The democratic value of local information: How journalistic and non-journalistic sources relate to community attachment, civic engagement, and democratic attitudes

This study investigates the relationship between local information use, community integration, and political attitudes within the German context. Drawing on representative survey data from 2069 citizens, we examine how using journalistic and non-journalistic local information sources, specifically official municipal sources, community-based sources and interpersonal communication, relates to community attachment, civic engagement, satisfaction with local democracy, and trust in local politics. Results indicate that, consistent with previous scholarship, frequent local media use is positively associated with stronger community attachment, higher civic engagement, and more favorable evaluations of local politics and local democracy. Compared to non-journalistic sources of information, local media emerged as stronger predictors of community attachment, satisfaction with local democracy, and trust in local politics, but not civic engagement. Our findings highlight the need for closer examination of how the growing diversity of local information sources impact community integration and civic engagements in an increasingly hybrid media environment.