NEW YORK (AP) - A new study is finding that the steady loss of local newspapers and journalists across the country contributes to the nation's political polarization.

With fewer opportunities to find out about local politicians, citizens are more likely to turn to sources like cable news and apply their feelings about national politics to people running for the town council or state legislature. The research from three college professors published in the Journal of Communication pointed to the decreased willingness of voters to split their ballots between politicians of different parties.

That tendency is more pronounced in areas that were served by some of the 1,800 newspapers that have shut down in the United States since 2004.