News Consumption Habits Becoming More Digital

The local news landscape in America is going through profound changes as both news consumers and producers continue to adapt to a more digital news environment. The Pew-Knight Initiative recently asked U.S. adults about the ways they access local news, as well as their attitudes toward local journalism, finding that:

A bar chart showing Americans increasingly prefer digital pathways to local news. A bar chart showing most Americans say local media are at least somewhat important to their community

🠊A growing share of Americans prefer to get local news online, while fewer are getting news on TV or in print. And newspapers are no longer primarily consumed as a print product – the majority of readers of local daily newspapers now access them digitally.

🠊The share of U.S. adults who say they are paying close attention to local news has dropped since our last major survey of attitudes toward local news in 2018, mirroring declining attention to national news.

🠊Americans still see value in local news and local journalists. A large majority say local news outlets are at least somewhat important to the well-being of their local community. Most people also say local journalists are in touch with their communities and that their local news media perform well at several aspects of their jobs, such as reporting the news accurately.

🠊At the same time, a relatively small share of Americans (15%) say they have paid for local news in the last year. And many seem unaware of the major financial challenges facing local news: A 63% majority (albeit a smaller majority than in 2018) say they think their local news outlets are doing very or somewhat well financially.

🠊Majorities of both major parties say local media in their area are doing their jobs well. While Republicans and GOP-leaning independents are slightly less positive than Democrats and Democratic leaners in their opinions of local media, views of local news don’t have the same stark political divides that exist within Americans’ opinions about national media.

🠊Most Americans say local journalists should remain neutral on issues in their community, but a substantial minority say local journalists should take a more active role. About three-in-ten say local journalists should advocate for change in their communities, a view that’s especially common among Democrats and younger adults.

These are some of the key findings from a new Pew Research Center survey of about 5,000 U.S. adults conducted in January 2024. 

The local news landscape is becoming more digital

The ways in which Americans access local news are changing, reflecting an increasingly digital landscape – and matching patterns in overall news consumption habits.

Preferred pathways to local news

Fewer people now say they prefer to get local news through a television set (32%, down from 41% who said the same in 2018).

Americans are now more likely to say they prefer to get local news online, either through news websites (26%) or social media (23%). Both of these numbers have increased in recent years.

Smaller shares prefer getting their local news from a print newspaper or on the radio (9% each).

➤More On Views of Local News, Click HERE