Topline findings from the January 2024 Pew Research Center (PRC) survey and report, “Americans’ Changing Relationship with Local News,” reveal some challenging trends for local news outlets. Maybe the most challenging, especially for the news industry’s future, is that 63% of those surveyed think their local news outlets are “doing well financially.” Although this is a decline from 71% in a 2018 PRC survey, many publishers, editors and news directors would beg to differ as they and the overall news industry are experiencing increasing financial difficulties.
Maybe the most challenging, especially for the news industry’s future, is that 63% of those surveyed think their local news outlets are “doing well financially.” Although this is a decline from 71% in a 2018 PRC survey, many publishers, editors and news directors would beg to differ as they and the overall news industry are experiencing increasing financial difficulties.
Two conclusions from this finding are that too many people still think “news is free” and local news outlets have not adequately shared their financial struggles with readers and why supporting them financially is essential. This is further reinforced by just 15% of Americans who told PRC, “They had paid for local news in the last year.”
Majorities of the surveyed U.S. adults stated local news outlets are doing their job well: “reporting news accurately” at 71%, “cover the most important stories/issues” at 68%, “are transparent about their reporting” at 63% and “keep an eye on local political leaders” at 61%.
Those are very positive results, but few people are willing to pay to help maintain that journalistic excellence. It is more likely to erode as local news outlets are forced to cut staff and, therefore, coverage and publishing consistency.
The survey result that has made the most headlines is that almost half (48%) of U.S. adults said they prefer to obtain their news from digital channels, an 11% increase from the 2018 survey. This is a significant finding but relatively unsurprising, as this trend has occurred for years.
Of those digital channels, social media had the most significant increase from 2018, from 15% to 23%, while news websites/apps increased from 23% to 26%. Local TV is still where most Americans obtain local news, but it declined from 41% to 32%. Print news decreased from 13% to 9%, and radio maintained its preference, increasing slightly from 8% to 9%.
Despite Americans’ positive feedback about local news, the PRC survey revealed a steady decline in how closely adults follow local and national news. Given the political climate, it is unsurprising that 68% said they were following national news “very closely” at 22% and “somewhat closely” at 45%. Those numbers were 40% and 43%, respectively, in 2017.
Paying attention to local news declined similarly, or 78% net in 2017, to 66% in 2024; however, the number of adults following local news somewhat closely remained the same at 45%. Fewer were following local news very closely, decreasing from 33% to 22%.
Another interesting result is the difference between younger and older adults who think “local journalists should advocate for change in the community.” While 29% of all surveyed adults want to see more advocacy, 39% of those 18 to 29 were encouraging this change from the traditional objectivity of journalism compared to just 20% of adults 65+.
These highlighted results from the survey and the many other pages of the PRC report indicate that local legacy media that accelerate their transition to publishing more (or all) news online will be best positioned to retain and gain audiences and revenues.
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
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