How Americans View Journalists in the Digital Age
Americans largely value journalists’ role in society but see their influence declining – and often differ over who fits the label.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
News Habits & Media
News Media Tracker
How the audiences of 30 major news sources differ by age
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Midterm Elections Still Top Public Interest
Summary of Findings The public continued to focus most closely on the outcome of the midterm elections last week as news coverage highlighted their impact on the balance of power and the agenda in Washington. A quarter of the public (25%) says they followed news about the election outcome more closely than any other major […]
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Another Bad News Week for Obama
Three stories topped the news last week—the economy, the aftermath of the 2010 midterms and the president’s trip to Asia—and all three involved narratives that were not positive for President Obama. The week’s other top stories included a cruise gone awry and a former president resurfacing on the media circuit to pitch his new book.
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Election Results Draw Big Interest, Heavy Coverage
Summary of Findings The results of the midterm elections dominated both the public’s interest and media attention last week as Republicans easily won control of the House while making big gains in the Senate and in many statehouses. Fully 43% say they followed news about the election outcome more closely than any other news, according […]
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News Coverage Surpasses Interest at Campaign’s End
Summary of Findings Both the public and the media focused most closely last week on the congressional elections as Tuesday’s midterm vote approached. Still, the public’s interest in election news did not increase in the final days of the campaign, despite heavy news coverage. The latest News Interest Index survey, conducted among 1,003 adults from […]
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Public Keeps Focus on Economy, Media on Elections
Summary of Findings While the media provided heavy coverage of the congressional elections last week, the public continued to track news about the nation’s struggling economy more closely than news about the midterm vote. About four-in-ten (41%) say they followed news about the economy very closely last week, while 30% say they followed news about […]
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Miners’ Rescue Dominates News Interest
Summary of Findings The dramatic rescue of 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for more than two months dominated the public’s news interest last week, while the media focused on both the miners’ saga and the midterm Congressional elections. With the Nov. 2 elections fast approaching, the percent of the public tracking election news very closely […]
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Fewer Journalists Stand Out in Fragmented News Universe
Summary of Findings Reflecting today’s fragmented news landscape, about half of the public offers no specific answer when asked to name the journalist or newsperson they most admire. No journalist is named by more than 5% of the public in response to an open-ended question. While individual mentions are few, the most frequently named journalists […]
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Public Focuses More on Economy than Election
Summary of Findings The 2010 congressional elections dominated news coverage last week, but not the public’s attention. Americans continued to focus most closely on news about the nation’s struggling economy and about four-in-ten (39%) say news reports portray the economy “about the way it really is.” Smaller, roughly equal percentages say the media make the […]
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An Obama Quote Stokes the Blogosphere
Conservative bloggers last week expressed outrage over a passage from Bob Woodward’s new book. Tweeters were galvanized by a security flaw on Twitter. And YouTube viewers were interested in some provocative statements a GOP Senate candidate made on television more than a decade ago.
Signature Reports
Most Americans Say They Are Tuned In to News About the Trump Administration
Far fewer are hearing about the administration’s relationship with the media than was the case early in President Donald Trump’s first term.
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.
How Americans Get News on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram
X is still more of a news destination than these other platforms, but the vast majority of users on all four see news-related content.
Americans’ Changing Relationship With Local News
More Americans now prefer to get local news online, while fewer turn to TV or print. And most say local news outlets are important to their community.
