Can Americans' Trust in Local News Be Trusted? The Emergence, Sources and Implications of the Local News Trust Advantage
Erik Peterson,
Joshua P. Darr,
Maxwell B. Allamong
et al.
Abstract:Despite eroding consensus about credible political news sources, much of the public still trusts local media. We assess the emergence, sources and implications of the trust advantage local news holds over national media. We argue the public now uses a news outlet's local orientation as a shortcut to assess its credibility. In survey experiments, we find unfamiliar news outlets are trusted more when they have a local cue in their name. In surveys where people evaluate digital sources covering their community, t… Show more
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