Fewer than 1/3 of U.S. adults say news media hold public officials accountable; TV, social media are their top sources

Graphs by the Local News Initiative, Medill School, Northwestern University, adapted by The Rural Blog; click to enlarge

Fewer than a third of Americans say local news media meet one of their primary missions, holding public officials accountable, according to a poll for the Medill School at Northwestern University. Here's report on it from Mark Caro of the school's Local News Initiative, edited for concision:

The survey asked 1,015 adults if they agreed or disagreed with the statement “My local news media hold public officials accountable.” Only 3.9% replied “strongly agree” and 26.5% replied “agree,” for a total of 30.4% in agreement. Almost as many disagreed; 11.3% responded “strongly disagree” while 18.8% responded “disagree,” a total of 30.1%. The other 38.7% replied “Neither.”

“There is a lack of trust in institutions in general, so that may be driving some of this,” said Tim Franklin, the Medill School's senior associate dean and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News. “But I think that given how critical this role is to democratic institutions and communities and to the state of our democracy, this is a red flare.”

Stephanie Edgerly, the Medill professor and associate dean of research who oversaw the survey, said the low percentage may also reflect news organizations’ ability—or inability—to inform readers about the work they’re doing. “The public just sees the story that’s written up but does not understand what role local journalists played in covering it,” she said. “In general, journalists have not been great at communicating the behind-the-scenes work of their reporting process to the public.”

Tom Rosenstiel, the University of Maryland’s Eleanor Merrill Visiting Professor on the Future of Journalism, said the poll's finding is a logical domino drop amid the shrinkage of newsrooms nationwide, particularly in smaller markets. Since watchdog reporting is more labor-intensive, he said, it follows that it has declined.

The poll found striking age differences in where people get their local news. 

But Rosenstiel noted that the poll's respondents said the most common way they get local news is through television (32% daily), followed by social media (31% daily), with radio (including podcasts) and newspapers (including print and digital readers) lagging behind at 20% and 15%, respectively. “Having studied local TV news extensively over the years, I can tell you that they don’t cover a lot of local government,” he said. He noted that TV-station consultants consider local government coverage a ratings loser and steer stations away from it.

Only 15% of respondents said they read local newspapers daily, while 29% said they read them weekly, and 39% said they never read them. The survey was conducted for the Medill School by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago from April 27 thgrough May 1.