Local Newspapers Fact Sheet
Local newspapers have been hit particularly hard by the transition to digital news consumption in recent years, with many forced to shutter their doors permanently.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Local newspapers have been hit particularly hard by the transition to digital news consumption in recent years, with many forced to shutter their doors permanently.
Newspaper circulation in the U.S. reached its lowest level since 1940, and the audience for local TV news has steadily declined.
The past year brought pressures to America’s newspaper newsrooms not seen since the Great Recession. From broadcast to print to digital and more, this year’s annual report takes stock of the state of the news media.
We asked residents in Denver, Macon, Ga., and Sioux City, Iowa, about the actions they take to gather, share and add to the news in their communities.
Bucking a long-range trend of declining viewership, the audience for local TV news grew in all three major time slots in 2013.
Depending on the local news topic, urban residents are more likely to use mobile and online sources, while suburbanites are most heavily into social media and rural residents are more inclined to word of mouth sources. A joint PEJ-Pew Internet report offers more about how people get local news in specific communities.
The internet is the source that people most rely on for material about the local business scene and search engines are particularly valued.
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