The landscape of local news in many parts of the world has changed dramatically in recent years as people have turned away from print and television and moved toward digital media.
In the United States, for example, attention to local news has been steadily declining at least since 2016. In 2025, 21% of Americans said they follow local news very closely, down from 37% in 2016, according to a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Americans turn to a range of sources for their local news, and while some traditional local news sources, such as TV and radio, remain common, a growing group gets their local news in other ways.
About two-thirds of Americans (65%) said they at least sometimes get news from their local TV news station – down slightly from the 70% who said the same in 2018, though this remains one of the most popular sources of local news.
Americans’ use of local newspapers is decreasing, too: 36% of U.S. adults said they get news from their local paper at least sometimes, compared with 43% in 2018.
Rising shares of Americans are getting local news at least sometimes from online forums or discussion groups (52%, up from 38% in 2018) and from local government agencies or officials (40%, up from 30%).
The sharpest growth in usage came from other online-only sources. As of last year, 42% of U.S. adults get news at least sometimes from a source that publishes online only (and was not included in any of the other categories), almost triple the share that relied on these sources in 2018 (15%).
Many U.S. adults also get local news from people in their community, such as family, friends, and neighbors.
Nearly three in four Americans (72%) said they often or sometimes stay updated thanks to other locals, up slightly from the 66% who said the same in 2018.
When it comes to individual topics, they range from useful daily information like weather and traffic, to civic information about local government, crime, and the economy, to cultural news about the arts and sports.
Roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults (68%) said they often get news about local weather – double the share who often consume news about crime, the next most popular topic.
Interestingly, adults 65 and older are more likely to get news about all of these topics than those ages 18 to 29, reflecting the broader difference between the age groups in attention to news.
There are other differences that hint at how local news needs vary across demographics. And some of them are pretty intuitive. For instance, Americans who live in urban areas are also more likely than those in rural areas to say they often get local traffic news (32% vs. 24%). And parents of children under 18 are about twice as likely as those without young children to often get news about local schools (30% vs. 14%).