The authors explore the impact of the dissemination of the print edition of the New York Times (one of the few nationally available papers in the U.S.) into local communities in the U.S., and the impact of this dissemination on local media usage and political participation. Drawing upon census data, voting records, and circulation data, the authors find evidence that New York Times penetration drives down subscription levels to local papers. The results also suggest that voting levels within certain demographic groups decrease as New York Times penetration levels increase. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the political functions of local media and the wide range of considerations that inevitably arise within the context of policies addressing the relative accessibility of local versus national news sources.