A quiet shift in how Americans perceive local news

Local news has long been an exception to a troubling trend. Even as trust in national news organizations eroded over the past decade and partisan divides over the media widened, local news largely held its ground — majorities of both Republicans and Democrats continued to rate their local news media favorably.

Despite facing major financial challenges, local news seemed to operate in a different universe than national news — closer to home, less partisan and trusted by a large majority. But new data from the Pew-Knight Initiative shows that may be starting to change.

Whereas 82% of U.S. adults said they trusted information from local news organizations when we first asked this question in 2016, 70% now say the same. The gap in Republicans’ and Democrats’ trust in local news has also widened slightly, from 6 percentage points in 2016 to 14 points today (figures include those who “lean” toward each party). This is still not nearly as big as the partisan gap in views toward national news. But a space once seemingly insulated from political polarization may be going down a similar path.

Recent data also points to shifts in how Americans view the value of local news in society. The share of Americans who say local news outlets are extremely or very important to the well-being of their community has dropped 10 points in the past year — from 44% to 34% — with an especially steep decline among Republicans.

Taken together, these changes suggest a possible erosion of what seemed to make local news exceptional: its relative immunity to the forces that fractured trust in the national news media. Our data doesn’t offer one single explanation for these trends. But there are several questions worth contemplating.

One is whether changes in Americans’ news consumption habits are impacting their relationship with local news outlets. The modern information environment is highly saturated, with people bombarded through their smartphones at any given moment. About half of Americans, and a large majority of young adults, now say they mostly get news because they happen to come across it, not because they are intentionally seeking it out. And when people are looking for breaking news, a declining share — including just 14% of adults under 30 — say they go first to a preferred news organization to find out more.

Indeed, Americans’ ties to specific local outlets appear to be weakening. Fewer Americans are getting local news from traditional outlets like newspapers and TV stations. More are getting it from online forums like Facebook groups or Nextdoor, or directly from local government officials. And 36% get local news from news influencers — the same portion who get local news from daily newspapers.

This shift is especially pronounced among young adults: The most common way adults under 30 prefer to get local news is through social media (41%), beating out news websites and television. And younger adults are less likely than their elders to trust local news, or to follow local news at all. For local news outlets, there is clearly work to be done to gain the attention and trust of the next generation of news consumers.

Another question worth considering is whether the revenue losses that have devastated local newsrooms are starting to impact the public’s experiences with local news. Although more than half of Americans still say their local news outlets are doing well financially, a growing share recognize the struggles: 39% say their local news outlets are not doing well, up from 24% in 2018.

The local news industry has also faced declines in employment and a loss of full-time statehouse reporters. This may be impacting the quality of the local news the industry provides. For example, fewer than half of Americans say it’s easy to find the information they need to make voting decisions about local elections.

Americans still tend to regard local news more favorably than they do national news organizations. But that gap appears to be quietly narrowing. The challenge now for local news organizations is to convince the public of their value to their communities — despite daunting financial woes, technological upheaval and growing political divisions.