Local News, UGC and Professionals: Evidence from Citizen Journalism

Today many platforms host user generated content (UGC) and content by professionals side-by-side. However, their behavior is mostly studied in isolation. In this paper we study the spillover effects from UCG on content from professionals in the context of the news industry. We use an exogenous shock to the supply of user generated content to study spillover effects on the output of professionals as well as the implications for the business model of online platforms. Using data from an online news platform, we find that in response to the reduction in supply of user generated news, which mainly is driven by reduced output from experienced users, inexperienced professionals significantly increase their output. However, we find a decrease in overall content on the platform which is especially pronounced for local news. We further show that this likely has detrimental effects on the business model of the online platform with a decrease in viewership and articles as well as an increase in the number of paid professionals. Thus, our work contributes to the literature of user generated contentand online platforms as well as the literature on local news.