News Audience Demographics

When asked whether one prefers to read, watch or listen to their news, younger adults are far more likely than older adults to opt for text – and most of that reading is occurring on the web.

Digital innovation has had a major impact on the public's news habits. How have these changes shaped Americans’ appetite for and attitudes toward the news?

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.

A majority of Americans get news on social media, including 18% who do so often. News plays a varying role across the nine social networking sites studied.

While Millennials overall are more likely than older generations to get political news through social media, there are striking party-line differences, particularly among Millennials who say they are very likely to take part in the primaries and caucuses.

Since 2010, Millennials' rating of churches and other religious organizations has dipped 18 percentage points. Their views of the national news media also have grown more negative.

Compared with the previous two generations, Millennials are less familiar with many news sources we asked about. Here are 5 facts about Millennials' news habits.

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.

At 53 million in 2012, Hispanics are a fast growing segment of the U.S. population, accounting for half of the nation’s growth between 2000 and 2012. And media companies’ interest in reaching that audience has boomed along with the Hispanic population.