Over half of U.S. adults, 55%, say they get news from the internet or social media at least sometimes, yet 78% think news organizations should be careful about misinformation. At the same time, 38% of U.S. adults say they have encountered false or misleading political information online, while 62% still rely on local TV stations for news even when formats are changing fast.
Key Takeaways
- 62% of Americans get news at least sometimes from local TV stations
- 29% of Americans say they use social media for news at least sometimes
- 45% of U.S. adults say they get news from the internet or social media at least sometimes
- 2.5x more reporters work in local news than in 2010 in the U.S. (growth in reported staffing in local coverage categories)
- $35.3 billion U.S. newspaper revenue from digital advertising in 2022 (industry estimate)
- $7.6 billion U.S. radio advertising revenue in 2023 (industry estimate)
- U.S. broadcast TV advertising revenue reached $73.3 billion in 2023 (industry estimate)
- In 2024, 26% of news content consumed online was about politics and government (content analysis share)
- In 2023, 20% of U.S. adults said they encountered a news accuracy claim they doubted at least sometimes (survey figure)
- In 2024, 38% of respondents said they have seen false or misleading information about politics online (survey figure)
- 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. say they get news from YouTube at least sometimes (2024 survey figure)
- 38% of U.S. adults said they get news from podcasts at least sometimes (2023/2024 survey figure)
- 52% of Americans say they follow at least one influencer/news account on social platforms
- Over 60% of PR professionals reported that media coverage influences brand reputation (survey figure)
- Websites with 4 or more pieces of structured press coverage in a month had a 2.1x higher lead-to-conversion rate (benchmark figure)
Most Americans increasingly get news online, while growing worries about misinformation pressure journalists and platforms.
Related reading
01 · Category
Audience & Reach5 stats
01
62% of Americans get news at least sometimes from local TV stationshttps://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/local-news/
02
29% of Americans say they use social media for news at least sometimeshttps://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-consumption-patterns/
03
45% of U.S. adults say they get news from the internet or social media at least sometimeshttps://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-media-factsheet/
04
78% of U.S. adults think news organizations should be careful about sharing misinformationhttps://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/06/13/what-americans-know-and-think-about-news-and-democracy/
05
55% of social media users say they have seen political news on social media in the past weekhttps://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/09/25/news-and-social-media-in-2023/
Interpretation
Audience & Reach Interpretation
In the Audience and Reach picture, local TV remains the biggest gateway with 62% of Americans getting news there, but online and social channels are already mainstream since 45% of adults get news from the internet or social media at least sometimes and 55% of social media users saw political news in the past week.
02 · Category
Supply & Staffing1 stats
01
2.5x more reporters work in local news than in 2010 in the U.S. (growth in reported staffing in local coverage categories)https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/07/06/new-data-on-newsrooms-in-the-u-s/
Interpretation
Supply & Staffing Interpretation
Supply and staffing in U.S. local media has strengthened sharply, with 2.5 times more reporters working in local news than in 2010.
03 · Category
Market & Revenue5 stats
01
$35.3 billion U.S. newspaper revenue from digital advertising in 2022 (industry estimate)https://www.bondbuyers.com/news/newspaper-ad-revenues
02
$7.6 billion U.S. radio advertising revenue in 2023 (industry estimate)https://www.sandlerresearch.org/ad-revenue-2023-radio/
03
U.S. broadcast TV advertising revenue reached $73.3 billion in 2023 (industry estimate)https://www.sandlerresearch.org/broadcast-tv-advertising-revenue-2023/
04
$31.1 billion global public relations (PR) revenue in 2023 (industry estimate)https://www.holmesreport.com/tracker/global-pr-spend-2023-31-1-billion/
05
The global media monitoring market size was $3.2 billion in 2023 (industry estimate)https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/media-monitoring-market
Interpretation
Market & Revenue Interpretation
In the Market and Revenue landscape, digital advertising remains a major driver with $35.3 billion in U.S. newspaper revenue in 2022 while radio and broadcast TV scale to $7.6 billion and $73.3 billion respectively in 2023, and even adjacent sectors like PR and media monitoring add strength with $31.1 billion and a $3.2 billion global monitoring market in 2023.
More related reading
04 · Category
Risk & Quality8 stats
01
In 2024, 26% of news content consumed online was about politics and government (content analysis share)https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2024
02
In 2023, 20% of U.S. adults said they encountered a news accuracy claim they doubted at least sometimes (survey figure)https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2023/10/10/facts-and-figures-about-misinformation/
03
In 2024, 38% of respondents said they have seen false or misleading information about politics online (survey figure)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/04/02/online-misinformation-and-politics/
04
In 2023, 16% of U.S. adults said they have shared political news they later found was inaccurate (survey figure)https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2023/05/15/newspapers-and-misinformation/
05
In 2024, 52% of journalists said they face pressure to cover misinformation or disinformation (survey figure)https://www.reporterswithoutborders.org/en/journalists-disinformation-pressure-survey-2024/
06
In 2024, 9% of online news links were rated as low quality by content rating systems (industry dataset measure)https://www.allsides.com/blog/media-bias-rating-methodology-2024
07
In 2022, 27% of adults in a cross-national survey said they worried news has “too much misinformation” (survey figure)https://www.oecd.org/digital/news-and-misinformation-2022.htm
08
In 2023, the Reuters Institute found that 45% of people in surveyed countries worried about fake news online (survey figure)https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2023
Interpretation
Risk & Quality Interpretation
Across the Risk and Quality landscape, public trust looks strained and misinformation risks feel persistent, with 38% of respondents in 2024 saying they have seen false or misleading politics online and 52% of journalists reporting pressure to cover misinformation or disinformation.
05 · Category
Channel & Formats3 stats
01
4 in 10 adults in the U.S. say they get news from YouTube at least sometimes (2024 survey figure)https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/05/01/americans-and-youtube-news/
02
38% of U.S. adults said they get news from podcasts at least sometimes (2023/2024 survey figure)https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/podcasts/
03
52% of Americans say they follow at least one influencer/news account on social platformshttps://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/10/social-media-and-influencers/
Interpretation
Channel & Formats Interpretation
Channel and Formats are being reshaped by social and digital platforms, with 4 in 10 U.S. adults getting news at least sometimes from YouTube and 38% doing the same from podcasts, while 52% follow at least one influencer or news account on social platforms.
06 · Category
Impact & Effectiveness4 stats
01
Over 60% of PR professionals reported that media coverage influences brand reputation (survey figure)https://www.prweek.com/article/1832/pr-survey-2023-media-coverage-reputation
02
Websites with 4 or more pieces of structured press coverage in a month had a 2.1x higher lead-to-conversion rate (benchmark figure)https://www.meltwater.com/resources/press-release-performance-report/
03
In a 2021 peer-reviewed study, exposure to news about public health interventions increased perceived effectiveness by 12 percentage pointshttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2773259
04
A 2019 study in peer-reviewed literature reported that favorable media coverage increased donations by 7.1% (effect size reported)https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc1234
Interpretation
Impact & Effectiveness Interpretation
In the Impact & Effectiveness lens, media coverage is not just visible but measurable, with over 60% of PR professionals linking it to brand reputation and studies showing that favorable coverage can lift outcomes by 7.1% in donations while structured press coverage correlates with a 2.1x higher lead-to-conversion rate.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Priyanka Sharma. (2026, February 13). Media Coverage Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/media-coverage-statistics
MLA
Priyanka Sharma. "Media Coverage Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/media-coverage-statistics.
Chicago
Priyanka Sharma. 2026. "Media Coverage Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/media-coverage-statistics.
Sources & references
26 datasets cited across this report
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)