Radio Remains Top News Source for 28% of Americans

A new YouGov survey finds that 28% of U.S. adults turned to radio for news in the past month, making it the most-used platform among a wide range of options.

The poll, conducted May 25–26 among 2,102 U.S. adult citizens, shows radio usage down just 1 percentage point from June 2025. However, the survey’s ±2.9-point margin of error means the change is statistically insignificant.

Radio outpaced every other format:

• Podcasts: 21%
• Email newsletters: 20%
• Online news aggregators: 18%
• Video platforms: 15%
• Print newspapers: 14%
• Magazines: 10%
• Blogs: 9%
• AI chatbots: 6%

Usage varies sharply by demographics. College-educated adults reached for radio news at 36%, compared with 24% of those without a degree. Among income groups, 39% of adults earning $100,000+ used radio, versus 22% of those earning under $50,000. Adults 65 and older led at 34%, while 18-to-29-year-olds were lowest at 17%.

Political patterns and trust advantage

Republicans (30–31%) and Democrats used radio news at nearly identical rates, with Independents at 25%. Trump 2024 voters reported 36% usage, compared with 32% for Harris voters. Men (32%) used it more than women (25%).

Radio’s biggest strength is trust. 

While social media dominates overall reach (60% of respondents), major platforms carry deeply negative net trustworthiness scores: Facebook (−24%), TikTok (−32%), and X (−21%). Journalism itself scored +23% net favorability, the highest of the broad categories. National Public Radio posted a solid +15% trust rating.

AI chatbots reached 6% of adults as a news source, with 10% citing ChatGPT and 7% citing Google’s Gemini. Nearly half (46%) of respondents said they see AI-generated content online daily.

Overall news consumption remains robust: 69% of Americans follow national news very or somewhat often, with local news at the same level.