This study examines how local television news coverage affects voter knowledge and reduces the nationalization of U.S. elections.

Media Market Geography

Some voters receive more local election information due to their state's media market boundaries, which separate residents from neighboring states.

Increased Information Access

Researchers demonstrate that access to in-state TV news significantly improves voter knowledge about down-ballot candidates like governors and senators. This contrasts with voters exposed primarily to national coverage.

Split-Ticket Voting Evidence

Contrary to the expectation of complete nationalization, greater local news exposure increases split-ticket voting (when voters choose different parties at various levels). These findings hold even in today's polarized political context.

Robustness Checks

Supplementary analyses confirm that these effects are not due to unobserved differences between in-state and out-of-state media markets.

Why It Matters

This suggests local news can partially mitigate the nationalization of elections, providing nuanced insights into American electoral dynamics despite broader political polarization.