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Auditing local news presence on Google News

Author

Listed:
  • Sean Fischer

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Kokil Jaidka

    (National University of Singapore)

  • Yphtach Lelkes

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

Local news outlets have struggled to stay open in the more competitive market of digital media. Some have noted that this decline may be due to the ways in which digital platforms direct attention to some news outlets and not others. To test this theory, we collected 12.29 million responses to Google News searches within all US counties for a set of keywords. We compared the number of local outlets reported in the results against the number of national outlets. We find that, unless consumers are searching specifically for topics of local interest, national outlets dominate search results. Features correlated with local supply and demand, such as the number of local outlets and demographics associated with local news consumption, are not related to the likelihood of finding a local news outlet. Our findings imply that platforms may be diverting web traffic and desperately needed advertising dollars away from local news.

Suggested Citation

  • Sean Fischer & Kokil Jaidka & Yphtach Lelkes, 2020. "Auditing local news presence on Google News," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 4(12), pages 1236-1244, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:4:y:2020:i:12:d:10.1038_s41562-020-00954-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-00954-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Kokil Jaidka & Sean Fischer & Yphtach Lelkes & Yifei Wang, 2023. "News Nationalization in a Digital Age: An Examination of How Local Protests Are Covered and Curated Online," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 707(1), pages 189-207, May.
    2. Chuhan Wu & Fangzhao Wu & Tao Qi & Wei-Qiang Zhang & Xing Xie & Yongfeng Huang, 2022. "Removing AI’s sentiment manipulation of personalized news delivery," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Magnusson, Evan, 2021. "Local news in Google News: a response to Fischer et al. (2020)," MPRA Paper 106431, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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