Local news goes online, including work from newspapers and TV stations

Pew’s April 14, 2026 local-news release showed established news organizations coexisting with newer digital routes. In its December 8–14, 2025 survey, 65% of U.S. adults said they got local news and information from a local TV station often or sometimes; 52% used local radio and 36% a daily newspaper. Understanding that picture requires distinguishing the producer from the screen. ^[1]

Among users of a local daily newspaper, 68% primarily got its news online in 2025, compared with 43% in 2018. Among local-TV users, the online share rose from 22% to 43%. These figures concern each outlet type’s users, rather than all adults. Both producers distribute through websites, apps, email and social posts. ^[2]

Other online-only sources reached 42% of adults, up from 15% in 2018. But Pew explicitly excluded sources already counted in earlier categories from that label. Online community forums reached 52%, and local government agencies or officials reached 40%. News influencers reached 36%, but that question began in 2025, so the chart supplies no earlier influencer trend. These are overlapping information routes, not exclusive shares to add together. ^[1]

Close attention is a separate measure. Twenty-one percent followed local news very closely in 2025, down from 37% in 2016; 80% considered local outlets at least somewhat important to their community. Occasional use therefore does not establish sustained attention. ^[2]

Only 23% had ever spoken with a local journalist: 30% of college graduates and 17% of adults with a high-school education or less. These differences identify unequal reported contact without establishing why it occurred or whose concerns were covered. The survey maps habits and contact; it does not independently assess the accuracy or completeness of information received. ^[2]

For readers, separating the delivery platform from the reporting organization helps identify who produced an item and whom to approach with questions. A story encountered on social media can still originate in a newspaper or TV newsroom. Pew’s reach and contact measures do not establish whether a community’s concerns are covered thoroughly or whether residents have effective ways to raise them with a newsroom; those questions require separate evidence about local reporting and newsroom responses. ^{[1] [2]}

About this item: Retrospective report. No first-hand reporting or independent testing is claimed. Corrections policy.