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.
Nonprofit news reporters now account for 20% of the nation’s total statehouse press corps, up from 6% eight years ago.
41% of U.S. journalists who are employed at least part time at a news outlet say they would join a union if it were available to them.
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.
About half (48%) of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” a 5 percentage point decline compared with 2020. More than half of Twitter users get news on the site regularly.
The social media sites that journalists use most frequently for their jobs differ from those that the public turns to for news.
The declining public trust in the news media and polarization of news audiences have profound effects on civic life.
In just five years, the percentage of Republicans with at least some trust in national news organizations has been cut in half.
Roughly half of Americans say that they have been getting some (30%) or a lot (18%) of news and info about COVID-19 vaccines on social media.
The total number of journalists assigned to state capitol buildings is up 11% since 2014, though figures vary widely by state. And as newspapers employ fewer statehouse reporters, nonprofits are filling much of the void.
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