State of the News Media (Project)

Data and trends about key sectors in the U.S. news media industry

As of 2016, Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray, Tegna and Tribune owned an estimated 37% of all full-power local TV stations in the country.

The past year brought pressures to America’s newspaper newsrooms not seen since the Great Recession. From broadcast to print to digital and more, this year’s annual report takes stock of the state of the news media.

The State of the News Media in 2016 is uncertain, with daily newspapers looking shakier than ever, digital advertising and audiences continuing to grow, and TV news mostly seeing gains in revenue.

On cellphones, longer news stories get about twice the engaged time from readers as shorter pieces do. They also get roughly the same number of visitors.

The number of journalism projects funded through Kickstarter has grown over time, totaling more than 650 projects and nearly $6.3 million by mid-September 2015.

Between 2009 and 2014, the number of Washington-based reporters for local newspapers accredited by the Senate to cover Congress declined by 11%.

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.

Minorities are still underrepresented at U.S. news organizations, especially when it comes to the places that would-be journalists traditionally try to break into the business: smaller local TV and newspaper outlets.