much of the information I already knew: the loss of local news leads to less civic engagement, increased municipal costs and more corruption. That is spelled out in multiple books and studies, including The News Desert. What this book does exceptionally well is explaining its research process and methods, plus addressing possible challenges to its findings. Also really like the lists and charts with graphically illustrate what the chapters go over.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very impressive, thorough findings on how the demise of local news is largely responsible for the decline of local political engagement. Unfortunately, the authors' proposed solution is the paradoxical suggestion that consumer demand must first increase for local political news coverage — even though they already (I would say successfully) argued that the issue's cause is on the supply side.