The paper, published April 14 in Political Communication, adds to researchers' understanding of how the insertion of partisan national political coverage into local TV news broadcasts can influence viewers.
That means that Sinclair convinced about 6% of viewers to disapprove of Obama, Levendusky concluded.
Levendusky's paper is the latest to focus on Sinclair in particular as the company's influence has grown in recent years.
Sinclair has purchased dozens of local television stations over the past decade, and now owns 193 stations that reach roughly 40% of Americans.
Interestingly, Levendusky did not find any significant effect on viewers' opinions of down-ballot candidates for House, Senate or gubernatorial races.
"Without [local] information in the information ecosystem, voters don't really have what they need to hold politicians and political actors accountable," said Levendusky.
The case of Sinclair Broadcasting," published April 14 in Political Communication, was authored by Matthew Levendusky, University of Pennsylvania. »