The Decline of Daily Newspapers and the Third-Person Effect Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • ObjectiveIn this article, we investigate the thirdperson effect within the context of the decision by the New Orleans TimesPicayune in September 2012 to end daily print circulation in favor of a threedayperweek publication schedule and online news offerings.MethodsWe utilize original survey data based on 1,043 telephone interviews with respondents living in the greater New Orleans area, including 530 landline respondents selected via random digit dialing and 513 respondents randomly selected from available cellular telephone blocks.ResultsWe find evidence of a thirdperson effect on judgments about changes at The TimesPicayune. New Orleans area residents worry that the decline of information will negatively affect the ability of others to keep up with the news. We also show that the effects are contingent upon physical location. The greater the distance from New Orleans, the more pronounced concerns are about the effect of the loss of this daily information source on others in the community.ConclusionsTo date, thirdperson effects have generally been studied within the context of enduring and established forms of communication, especially those viewed as having potential negative effectspolitically biased messages, other forms of propaganda, and communication that could harm reputations. In this article, we extend this work to show thirdperson effects persist within the context of declining news coverage.

published proceedings

  • SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY

altmetric score

  • 2.25

author list (cited authors)

  • Johnson, M., Goidel, K., & Climek, M.

citation count

  • 4

complete list of authors

  • Johnson, Martin||Goidel, Kirby||Climek, Michael

publication date

  • December 2014

publisher