Local newspapers, House members, and source usage

Political communication scholarship has established the standard operating procedures for national media sourcing of government and politicians. The literature shows a strong reliance by the news media on official and national-level news sources that support the status quo. This paper investigates the less known subject of local newspaper sourcing practices on local House members. House members rely on the local media to communication with constituents but we have little insight into who provides the source material for coverage. Results show that local papers often parallel the national political media by depending on official and nonlocal sources for reporting ostensibly local political angles. Further, members’ press releases, papers’ size, and presence of a Washington bureau help explain local papers’ sourcing practices.