Pew Research’s latest analysis of news audiences by age reveals a clear trend: news consumers are skewing older.
The youngest audience belongs to Univision, the Spanish-language TV network, with a median age of 39, driven by its Hispanic viewership. Daily Wire readers (median age 42) and The New York Times readers (43) are relatively youthful.
In contrast, conservative outlets Newsmax (63) and Breitbart (62) attract significantly older audiences.The median age for U.S. adults is 47.
Pew notes, “While Republicans are generally older than Democrats, Newsmax and Breitbart stand out even among sources with similar partisan leanings.”
Major broadcast networks also trend older: CBS News (58), NBC News (57), and ABC News (55). Among cable networks, Fox News has a median age of 55, while CNN’s is 50.
Notably, 12% of Americans don’t regularly consume news from the 30 major sources surveyed. This figure rises to 19% for Gen Z (18-29) and 16% for those 30-49, compared to 7% for Gen X and 4% for those 65+.
What’s driving this? Pew explains, “Younger Americans are increasingly turning to newer sources like social media and news influencers.” Adults under 30 rely more on social platforms for news and less on traditional outlets like print, radio, or TV.Newsrooms may need to adapt by hiring Gen Z reporters fluent in social media and attuned to generational trends to better engage younger audiences.