Local News Fact Sheet
Americans’ attention to local news has declined since 2016. Explore how people get local news today, shifting from TV and print to digital sources.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Americans’ attention to local news has declined since 2016. Explore how people get local news today, shifting from TV and print to digital sources.
When a breaking news event happens, 36% of U.S. adults say they typically turn first to their preferred news organization to get more information.
Young adults under 30 are getting more news on social media, shaping how information spreads and giving us a possible glimpse into the future of news.
U.S. adults under 30 follow news less closely than any other age group. And they’re more likely to get (and trust) news from social media.
About one-in-five U.S. adults say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media, and this is especially common among younger adults.
Overall, 56% of U.S. adults now say they have a lot of or some trust in the information they get from national news organizations – down 11 percentage points since March 2025.
Among adults under 30, 43% say they regularly get news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
Many Americans use social media for news: About a fifth or more regularly get news on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
The share of news influencers in our sample with a Bluesky account roughly doubled in the four months after Election Day 2024, from 21% beforehand to 43% by March.
As people are exposed to more information from more sources than ever before, how they define and feel about “news” has become less clear-cut.
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