SSRC

This study utilizes a publicly available FCC data set (see Spavins, et al., 2002, below) to analyze the relationship between television station ownership characteristics and the provision of local news and public affairs programming. This study added additional explanatory variables to the FCC’s study, and conducted separate analyses of news and public affairs programming. The results suggest that network owned and operated stations, and stations with newspaper holdings, may in fact provide more news than other types of stations, but such relationships do not hold true within the context of public affairs programming.