Who Gets News From Newsletters, and Do They Read Them?

About this research

This Pew Research Center report examines how Americans are getting news from email newsletters.

Why we did this

Each year, we ask a set of questions to track how Americans get their news – and how it is changing. We measure traditional platforms like television, radio and print, as well as several digital pathways to news, such as news websites and apps, social media, search engines and podcasts. Refer to our news platform fact sheet for full results.

The news environment is always changing, and this year we asked about two platforms for the first time: email newsletters and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. This report focuses on newsletters, which have gotten growing attention in recent years as many journalists have left traditional news outlets and joined self-publishing platforms like Substack.

Learn more about Pew Research Center and our other research on Americans’ news habits.

How we did this

We surveyed 5,153 U.S. adults from Aug. 18 to 24, 2025. Everyone who participated in our survey is a member of our American Trends Panel, a nationally representative sample which is weighted to represent the views of the full U.S. population.

Here are the survey questions used for this report, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.

Email newsletters have become a familiar format for news. But this pathway to news remains somewhat niche, and even among Americans who get news from email newsletters, a majority say they don’t end up reading most of the newsletters they receive.

	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
U.S. adults	6%	24%	26%	43%

Three-in-ten U.S. adults say they get news from newsletters at least sometimes, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in August 2025. While digital platforms, such as news websites, search engines and social media are all more common pathways to news, newsletters offer a distinct format for briefings, opinions and deep dives. And unlike many other digital formats, similar shares of Americans across age groups get news from email newsletters.

How newsletters fit into Americans’ news habits

As of 2025, 6% of U.S. adults say they often get news from email newsletters, while 24% say they sometimes get news this way. The majority rarely (26%) or never (43%) get news from email newsletters.

Just 3% of Americans name newsletters as the platform they prefer for getting news, far behind television (34%), news websites/apps (21%) and other pathways. A slightly larger share of Americans (7%) say they have paid or given money to an email newsletter that focuses on news in the past year, whether by subscribing, donating or becoming a member.

	Percent
Fewer than 5	71%
5 to 10	10%
More than 10	3%
Not sure	16%

Among those who get news from email newsletters (whether or not they pay), most keep their subscriptions limited. About seven-in-ten newsletter readers (71%) say they subscribe to fewer than five newsletters, while just 3% subscribe to more than 10. And 16% say they aren’t sure how many newsletters they subscribe to.

Engagement is also modest. About six-in-ten newsletter readers (62%) say they don’t end up reading most of the newsletters they receive, compared with 38% who say they read (in part or in full) the bulk of the newsletters they get.

	Percent
Don’t end up reading	62%
No answer	1%
Read (in part or in full)	38%

Where newsletters come from and what they include

	Connected to a news organization	Independent and not connected to a news organization	About an even mix	Not sure
U.S. adults	25%	24%	22%	28%

When asked about the affiliations of the newsletters they read, readers indicate that they come from different types of sources:

A quarter of newsletter readers say most of the newsletters they get news from are connected to a news organization, like a newspaper, a TV station or a news website.
About the same share (24%) says most of their newsletters are independent and not connected to a news outlet.
Another 22% say the newsletters they get are about an even mix of independent newsletters and those connected to news organizations.

An additional 28% say they aren’t sure whether most of the newsletters they get are affiliated with a news organization.

What readers encounter in newsletters varies and serves multiple needs. Seven-in-ten newsletter readers say they at least sometimes read newsletters with briefings or summaries of the news. Six-in-ten say the same about deep dives into specific issues and events, and a similar share (57%) at least sometimes reads newsletters that include opinions about current issues.

	Extremely often/Often	Sometimes	Rarely/Never
Briefings or summaries of news	26%	43%	30%
Opinions about issues and events in the news	15%	43%	42%
Deep dives into specific issues and events	17%	43%	40%

Who gets news from newsletters?

	group	Percent
U.S. adults	total	30%
Ages 18-29	age	28%
30-49	age	31%
50-64	age	32%
65+	age	31%
Men	sex	29%
Women	sex	31%
Rep/Lean Rep	party	29%
Dem/Lean Dem	party	34%
HS or less	educ	25%
Some college	educ	31%
College grad+	educ	35%
Lower income	inc	27%
Middle income	inc	30%
Upper income	inc	38%
White	race	29%
Black	race	40%
Hispanic	race	24%
Asian*	race	40%

Similar shares of Americans across age groups get news from email newsletters – notably different from many other news platforms.

Americans with higher incomes and higher levels of formal education are more likely to get news from newsletters. For example, 35% of college graduates get news from email newsletters at least sometimes, compared with 25% of those with a high school diploma or less education.

Black and Asian Americans are more likely than White and Hispanic Americans to often or sometimes get news from newsletters.