Green Dies in Darkness? Environmental Externalities of Newspaper Closures

Abstract

Using local newspaper closures as an exogenous shock to news coverage, we find that manufacturing plants located in newspaper closure counties increase their toxic emissions by 10 percent, compared to plants of the same firm located in other counties. This increase is not due to different environmental policies among firms or different economic conditions among counties. Nor is it a result of higher production by these facilities. Instead, the increase in toxic emissions results from a higher amount of toxins being emitted per unit of output. Moreover, the effect is more pronounced in areas with fewer newspapers relative to the population prior to a newspaper closure and areas with residents who care more about environmental issues. We also find that online media exposure does not mitigate the effect of newspaper closures on toxic emissions.

Keywords: Pollution; Media; Newspaper; Regulation by Revelation; TRI;

JEL Classification: G30, L82, Q52, Q53