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Item Reusing the News: Duplication of Local Content(SNF Ithaca Initiative, 2025-05-13) Yanich, Danilo; Bargozzi, Benjamin E.Local U.S. television news provides citizens with crucial local information, particularly during periods of heightened political, social, or environmental salience. Yet local television news is under increased pressure to consolidate, which may serve to de-localize local news reporting by duplicating news content delivery across local broadcast stations. This report examines two fundamental questions: (1) What is the state of ownership and/or control of local television stations across the 210 television markets in the U.S.? (2) Does that ownership/control affect news content and, if so, how? We constructed three databases to address these questions. The databases span multiple characteristics of local broadcast stations and of the actual news content (i.e., transcript text) that each station aired. Our content database included the news broadcasts of 861 local stations in all 210 television markets in the U.S. that presented news content over a three-month period in the fall of 2019. It is the largest such database in existence. We chose a period before the COVID pandemic so that coverage was not affected by a single overwhelming story. We employed automated text reuse methods to measure the extent to which local broadcast station pairs duplicated (exact text reuse) each other’s news content. We applied a high threshold for duplication: to be considered duplication, 50% of the broadcast news content (excluding sports, weather and commercials) of a station pair had to be an exact match (text reuse).Item Political Satire in America: Thematic Analysis of SNF Ithaca x iMEdD Media & Democracy Summit Sessions(SNF Ithaca Initiative, 2024-08) Ibiloye, Ojooluwa; Shaffer, Timothy J.This analysis focuses on the one-on-one conversation between Jordan Klepper and Dannagal G. Young, exploring themes around media influence, political identity, and the role of satire in contemporary democracy. This analytic memo breaks down key themes identified in the transcript. By examining these themes, we can better understand the role of media in shaping public perception, the importance of civic education, and the potential of satire and improvisation in fostering democratic engagement. This analysis highlights the need for ethical media practices, critical reflection on misinformation, and the cultivation of vulnerability and humility in public discourse.Item Technological Disruptions: Thematic Analysis of SNF Ithaca x iMEdD Media & Democracy Summit Sessions(SNF Ithaca Initiative, 2024) Ibiloye, Ojooluwa; Shaffer, Timothy J.The SNF Ithaca x iMEdD Media & Democracy Summit explored the impacts of technological disruptions on media landscapes and democratic processes. Two summit sessions, Technological Disruptions: Algorithms, platforms, bias and a sliver of hope and AI Everywhere: A Series of Human-Generated Talks, served as critical platforms for discussing key issues such as the influence of algorithms, the integration of AI in media and the broader societal implications. These discussions provided insights into how technological advancements reshape media consumption patterns, influence public engagement, and present new ethical and regulatory challenges.Item The Door Opens Both Ways: Building Trust Between News Media and Generation Z(SNF Ithaca Initiative, 2023-02) Fuller, Katelyn; Lin, Jeff; Neri, Nicole; Okoye, Onaedo; Rigoglioso, HannahGood journalism can make the world a better place and is an underpinning of a free and democratic society. Unfortunately, today, many people, particularly Millennials and Gen Zers, have grown up at a time when journalism has been continually attacked, discredited and almost forgotten—in terms of its traditional form. As student leaders for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware’s Joseph R. Biden Jr. School of Public Policy, we were granted the opportunity to discuss trust in the media at this year’s International Journalism Week 2022 by iMEdD: A Matter of Trust, which was held in Athens, Greece. The conference gave us the opportunity to learn from and discuss with professionals from all over the globe. We were then afforded the opportunity to share with those same participants our younger perspective on how media relates to a democratic society and our vision for how the industry can regain the trust of the public.