Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

News Habits & Media

fact sheet
Pew Research Center photo illustration.

Local News Fact Sheet

The landscape of local news in the U.S. has changed significantly in recent decades as Americans have been turning away from print and television and toward digital media. In 2025, 21% of Americans say they follow local news very closely, down from 37% in 2016.

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    About the Surveys

    Results for the Mid-October 2004 political survey are based on telephone interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International among a nationwide sample of 1,568 adults, 18 years of age or older, during the period October 15-19, 2004. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that […]

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    Debate Coverage Viewed Favorably

    Summary of Findings Amid an increasingly divisive presidential campaign, voters largely agree in their positive assessments of news coverage of the first presidential debate. Solid majorities of certain Bush voters (55%), certain Kerry supporters (62%), and swing voters (60%) rate the coverage of the debate as good or excellent. Voters also generally think that the […]

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    News Audiences Increasingly Politicized

    Overview Despite tumultuous events abroad, the public’s news habits have been relatively stable over the past two years. Yet modest growth has continued in two important areas online news and cable news. Regarding the latter, the expanding audience for the Fox News Channel stands out. Since 2000, the number of Americans who regularly watch Fox […]

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Signature Reports

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Pew Research Center illustration for America's News Influencers report; photos via Getty Images

America’s News Influencers

This study explores the makeup of the social media news influencer universe, including who they are, what content they create and who their audiences are.

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