Downsized Local News Accelerates Infrastructure Decline
Editorial StaffThe Facts -
- A UCLA and Duke University study found detailed local journalism about infrastructure increases voter support for additional infrastructure investment.
- Undetailed reporting, such as from understaffed newsrooms or AI-generated stories, resulted in lower support for infrastructure spending.
- Voters are more willing to hold local politicians accountable for infrastructure neglect when provided with specific details about infrastructure needs in local reporting.
Key Insights
- A recent study from UCLA and Duke University reveals the importance of detailed local journalism in increasing voter support for infrastructure investment.
- Undetailed reporting, such as the one produced by understaffed newsrooms or AI-generated stories, results in decreased support for infrastructure spending.
- Context-rich local reporting encourages voters to hold local politicians accountable for infrastructure neglect.
Support for funding critical infrastructure like dams and sewers is strongly linked to high-quality local journalism, suggests a new study from UCLA and Duke University. The research, featured in the journal Political Behavior, demonstrates how detailed local news coverage can influence public opinion on infrastructure spending.
The study found that consuming detailed news about local infrastructure maintenance could increase electoral support for infrastructure spending by up to 10%, as compared to basic reporting. Enhanced context in local news stories not only boosted support for spending, but also motivated voters to hold politicians accountable for infrastructure neglect.
\"Detailed local news reporting plays a crucial role in building public support for infrastructure investments,\" shared Megan Mullin, a UCLA political scientist focusing on environmental politics, and a co-author of the study. She further emphasized that with climate change posing significant threats to aging infrastructure, the vitality of local news is more important than ever.
The study highlighted the decline in local news reporting due to private ownership cutting or eliminating local news staff nationwide. The effect of this has been a considerable loss in original and local political stories coverage. This has resulted in diminished reporting depth on infrastructure-related matters.
Andrew Trexler, a Duke University doctoral candidate studying political communication and co-author of the study, stressed the essential role of local newsroom capacity in a democracy. He further highlighted that when newsrooms are equipped to provide in-depth information about the state of infrastructure and potential risks, readers become more responsive and are more willing to demand accountability from officials.
The study involved a survey of over 3,300 adults, each of whom read a news-style story about an election featuring an incumbent mayor, a mayoral challenger, and a property tax increase to fund aging infrastructure. The sample stories, available here, highlighted either a local dam or a sewer system.
---
Read More USA Works News
