Where Is Local News Dying Off?: Mechanisms Behind the Formation of Local News Deserts in the United States

Abstract

Despite the resounding alarm of a nationwide decline of local news, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Using the 2004 and 2018 U.S. local news deserts datasets alongside census and election data, I adopt spatial panel regressions to delineate causal relationships between county-level attributes and local news preservation and further demonstrate spatial heterogeneity in these relationships through geographically weighted panel regressions. I find that news media follow the money and often move away from places where they are needed most—those with more racial-ethnic diversity and growing populations. Partisan composition does not help or hinder local newspaper preservation.