Working Paper: NBER ID: w18164
Authors: Matthew Gentzkow; Nathan Petek; Jesse M. Shapiro; Michael Sinkinson
Abstract: Using data from 1869 to 1928, we estimate the effect of party control of state governments on the entry, exit, circulation, prices, number of pages, and content of Republican and Democratic daily newspapers. We exploit changes over time in party control of the governorship and state legislatures in a differences-in-differences design. We exploit close gubernatorial elections and state legislatures with small majorities in a parallel regression-discontinuity design. Neither method reveals evidence that the party in power affects the partisan composition of the press. Our confidence intervals rule out modest effects, and we find little evidence of incumbent party influence even in times and places with high political stakes or low commercial stakes. The one exception is the Reconstruction South, an episode that we discuss in detail.
Keywords: Newspapers; Political Influence; Media; Press Freedom; Historical Analysis
JEL Codes: D72; L82; N41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Changes in party control of state governments (H77) | Partisan composition of newspapers (D72) |
| Shift from Republican to Democratic control (D72) | Democratic share of circulation (D33) |
| Analysis ruling out an effect greater than 17 percentage points per year (C29) | Partisan composition of newspapers (D72) |
| Transition from Republican to Democratic control (D72) | Daily circulation share of Democratic newspapers (D72) |
| Party in power (D72) | Newspaper entry and exit, circulation, prices, and content (A19) |
| Methods power to detect significant influence (C22) | Significant influence (F23) |
| Party control (D72) | Growth rate of Democratic circulation (J11) |