The Impact of Ownership Concentration on Product Variety in Daily Newspapers

Title: The Impact of Ownership Concentration on Product Variety in Daily Newspapers

Research Question: How does ownership concentration affect the variety of content available in daily newspapers?

Methodology: The study uses data from 1993 to 1999 on reporter and editor assignments in approximately 150 different topical reporting beats in 207 newspaper markets. It measures the degree of differentiation in coverage among papers in each market using a simple distance formula.

Results: The study finds that a decrease in the number of owners in a market leads to an increase in the variety of content available. Moreover, the introduction of additional variety increases readership, suggesting that concentration benefits consumers.

Implications: The findings suggest that antitrust policies that limit ownership concentration in media markets may not necessarily lead to better outcomes for consumers. Instead, they could result in a reduction in content variety and less specialized coverage. This study provides empirical evidence that supports the idea that competition among media outlets can lead to more diverse and specialized content.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0108014v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0108014v1