UCLA, Duke study finds detailed journalism affects local infrastructure spending

The Luskin School of Public Affairs is pictured. Megan Mullin, a professor of public policy within the Luskin School, conducted a study in collaboration with a Duke University doctoral candidate that showed detailed journalism is correlated with positive support for local infrastructure. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Gabriella Sonnhalter
Sept. 11, 2024 6:02 p.m.
A UCLA and Duke University study found that reading high-information local journalism is correlated with support for funding local infrastructure.
The study, conducted by Megan Mullin – a professor of public policy at UCLA – and Andrew Trexler – a doctoral candidate at Duke University – illustrates how local news can contribute positively to the health of infrastructure, said Trexler. Many local newspapers have closed due to financial pressures, and those which have not have had to undergo large staff cuts, which can decrease the amount of information citizens have to them about local infrastructure, he added.
“Local news has been transformed – we’re losing newspapers, and we’re losing journalists from newspapers,” Mullin said. “A lot of remaining newspapers are operating with essentially empty newsrooms, and I wondered what that is doing to the information streams that are necessary for communities to take these actions.”
The financial pressures faced by local news have limited the in-depth information available to communities on a local level, Mullin said.
“We’ve got a lot of newspaper closures. That’s one problem,” Mullin said. “Another problem is that a lot of the local newsrooms that have survived are essentially reprinting press releases or generating news articles using AI.”
To conduct the study, Mullin and Trexler presented survey respondents with mock news articles involving a fictional election in a small town, Trexler said. Each respondent was then asked how much they would be willing to support fixing the ailing local infrastructure system, he added.
Two versions of the articles were presented to respondents, with some providing more information than others, Trexler said. The researchers found that the more detailed reporting not only increased support for spending on infrastructure but also penalties for politicians who do not support said spending.
“The local knowledge and the local context that a journalist can provide, that it makes a difference for how the public responds to a news article,” Mullin said. “That wasn’t a surprise.”
A lack of community support on addressing local infrastructure issues is correlated with the financial pressures put on the local news stations, Trexler said.
“Local infrastructure is something that affects everybody, and everybody lives somewhere,” he said. “The level of public support that you’re going to see for maintaining those systems is going to be somewhat dependent on the quality of the information environments that people live in.”
Trexler added that because of the financial pressures put on local papers, some beats have been limited to a single person, or in some cases, just an editor. On a local level, he said, this means information has been forced to be spread thin.
Danny Hayes, a researcher and professor of media, public opinion and elections at George Washington University, said in an emailed statement that the study illustrates how local news has consequences for the structure of our communities.
“As climate change continues to wreak havoc on the environment, infrastructure spending will only become more important,” he said in the statement. “This study shows that local news is a crucial part of generating public support for it.”
Climate change has put strain on public and private structures, said Trexler, adding that the local communities require public funding to keep their infrastructure strong.
“It is ultimately up to local communities to decide how much to invest in local journalism, and we hope that our study is helpful in that regard,” said Trexler.