Most say journalists should be watchdogs, but views of how well they fill this role vary by party, media diet
Nearly three out of four U.S. adults say that, in general, it’s important for journalists to function as watchdogs over elected officials.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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News Media Trends
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Concern about influence of made-up news on the election is lowest among those paying the least attention
Concern is highest among people who follow political news most closely, older adults and those who display more knowledge about politics in general.
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Fast facts about the newspaper industry’s financial struggles as McClatchy files for bankruptcy
U.S. newspaper circulation fell in 2018 to its lowest level since 1940, and newspaper revenues declined dramatically between 2008 and 2018.
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Confidence in public acceptance of election results connects to following political news, relying on social media
Americans who closely follow political news are more likely to have confidence that the public will accept election results. And that’s true across party boundaries.
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An oasis of bipartisanship: Republicans and Democrats distrust social media sites for political and election news
Both Democrats and Republicans express far more distrust than trust of social media sites as sources for political and election news.
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Q&A: How Pew Research Center evaluated Americans’ trust in 30 news sources
Our director of journalism studies explains how we determined what media outlets Americans turn to and trust for their political news.
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Americans favor mobile devices over desktops and laptops for getting news
Roughly six-in-ten U.S. adults often get news on a mobile device, compared with 30% who often do so on a desktop or laptop computer.
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One-in-five U.S. newsroom employees live in New York, Los Angeles or D.C.
About one-in-five newsroom employees (22%) live in these three metro areas, which, by comparison, are home to 13% of all U.S. workers.
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Americans Are Wary of the Role Social Media Sites Play in Delivering the News
Getting news from social media is an increasingly common experience; nearly three-in-ten U.S. adults do so often.
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Americans’ perceptions about unethical behavior shape how they think about people in powerful roles
The more confident people are that members of powerful groups behave unethically, the less likely they are to have confidence in that group’s performance.
