Politics and Media
Millions of Americans Watch the Local TV News Each Night
Here’s why it might be bad for democracy
The decline of local news has been a major concern of proponents of democracy in America. In the past decade, hundreds of newspapers across the US have folded — sometimes at rates as high as two per week — resulting in vast “news deserts” and leaving an information vacuum that ends up being filled by social media or even “pink slime” propaganda sites.
Amid all the churn in the American news landscape, though, one source of local news has proven to be a resilient fixture of American life: local TV news broadcasts. Every day, approximately 25 million Americans watch local TV news broadcasts, making them by far the most important and frequently consumed source of local news for the American public. What is more, according to one recent poll, many viewers deem local TV news to be the most trusted source of local news in their communities, more than local newspapers, radio, and social media.
On the surface, people’s devotion to local TV news broadcasts might seem to be positive. After all, how could anyone find fault with people trying to keep abreast of local community developments, especially at a time when Americans feel increasingly isolated and disconnected from the major…
