• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, July 24, 2024

Local publishers are doing a so-so job at best of covering local politics, judging by a new Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative.

Of the consumers polled, 68% get local political and government news from local media, versus 90% who obtain weather reporting and 77% crime news.  

But only 25% are satisfied with their local political coverage, compared to 63% for weather reporting—a sad finding given the struggle for local media to survive and the growth of news deserts.

For one thing, only 45% of the respondents say it is easy to find the information they need to make voting decisions in local elections, compared to 59% for presidential contests. 

Iinterest in local political coverage is outweighed by that for national. Overall, 83% are interested in national politics, 50% very much so. In contrast, 80% are focused on coverage of local laws and policies, 42% extremely or very likely to feel that way.  

And, in general, 81% are interested in presidential election coverage, and 70% local.  

The top sources of news about local politics are:

1. Friends, family and neighbors—70% 
2. Local news outlets—66% 
3. Social media—54%
4. Local government websites—32%
5. Local nonprofits, advocacy groups—31%
6. Local politics—30%

But it depends on age: 71% of consumers in the 18 to 29 age cohort get news about local politics from social media compared with 36% of people aged  65 and older. 

Those in the older group are more likely to obtain that news from local news outlets (75% vs. 53%) and from local politicians (39% vs. 20%). 

But there is no big political gap—73% of Republicans are interested in local election news, and 71% of Democrats.

Meanwhile, 91% of those who are very attached to the community are interested in news about local laws and policies, compared to 68% who are not. 

Local publishers might find some good news in the above statistics. Or they might just as well feel depressed by them. 

Pew surveyed 5,146 U.S. adults from January 22 to 28, 2024.