Friends and family most important source for local news
Friends, family and neighbours are the most common source of local news ranking above television, radio and online forums like Facebook groups, according to a new survey. “Americans’ relationship with local news is changing. More are getting news online, and fewer are turning to sources like daily newspapers, However, one thing that has remained consistent is the importance of friends, family and neighbours as sources of local news.”
The survey from Pew Research Centre is part of the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
That fewer are turning to daily newspapers cannot come as a surprise. The loss of local newspapers in the US accelerated in 2023 to an average of 2.5 per week, leaving more than 200 counties with a local newspaper, researchers at the Medill School of Journalism, Media have found.
73% in the Pew survey say they often or sometimes get local news from friends, family and neighbours. The next-highest source is TV stations, at 64%. In 2018, friends and family were also a common source of local news but had not yet surpassed TV.
“Friends, family and neighbours are a key source of local news for majorities of Americans regardless of age, political party, race or ethnicity.”, the Pew says.
“Even as news consumption is becoming more digital, local news exchanges among friends, family and neighbours still largely happen through word of mouth (in person or over the phone) as opposed to on social media, in emails or in texts. A majority (62%) of those who get local news from friends and family say they usually get this news via word of mouth.”
This share is down from the 71% of Americans who said they got this news via word of mouth in 2018. Meanwhile, the share who get it via social media has increased from 17% in 2018 to 25% in 2024.
Friends, family and neighbours are also among the top sources for two of the most common local news topics: politics and crime.
About seven-in-ten say they get local government news and local crime news from friends, family and neighbours. That’s about the same share as those who say they get local political and crime news from news outlets.
73% say they have spoken with friends, family or neighbours about crime in their local community. That’s far higher than the shares who say they’ve posted or shared on social media or elsewhere online (21%), spoken to local officials or police (19%), or communicated with a journalist (5%).
72% who get news about local crime from friends, family and neighbours think it is at least somewhat accurate, although just 10% say it is very accurate. An additional 17% say it is not too or not at all accurate, while 10% aren’t sure.
The share who say it is at least somewhat accurate is higher than the share who say the same about news from locally focused apps like Nextdoor, social media or local politicians.
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