Local News in a Digital Age
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NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE MARCH 5, 2015 Local News in a Digital Age FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT: Amy Mitchell, Director, Journalism Research Jesse Holcomb, Senior Researcher Dana Page, Communications Manager 202.419.4372 www.pewresearch.org RECOMMENDED CITATION: Pew Research Center, March, 2015, “Local News in a Digital Age” 1 PEW RESEARCH CENTER About This Report This report was produced by the Pew Research Center and aims at understanding the news ecology of three distinct metropolitan areas in the United States: Denver, Colorado; Macon, Georgia; and Sioux City, Iowa. Data in this report are drawn from separate analyses, each with its own methodology: a survey conducted July 8-August 18, 2014, among a representative sample of adult residents in each city; an analysis of news content; an audit of local news providers; interviews with individuals in each community from local government, civic life, business, academia and journalism and a social media analysis. Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan “fact tank” that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. The center studies U.S. politics and policy views; media and journalism; internet and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and U.S. social and demographic trends. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the project from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. All of the center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals. Principal Researchers Research Team Amy Mitchell, Director, Journalism Research Kyley McGeeney, Research Methodologist Jesse Holcomb, Senior Researcher Jan Lauren Boyles, Research Associate Paul Hitlin, Senior Researcher Nancy Vogt, Research Analyst Jeffrey Gottfried, Research Associate Monica Anderson, Research Analyst Katerina Eva Matsa, Research Associate Elisa Shearer, Research Assistant Michael Barthel, Research Associate Kristine Lu, Research Assistant Kenneth Olmstead, Research Associate Alex Williams, Google Fellow Martin Shelton, Intern Publishing Faith Jegede, Intern Joanna Brenner, Web Producer Tatevik Sargsyan, Intern Margaret Schmidt, Intern Graphic Design Tori Vogel, Intern Margaret Porteus, Information Graphics Designer Mark Hvizda, Translator © Pew Research Center 2015 www.pewresearch.org 2 PEW RESEARCH CENTER Table of Contents Local News in a Digital Age ..................................................................................................................... 4 The News Environment in Denver, Colorado ......................................................................................... 12 Sources of News and Information ........................................................................................................... 13 The News Environment in Macon, Georgia ........................................................................................... 22 Sources of News and Information ........................................................................................................... 23 The News Environment in Sioux City, Iowa ........................................................................................... 29 Sources of News and Information ........................................................................................................... 31 Local News Interest High Across the Board; Specific Habits Vary ...................................................... 38 The Staying Power of Large Legacy Media, Even in Media-Rich Denver ............................................... 39 In the Local Topics People Follow, Weather is Ubiquitous; Other Interests Vary .................................. 43 The Emergence of Digital ......................................................................................................................... 45 Discussing & Participating in Local News ............................................................................................... 48 Discussing the News: While Weather and Crime Dominate, Many Talk Economics, Business ........... 49 Engagement in Local Groups, Activities Similar from City to City .......................................................... 51 Satisfaction with the City and the Local Media Differs ........................................................................... 53 Race and Ethnicity in the Local News Ecosystem................................................................................ 55 Denver: Whites, Hispanics and Local News ............................................................................................ 56 Macon: The Black-White Gap in News Interest ....................................................................................... 59 Digital Differences Across Local Communities .................................................................................... 64 Denver: A Digitally Enabled City ............................................................................................................... 64 Macon: The Importance of Social Pathways to Local News ................................................................... 67 Sioux City: A More Traditional Local News Experience ........................................................................... 72 Engagement in and Satisfaction with One’s City Connect to Stronger News Habits ........................ 74 Civic Engagement and News .................................................................................................................... 74 City Satisfaction and News ....................................................................................................................... 82 www.pewresearch.org 3 PEW RESEARCH CENTER Facebook and Twitter—New but Limited Parts of the Local News System ......................................... 87 Facebook: An Active but Isolated Distribution Channel ......................................................................... 89 Most Posts Contain More than Text ......................................................................................................... 96 The Twitter-verse in Denver, Macon, and Sioux City ............................................................................... 97 In Macon, One Major Local Thread Emerges .......................................................................................... 99 Sioux City: National News Supersedes Local ........................................................................................ 102 Denver: Local News has a Somewhat Larger Place in the Twitter Talk ............................................... 104 Legacy Outlets Drive the News Agenda, but Specialty Providers Diversify the Ecosystem ............. 106 Local TV—A Commanding Presence that Tends Toward Short, Reactive Stories ............................... 107 Newspapers Offer Greater Degree of Enterprise Coverage and Civic Affairs ..................................... 114 Press-Initiated Coverage More Apparent in Newspapers than TV ....................................................... 118 Specialty News Sources Add a Second Layer to Denver’s News Environment; Smaller Presence in Macon and Sioux City ............................................................................................................................. 121 Public Radio Supplements Coverage and Sometimes Goes Deep ...................................................... 129 Citizens Are a Part of the Process but Mostly as Quoted Bystanders ................................................. 130 Commentary and Opinion Do Not Permeate Local News ..................................................................... 132 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................... 133 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 134 City Selection Process ............................................................................................................................ 134 Survey ...................................................................................................................................................... 136 Content Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 138 Identification of News Providers and Website Audit ............................................................................. 146 Social Media ............................................................................................................................................ 155 www.pewresearch.org 4 PEW RESEARCH CENTER Local News in a Digital Age Whether in a tech-savvy metropolis or a city where the town square is still the communi- Three Local News Ecologies: Clear cation hub, local news matters deeply to the Distinctions but Also Similarities lives of residents. Across three disparate metro areas in the U.S., nearly nine-in-ten residents follow local news closely—and about half do so very closely,