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How Americans View the Financial Health of Local News
Most Americans say they believe local media outlets are doing very well or somewhat well financially. However, this percentage has decreased slightly in recent years.
Today, 63% of U.S. adults say they think their local media outlets are performing very well or somewhat well financially; 71% said the same in 2018, the last time we asked this question.
This change may be linked to real downward trends in the local news industry. Audiences for traditional local news media, including local TV stations and newspapers, have has decreased in recent years. AND newspaper revenue suffered a sharp declinealthough economic conditions for local television, radio and digital news have been more varied.
One of the biggest changes on this issue has occurred among Americans with higher levels of education. About half of college graduates (52%) now say their local news organizations are performing very or somewhat well, down 13 percentage points from 65% in 2018. Those with a high school education or less, on the other hand, they are about as likely as they were in 2018 to say their local news organizations are performing well financially (72% in 2024, 73% in 2018).
Americans who prefer to get their local news on television are more likely than others to think that their local news outlets are generally performing well. But those who prefer news websites, radio and print media for local news are less likely to say this.
Although respondents were asked about the financial situation of their local media outlets in general (and not just which platform they prefer), this may nevertheless reflect real economic conditions across different segments of the local news industry. Revenue declined on some platforms, including daily newspapersbut local TV news stations have remained relatively stable in this regard.
The vast majority of Americans don’t pay for local news
The survey also asked respondents whether they paid or donated money to any local news source in the past year – whether by subscribing, donating or becoming a member. The overwhelming majority of Americans (85%) say no, while 15% say yes. These shares haven’t changed much since 2018, when 84% said no and 14% said yes.
Those who said they didn’t pay for local news last year were asked the main reason they didn’t pay. About half (49%) say there are many free alternatives. Three in ten cite a lack of interest in local news, while 10% say the news is not good enough to pay for and 8% say it is too expensive.
Americans’ reasons for not paying for local news vary by age. Among U.S. adults ages 30 and older who didn’t pay for local news in the past year, the most common reason cited is that they can find too much local news for free.
But the most common reason given by Americans ages 18 to 29 is a lack of interest: 46% of this group say the main reason they don’t pay for local news is that they aren’t interested enough in it, while 37% say there are enough free alternatives.
Overall, 47% of adults under 30 say they follow local news very or somewhat closely, compared with 83% of those 65 and older.