A Blueprint for Panic? Father Coughlin, the Attention Economy, and the Great Depression

<b>Abstract: </b>During times of crisis and uncertainty, ideas can provide blueprints that enable stable political coalitions. However, political scientists have often focused on the ideas of traditional policymakers - e.g. elected officials and policy experts. We submit that crises create significant opportunities for attention entrepreneurs, those able to attract and maintain the attention of large audiences. Attention entrepreneurs do not only opine on crises, they imbue ideas about crisis resolution with identities of deep emotional resonance, stoking conflict and urgency to grab audiences. We submit that attention entrepreneurs materially impact the resolution of crises by shaping the beliefs of large segments of the public. As an illustrative case, we examine the impact of Father Coughlin’s radio broadcasts and bank failures in the United States during the Great Depression. We leverage data on exogenously determined radio signal strength of these broadcasts to provide causal evidence of the effect of conspiratorial messaging on institutional trust. We show that counties with increased exposure to Father Coughlin due to features of their geography experienced greater numbers of banking failures. In addition, we show that his broadcasts had a negative impact on the stock price of Detroit banks during the Detroit Banking Panic of 1933. <b></b>