A December 2025 survey of U.S. adults reveals that only 21% now follow local news very closely — a sharp drop from 37% in 2016. At the same time, 42% of Americans get their news from online-only sources, nearly triple the 15% recorded in 2018.
The findings, part of ongoing research by the Pew-Knight Initiative, highlight a continuing transformation in how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage with their communities.
The decline in local news attention signals potential challenges for community awareness and participation. Local journalism has traditionally served as a key source for information about city government, schools, crime, and neighborhood issues. With fewer people prioritizing it, experts worry about reduced civic knowledge at the hyper-local level even as national and digital news consumption grows.
Meanwhile, the surge in reliance on online-only outlets reflects the broader digital shift that has accelerated since the late 2010s. Social media platforms, news apps, newsletters, and independent websites now dominate many Americans’ information diets, often delivering content faster and more personally tailored than traditional newspapers or television.
The Pew-Knight Initiative, a partnership between Pew Research Center and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, funds research examining these exact trends. Its work explores not just where people get news, but how they process it, how it shapes their worldviews, and how it influences real-world community involvement.
These latest figures add to a growing body of evidence showing an increasingly fragmented and digital-first media environment. While online sources expand access and variety, the drop in local news engagement raises questions about whether Americans are as informed about the places they live as previous generations.
Further analysis from the initiative is expected to examine the consequences of these shifts for democratic participation, trust in institutions, and community cohesion in the years ahead.