Man watching TVs

Television is still the main source for local news in the US, according to a new study

Credit: Tim Ureland/PA

A joint study by the Pew Research Center for Excellence in Journalism and the Knight Foundation suggests that Americans rely more heavily on television for local news than any other source.

According to the study, published today, 71 per cent of respondents said they watched local news on television at least once a week. But the report, based on a survey of 2,251 adults, also suggests that TV is only relied for "a few topics", such as largely weather, breaking news and traffic.

By comparison, Americans continue to turn to newspapers "for a wider range of information than any other source".

Newspapers, in print and online, were ranked first, or tied first, as the source people rely on most for 11 out of 16 different topics of local information. This was more than any other media source referenced in the study.

But the research adds that most of those topics, which include subjects such as government and taxes, were those followed by fewer respondents on a regular basis.

In fact, 69 per cent of those asked said if their local newspaper no longer existed "it would not have a major impact on their ability to keep up with information and news about their community".

"In other words, local TV draws a mass audience largely around a few popular subjects; local newspapers attract a smaller cohort of citizens but for a wider range of civically oriented subjects," the report added.

The research also found that nearly half of the adults surveyed, 47 per cent, now use mobile devices to get local news and information. But the research added this is "largely supplemental".

Other key findings:
  • 64 per cent use at least three sources of media every week to get local news, 15 per cent rely on at least six weekly.
  • The most popular local news topics that people get are weather (89 per cent), breaking news (80 per cent), local politics (67 per cent) and crime (66 per cent).
  • 41 per cent considered local news participators because they contribute their own information via social media and other sources.
  • 16 per cent of adults share local information on social networking sites like Facebook.
"Our survey raised some important questions about the future of local information systems," Kristen Purcell, head of research at Pew Internet and co-author of the report said in a release.

"Mobile apps draw very little attention at this point on the local scene, but it isn’t hard to sketch a scenario where they will matter more in coming years. Plus, the utility of news organization websites is still unsettled.

"They are important to some people, but the sites don’t score nearly as high as the tradition platforms – the TV broadcast and the printed newspaper."
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