Study: Americans trust local media more on the pandemic

Screenshot from The Covid-10 Societal Impact Project. Click here to read more.

A study by the Whitman Insight Strategies Initiative and Creative Circle Media Solutions shows that Americans are more likely to trust local media sources than nationwide news media for pandemic information. "Moreover, when asked where they go for essential information about Covid-19, local news scored much higher than cable news and social media channels," Editor & Publisher reports.

Other findings "show how scared and frightened our readers are and how much they crave credible, local information that connects them with their community and offers hope and comfort," Editor & Publisher reports. 

Overall, 34 percent of respondents said they've started using new sources and platforms for news because of the pandemic. Among that one-third of respondents, 29% said they've begun paying attention to local news sources. Respondents said local news was the most trusted source on several measurements, according to the report.

"We have new eyeballs and more eyeballs. We have an opportunity to provide new kinds of content. Better content," Bill Ostendorf, president and founder of Creative Circle, told E&P. "If we create more engaging content now, we can change the way they view newspapers and how they value us."