Lawless, Jennifer & Hayes, Danny / News Hole: Demise of Local Journalism & Political Engagement

Jennifer L. Lawless is the Leone Reeves and George W. Spicer Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia.
Danny Hayes is a professor of Political Science at The George Washington University.

'Democracy depends on informed citizens - and for generations, America's rich landscape of local newspapers was an unparalleled source of information on state and local politics. So when media markets transform and local newspapers cut way back on their coverage of state and local issues, the threat to subnational democracy is acute. In an analysis that is at once sobering and compelling, Hayes and Lawless use a wealth of data to show precisely how deep the cuts to local political coverage have been - and how those cuts have in turn reduced Americans' engagement in local politics. This book is written with a style, voice, and urgency that means that you need to read not just your local newspaper but this book from cover to cover.' Daniel Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania