Audiences are declining for traditional news media in the U.S. – with some exceptions
A declining share of U.S. adults are following the news closely, and audiences are shrinking for several older types of news media.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
A declining share of U.S. adults are following the news closely, and audiences are shrinking for several older types of news media.
More Americans now prefer to get local news online, while fewer turn to TV or print. And most say local news outlets are important to their community.
Americans inhabited different information environments, with wide gaps in how they viewed the election and COVID-19.
Differences within each party on views of foreign policy emerge based on where Americans turn for political news.
59% of Americans say made-up information that is intended to mislead causes a “great deal” of confusion about the 2020 presidential election.
Biden supporters are more likely than Trump supporters to be confident their news sources will make the right call in announcing a winner. And partisans remain worlds apart on how well the U.S. has controlled the coronavirus outbreak.
Republicans are about four times as likely as Democrats to say voter fraud has been a major issue with mail-in ballots.
U.S. adults in this group are less likely to get the facts right about COVID-19 and politics and more likely to hear some unproven claims.
Some 61% of U.S. adults say they follow COVID-19 news at both the national and local level equally, and 23% say they pay more attention to local news.
61% give equal attention to national and local coronavirus news.
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