Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

News Habits & Media

fact sheet

Social Media and News Fact Sheet

Overall, about half of U.S. adults (53%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, roughly stable over the last few years. Facebook and YouTube outpace all other social media sites as places where Americans regularly get news.

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    Haiti, Snowstorms, Economy Vie for Public’s Attention

    Summary of Findings Americans say they tracked the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti more closely than any other major news story last week, but they also kept a close watch on news about the U.S. economy and the powerful snow storms that hit the nation’s East Coast and South. Three-in-ten (30%) say they followed […]

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    Press Gets Good Marks For Covering Toyota Troubles

    Summary of Findings Americans continue to closely track news about the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti and the U.S. economy, paying less close attention to the fast-evolving story about serious safety problems with Toyota automobiles. Still, the public is quite laudatory of press coverage of the automaker’s problems. More than four-in-ten say they followed […]

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    Public Focus Still on Haiti; Media Shifts to State of Union

    Summary of Findings In a week when the media focused heavily on Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address and the state of the economy, Americans continued to track news about the earthquake in Haiti more closely than any other major news story. Four-in-ten say they followed news about the aftermath of the earthquake […]

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    On State of the Union Week, It’s All About Obama

    Coverage of the President’s prime-time speech and assessments of his stewardship in office dominated the news agenda last week. Meanwhile, news about the economy, events in Haiti and trouble for Toyota filled out the roster of top stories. And attention to one of the week’s top newsmakers varied dramatically on cable news.

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    67% Now Doubt Health Care Bill Will Pass This Year

    Summary of Findings Americans tracked the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti more closely than any other major news last week, but also kept a close watch on two intertwined stories: the fate of health care legislation in Washington and the outcome of last week’s special election for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Nearly half […]

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    Haiti Dominates Public’s Consciousness

    Summary of Findings Americans have been highly focused on the massive earthquake that struck Haiti Jan. 12. Not only is the disaster clearly the public’s top news story, fully 70% say it is the story they are talking about with friends. Overall interest in news about the Haiti earthquake is on par with interest in […]

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    Public Stays with Health Care, Media Focuses on Terror

    Summary of Findings The public and the media went their own ways on the news last week. The media kept up heavy coverage of the aftermath of the attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day, while the public focused most closely on the health care debate in Washington. About a quarter (26%) […]

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    How News Happens

    A new PEJ study investigates where news comes from in today’s rapidly changing media landscape. An examination of local media in Baltimore provides insight on how the U.S. media ecosystem works. What role do new media, blogs and specialty news sites play in the news cycle? Who is breaking news? Which reports advanced the story? The study answers these questions and more.

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    Top Stories of 2009: Economy, Obama and Health Care

    Summary of Findings The troubled economy and efforts to revamp the nation’s health care system dominated the public’s news interest in 2009. From the year’s start, Americans kept a close watch on the unfolding economic crisis, as well as Barack Obama’s efforts to grapple with the crisis while trying to make good on campaign promises. […]

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.