No local newspapers but WhatsApp? Political information repertoires, local media use and their effects in Switzerland

Abstract

In the recent past, more attention in research has been drawn to local media (use). However, there are still blind spots in this area of research. Knowing from the news desert research that information on a subnational level is very important for a functioning democracy, insights in the use of information sources and local media is of high relevance. Especially in times of digital transformation with a growing amount of possible information news sources that compete with a ubiquitous amount of other content. This paper presents an analysis of a distinctive data set that offers insights into the subnational political information repertoires of the Bernese citizens (canton in Switzerland) and the role of local media. Four political information repertoires can be found: the informed socializers, the traditionalists, the wooed ones, and the online readers. Local media are still being used – more strongly by the older than the younger and by men than women. Local media use has no significant effect on voter turnout here, although it does have an effect on “Swiss split-ticket voting” (panaschieren). The findings from this work should both lay the groundwork for further research and provide insights for practitioners (local media professionals and politicians).