--- title: "Americans’ changing relationship with local news" description: "Plus, TV news faces instability before the U.S. election, and the battle continues over TikTok's future in the U.S" date: "2024-05-09" authors: - name: "Emily Tomasik" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/americans-changing-relationship-with-local-news/" --- # Americans’ changing relationship with local news ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/prc-logo.png){.aligncenter width=409} --- May 9, 2024 # The Briefing **☀️ Happy Thursday!** *The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information*.* [**Sign up here!**](https://www.pewresearch.org/sign-up-for-the-briefing/)* **In today*’*s email:** - **Featured story:** TV news faces instability before the U.S. election - **New from Pew Research Center:** Americans’ changing relationship with local news - **In other news:** Israel forces Al Jazeera to close local operations - **Looking ahead:** TikTok sues U.S. government over potential ban - **Chart of the week:** Americans’ local news sources have become more digital 🔥 **Featured story** ABC News is [going through a leadership change](https://apnews.com/article/abc-news-president-kim-godwin-retires-ea586f896a075b8de35df530945eb979) and the parent company of [CBS is facing a potential sale](https://www.axios.com/2024/05/07/regulation-sony-apollo-paramount), among other [instability for TV news](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/06/business/media/tv-news-turbulence-election.html) ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Amid this turmoil, networks are innovating digitally to retain audiences as traditional broadcast viewership is aging and declining. According to a [2023 Center study](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/), 56% of U.S. adults say they often get news from digital devices, surpassing **32% who often turn to television**. The share of Americans who prefer to get news on TV **declined from 35% in 2020 to 27% in 2023**, whereas the share who prefer digital devices increased from 52% to 58% during the same period. 🚨 **New from Pew Research Center** 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. A new[ Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/05/07/americans-changing-relationship-with-local-news/) asked U.S. adults about the ways they access local news, as well as their attitudes toward local journalism. Key findings include: - A growing share of **Americans prefer to get local news online**, while fewer are getting news on TV or in print. - The share of U.S. adults who say they are paying** close attention to local news has declined.** - Americans still see **value in local news and local journalists**, and views of local news don’t have the same stark political divides that exist within Americans’ opinions about national media. This is the first in a series of Pew Research Center reports on local news from the [Pew-Knight Initiative](https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/), a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. 📌 **In other news** - **Israel **forces **Al Jazeera** to close local operations, [raids office and seizes equipment](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68961753) - **Condé Nast** [reaches deal with union](https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/conde-nast-union-deal-averting-met-gala-strike-1235992809/), avoids picket line at **Met Gala** - **Business Insider **editor-in-chief **Nicholas Carlson** [steps down](https://www.semafor.com/article/05/07/2024/business-insiders-editor-in-chief-nicholas-carlson-is-stepping-down) - **OpenAI **announces tool designed to [give content owners control](https://www.wired.com/story/openai-olive-branch-artists-ai-algorithms/) over how their work is used - How **Trump’s messages** are [amplified beyond Truth Social](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/trump-truth-social-posts-amplifiers-right-wing-media/) by his allies - **Online news organizations** outnumbered newspapers in [Pulitzer Prize finalists](https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/05/this-years-pulitzer-prizes-were-a-coming-out-party-for-online-media-and-a-marker-of-local-newspapers-decline/) this year 📅 **Looking ahead** **TikTok is suing the U.S. government**, challenging a law signed by President Joe Biden that would [ban the app if it is not sold](https://www.reuters.com/legal/tiktok-bytedance-sue-block-us-law-seeking-sale-or-ban-app-2024-05-07/). The company argues that the new law violates free speech protections in the First Amendment, and the lawsuit reflects wider concerns about government regulation of tech companies. **Americans favor more rather than less regulation of Big Tech companies**, according to a [recent Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/04/29/americans-views-of-technology-companies-2/). When asked whether the government should regulate major technology companies more, less or at its current level, 51% believe these companies should be regulated *more *than they are now and 16% feel they should be regulated *less*. About three-in-ten (31%) say the current level of regulation should continue. More specifically, **38% of Americans said last fall that they would support the U.S. government banning TikTok**, while 27% oppose such a ban. [Support for the ban declined](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/11/a-declining-share-of-adults-and-few-teens-support-a-us-tiktok-ban/) between March and October of last year. 📊 **Chart of the week** The chart of the week comes from our new [report on local news trends](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/05/07/americans-changing-relationship-with-local-news/) in the U.S. The ways in which Americans access local news are changing, reflecting a news and information environment that is becoming increasingly digital. Fewer people now say they prefer to get local news via TV (32%, down from 41% 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%). ![A line chart showing Americans’ preferred path to local news is moving online](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/PJ_2024.05.07_local-news-trends_0-06.png?w=200){.aligncenter width=400} --- *👋 That's all for this week. * The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by David Kent. *Do you like this newsletter? 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