In June 2019, The Desert Sun Executive Editor Julie Makinen announced the newspaper’s opinion pages would take a summer break from national politics. She chose to focus only on local issues for July because new research had found that the loss of local news coverage can contribute to rising political polarization in the U.S.
An 85-page book released this month by Cambridge Press reached a surprising conclusion. “While a home style opinion page could not halt polarization, it slowed noticeably in Palm Springs compared to Ventura where another Gannett paper didn’t change its style.”
“Home Style Opinion: How Local Newspapers Can Slow Polarization” outlines the analysis conducted by three scholars of political science or political communication — Joshua P. Darr of Louisiana State University, Matthew Hitt of Colorado State University and Johanna Dunaway of Texas A&M University. Tune in to CNPA’s webinar to hear the story.
Register now for this CNPA exclusive online webinar.
