Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Data and trends about key sectors in the U.S. news media industry
Since 2004, Pew Research Center has issued an annual report on key audience and economic indicators for a variety of sectors within the U.S. news media industry. These data speak to the shifting ways in which Americans seek out news and information, how news organizations get their revenue, and the resources available to American journalists as they seek to inform the public about important events of the day. The press is sometimes called the fourth branch of government, but in the U.S., it’s also very much a business – one whose ability to serve the public is dependent on its ability to attract eyeballs and dollars.
Over the years, the Center’s approach to these indicators has evolved along with the industry, carefully considering the metrics, sectors and format in which the data appear. Instead of a single summary report, our approach is to roll out a series of fact sheets showcasing the most important current and historical data points for each sector – in an easy-to-digest format – a few at a time. (State of the News Media reports from 2004-2018 are archived as PDFs and available here.)
In the U.S., roughly nine-in-ten adults (93%) get at least some news online (either via mobile or desktop), and the online space has become a host for the digital homes of both legacy news outlets and new, “born on the web” news outlets.
News media made by and for Black and Hispanic Americans – the two largest racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. – have been a consistent part of the country’s news landscape. Explore statistics on the Hispanic- and Black-oriented news industry.
In 2022, both prime-time and daytime cable news audiences increased for Fox News but decreased for CNN, MSNBC and Newsmax.
Financially, advertiser expenditures for the news programs of the three major networks have declined substantially since 2020.
Local TV companies generated more revenue in 2022 than in 2021, consistent with a cyclical pattern in which advertising revenue rises in election years and falls in non-election years.
Newspapers are a critical part of the American news landscape, but they have been hard hit as more and more Americans consume news digitally.
The audio news sector in the U.S. is split by modes of delivery: traditional terrestrial (AM/FM) radio and digital formats such as online radio and podcasting.
Hundreds of local and regional radio and television stations comprise the U.S. public media system.
Weekly updates on the world of news & information
All
Publications
While newspapers have seen steep job losses from 2008 to 2020, digital-native news organizations have seen considerable gains.
Among the six publicly traded newspaper companies studied, second-quarter advertising revenue fell by a median of 42% year over year.
Though this figure is a sliver of all PPP loans lent out to small businesses as of August, it represents a large segment of U.S. newspaper companies.
To mark World Press Freedom Day, here are five charts that show how people globally see the freedom of the press.
While U.S. Democrats turn to a variety of outlets for political news, no source comes close to matching the appeal of Fox News for Republicans.
Newspaper circulation in the U.S. reached its lowest level since 1940, and the audience for local TV news has steadily declined.
Nearly as many U.S. adults prefer to get local news online as through a TV set. And while Americans prize community connection from their local news providers, they are largely unaware of the financial challenges they face.
Audiences for nearly every major sector of the U.S. news media fell in 2017 except for radio. Cable news revenue continued to rise, as did digital ad revenue.
Newspaper layoffs have far from abated in the past year, and digital-native news outlets are also suffering losses. At least 36% of the largest U.S. newspapers and at least 23% of the highest-traffic digital-native news outlets experienced layoffs between January 2017 and April 2018.
