Public Broadcasting Fact Sheet
Hundreds of local and regional radio and television stations comprise the U.S. public media system.
A Profile of the Top-Ranked Podcasts in the U.S.
True crime is the most common topic, making up 24% of top-ranked podcasts; 15% of the top podcasts focus on news. The next most common topics are politics and government (10%); entertainment, pop culture and the arts (9%); and self-help and relationships (8%).
Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet
The audio news sector in the U.S. is split by modes of delivery: traditional terrestrial (AM/FM) radio and digital formats such as online radio and podcasting.
Most U.S. journalists are concerned about press freedoms
57% of U.S. journalists surveyed say they are extremely or very concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms in the country.
U.S. journalists’ beats vary widely by gender and other factors
A survey of nearly 12,000 working U.S.-based journalists found that the beats American journalists cover vary widely by gender and other factors.
After increasing in 2020, layoffs at large U.S. newspapers and digital news sites declined in 2021
In 2021, 11% of high-circulation newspapers experienced layoffs, compared with three times that share the year before (33%).
About one-in-six U.S. journalists at news outlets are part of a union; many more would join one if they could
41% of U.S. journalists who are employed at least part time at a news outlet say they would join a union if it were available to them.
U.S. journalists differ from the public in their views of ‘bothsidesism’ in journalism
55% of journalists surveyed say that every side does not always deserve equal coverage in the news. 22% of Americans overall say the same.
Twitter is the go-to social media site for U.S. journalists, but not for the public
The social media sites that journalists use most frequently for their jobs differ from those that the public turns to for news.
What do journalists think the news industry does best and worst?
Nearly 12,000 U.S.-based journalists in a pair of open-ended questions were asked to write down the one thing the news industry does the best job of these days and what it does worst.
