Nonprofit news outlets are playing a growing role in statehouse coverage
Nonprofit news reporters now account for 20% of the nation’s total statehouse press corps, up from 6% eight years ago.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Elisa Shearer is a senior researcher at Pew Research Center, where she focuses on U.S. media consumption and attitudes. She is the author of reports on news consumption on social media, U.S. media polarization, Americans’ changing media habits, and media sector data. She has a master’s degree in communication studies from Georgetown University.
Publications
-
-
report
Total Number of U.S. Statehouse Reporters Rises, but Fewer Are on the Beat Full Time
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.
-
short reads
The number of full-time statehouse reporters at U.S. newspapers has declined 34% since 2014
There are 245 newspaper reporters who cover the statehouse full time in 2022 in the United States, down from 374 in 2014.
-
short reads
How Americans tweet about the news
Here is how the average adult Twitter user in the U.S. tweeted about the news in 2021, as well as how these patterns have changed since 2015.
-
report
News on Twitter: Consumed by Most Users and Trusted by Many
Fully 70% of U.S. adult Twitter news consumers say they have used Twitter to follow live news events, up from 59% who said this in 2015.
-
short reads
Americans in news media ‘bubbles’ think differently about foreign policy than others
Differences within each party on views of foreign policy emerge based on where Americans turn for political news.
-
short reads
Broad agreement in U.S. – even among partisans – on which news outlets are part of the ‘mainstream media’
We asked U.S. adults whether they consider each of 13 different news outlets to be a part of the mainstream media or not.
-
report
How Americans Navigated the News in 2020: A Tumultuous Year in Review
Americans inhabited different information environments, with wide gaps in how they viewed the election and COVID-19.
-
report
News Use Across Social Media Platforms in 2020
About half of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” and this use is spread out across a number of different sites. Facebook stands out as a regular source of news for about a third of Americans.
-
short reads
More than eight-in-ten Americans get news from digital devices
More than eight-in-ten U.S. adults say they get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet “often” or “sometimes.”
