Politics & Media

There are more niche news outlet reporters than daily newspaper reporters on Capitol Hill. In the late 1990s, daily newspaper staff outnumbered niche reporters by more than two-to-one.

The face of the Washington press corps has changed markedly in recent years, transformed by an increase in the number of journalists working for “niche” publications and digital startups.

Jon Stewart is stepping down as host of The Daily Show after 16 years. During that time, the show has served not only as a source of media criticism, but also as a source of news in its own right. As Stewart’s tenure comes to an end, here are some key facts about how his program has made its imprint on journalism.

Millennials rely on Facebook for their political news, while Baby Boomers turn to local TV. And while Millennials are less engaged with political news, they trust news sources as much as older generations do.

Overall, 16% of registered voters follow candidates for office, political parties, or elected officials on a social networking site.

President Obama's recent interviews with Buzzfeed and Vox, and his embrace of online news and social media more generally, stands in a long tradition of presidents employing novel communications technologies to speak to Americans directly.

Social media users who are interested in politics have different experiences on Facebook and Twitter, with four-in-ten Twitter users saying that at least half of the posts that they see are political, compared with about a quarter of Facebook users who say the same.

28% of registered voters use their cell phone to follow political news, and 16% follow political figures on social media.

Five key takeaways from our new report on political polarization and media habits.

We asked Amy Mitchell, our Director of Journalism Research, to discuss how the new report on media polarization was put together.