All
Publications
Mobile devices are adding to people’s consumption of news, strengthening the lure of traditional news brands and providing a boost to long-form journalism, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s ninth annual report on the health of American journalism.
Kristen Purcell will be presenting Pew Internet data on local news information ecosystems.
The internet is the source that people most rely on for material about the local business scene and search engines are particularly valued.
How do people get news and information about the community where they live? Traditional research has suggested that Americans watch local TV news more than any other local information source. But a new report by the PEJ and the Pew Internet and American Life Project, in association with the Knight Foundation offers a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem of community information.
Citizens’ media habits are surprisingly varied as newspapers, TV, the internet, newsletters, and old-fashioned word-of-mouth compete for attention. Different platforms serve different audience needs.
Lee Rainie explores the role of social networks – the technological kind as well as the real-world kind – in shaping the way people gather community information and make sense of it.
Several local issues in California generated attention in the blogosphere last week, two of them involving allegations of political skullduggery. On Twitter, some bloggers fretted about questions concerning Apple and privacy. And on YouTube, a world leader was caught in the act of petty theft.
Local news is going mobile. Nearly half of all American adults (47%) report that they get at least some local news and information on their cellphone or tablet computer.
It is easy to oversimplify what is happening in online news. Breathless headlines — from the $315 million sale of The Huffington Post to AOL, Patch’s march to 1,000 plus local sites, to the early dismantling of TBD.com in Washington, D.C. – tend to obscure other important efforts, especially on the local front.
Seattle, perhaps more than any other American city, epitomizes the promise and challenges of American journalism at the local level.
901 E St. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan, nonadvocacy fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, computational social science research and other data-driven research. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.
© 2025 Pew Research Center
Notifications