Local news and COVID-19 in North Carolina (page 10)

Limitations: What we couldn’t do

As with all research, this study includes certain limitations. The randomly selected weeks and article samples are necessarily limited in duration and size. Due to the episodic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s possible that studying a different set of time periods would have yielded substantially different results (for example, the week before the 2020-21 school started would have almost certainly included many more stories about education than were reflected in this study’s sample).

Focusing on two local news sources in each community also means that this study does not capture the full range of news to which residents in each community have access. Each of the communities in this study is served by a broader range of news outlets, including additional TV stations, radio stations and online-only news startups. This study also did not include social media, which has displaced traditional media to become a major source of news for many people, as well as an important distribution channel for legacy news sources.

Additionally, this study examined the text of news articles posted to three TV stations’ websites. Because the study did not examine videos or transcripts of broadcast stories, it’s possible that TV viewers saw a different set of news topics and framing than the TV stations’ online audiences, even in the same market.

Finally, more than half (56.7%) of articles returned in the initial search were excluded for failing to meet the criteria of locally produced, locally relevant news stories. Stories that were removed included a large number of Associated Press and wire stories about national events and politics, as well as letters to the editor. Because this study focused on locally produced, locally relevant news — rather than the totality of all content posted on local news websites — it’s likely that local audiences were exposed to more national articles about topics and frames that were underrepresented in this sample, such as politics, disputes, masks, and education.

Associated Press and other national or wire service articles were excluded because they do not reflect locally produced coverage, which was the focus of this study. However, it is possible that some of these nationally produced articles covered topics relevant to local communities in North Carolina, or even directly covered these communities (The Associated Press does have reporters in Charlotte, Raleigh and other North Carolina communities). Local news organizations might have used these national sources to enhance their own coverage and better inform their audiences. It is possible that the declining number of locally produced articles observed in this study was at least partially offset by local sources using more nationally produced articles.

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