How Cable News Reshaped Local Government
研究发现，保守派福克斯新闻频道的观看率提高会减少美国地方政府的收入和支出，其机制包括提升共和党候选人胜选概率、改变竞选议题和选民财政政策偏好，且私人供给会部分替代公共服务。
This paper shows that partisan cable news broadcasts have a causal effect on the size and composition of budgets in US localities. Using exogenous channel positioning as an instrument for viewership, we show that exposure to the conservative Fox News channel reduces revenues and expenditures. Multiple mechanisms drive these results: Fox News improves election chances for local Republicans, alters politician campaign agendas, and shifts voter policy preferences on fiscal issues. Consistent with the priorities of small-government conservatism, we find evidence that private provision compensates for the reduced public services. The “Fox News effect” extends beyond vote shares to rightward policy shifts.