Local News Coverage and the Incumbency Advantage in the U.S. House
Abstract
Much of the incumbency advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives is attributed to incumbents' efforts to address constituents' needs. Yet House members do not win reelection simply by performing well in office, but also by informing constituents of how well they are doing their jobs. I examined the value of local news coverage for legislators seeking to publicize their legislative work on behalf of constituents. I found that incumbents who win more newspaper coverage are viewed as being more in touch with the district and are more likely to win support from constituents during bids for reelection.
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Local News, Information, and the Nationalization of U.S. Elections
MOSKOWITZ, D. J. (2021) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.1017/s0003055420000829 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Intersectionality and Press Coverage of Political Campaigns
Ward, O. (2017) · The International Journal of Press/Politics · doi:10.1177/1940161216673195 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
- Authors
- SCHAFFNER, B. F.
- Affiliations
- American University (US)
- Corresponding author
- SCHAFFNER, BRIAN F.
- ORCID
- SCHAFFNER, BRIAN F.
- Venue
- Legislative Studies Quarterly
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2006-11
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 491-511
- ISSN
- 0362-9805 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-9162
- OpenAlex
- W1966458114
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 12.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Legislative Studies Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media Studies and Communication
- Keywords
- incumbency advantage, local news coverage, media coverage, United States House of Representatives, re-election
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