Betting on Casinos as a Community Benefit: Analyzing Local News Coverage of the Development of Casino Gaming in Ohio

This research examines news coverage of casino gaming in Ohio in the period 2008-2018. Ohio legalized gambling by popular vote in November 2009 and the state now has four casinos and 7 racinos with VLT gaming. This study will use a framing analysis to look at the way that news coverage portrays casinos with respect to social responsibility and their impact on the local community. With the spread of gambling outside of traditional strongholds such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, many have debated casinos’ benefit to communities, and some have criticized casinos’ impact on localities. This study will assess how news coverage in five local papers (Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland, Dayton) has framed the introduction of casinos into the state of Ohio. It will also look at the frequency of coverage of casinos in these papers. This research will provide a preliminary look into the news coverage of casinos in order to foreground a future study, which will take a qualitative approach to understanding how reporters cover “local” casinos. It will be the first research study to look specifically at news coverage of casinos outside of traditional gaming locales like Las Vegas and Atlantic City