First-of-its-kind study finds loss of local media worsens political polarization
Tuesday, November 20, 2018 - 12:30
in Psychology & Sociology
It's no secret that political polarization is creating an ever-widening and divisive gap in American politics. Partisan cable news outlets get the majority of the blame for increasingly isolating people into echo chambers that confirm their own political and ideological ideas, but as these outlets grow in popularity, some local newspapers have begun to silently vanish from the media landscape. According to new research by Joshua Darr, assistant professor at LSU's Manship School of Mass Communication, this loss itself has potent effects on political polarization.