Eventi del
21 2021 16:30 - 17:45
Webinar
Political Economy - Joint with the Department of Social and Political Sciences
The Effect of Online Competition on Local Newspapers and Politics: Evidence from the Introduction of Craigslist in the U.S.
Ruben Durante (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
How does competition from online platforms affect the organization, performance, and content of newspapers? And what are the implications of these changes for the information voters are exposed to and for political accountability? We study these questions looking at the staggered introduction of Craigslist – the world’s largest online platform for classified advertising – across US media markets between 1995 and 2009. This setting allows us to separate the effect of declining ad revenues from other changes brought about by the Internet, and to compare newspapers that relied more or less heavily on classified ads ex ante. We find that, following the entry of Craigslist, local papers experienced a significant decline in the number of newsrooms and management staff. Cuts in editorial staff affected disproportionately reporters covering local politics. These organizational changes led to a reduction in news coverage of local politics and public corruption, and resulted in a decline in newspaper readership which was not compensated by increased news consumption on other media. Finally, we find that the reduced news coverage and awareness of local politics was associated with lower voter turnout, and with both voters and politicians becoming more ideologically polarized.
by invitation: for information or to receive the invitation link contact patrizia.pellizzari@unibocconi.it