The Media Insight Project is a collaboration between the American Press Institute, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research with the objective of conducting high-quality, innovative research meant to inform the news industry and the public about various important issues facing journalism and the news business.
The Media Insight Project brings together the expertise of the organizations and their respective partners and involves collaborations among key staff at the American Press Institute, Northwestern University Medill School, the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, NORC at the University of Chicago, and The Associated Press.
The individual authors, researchers and contributors for each study are cited in the studies’ methodology sections.
About the American Press Institute
The American Press Institute supports local and community-based media through research, programs and products that foster healthy, responsive and resilient news organizations. API envisions an inclusive democracy and society, where communities have the news and information they need to thrive. API is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, and its parent organization is the News/Media Alliance. americanpressinstitute.org
About The Associated Press‑NORC Center For Public Affairs Research
The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research taps into the power of social science research and the highest-quality journalism to bring key information to people across the nation and throughout the world.
- The Associated Press (AP) is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. ap.org
- NORC at the University of Chicago is one of the oldest objective and nonpartisan research institutions in the world. norc.org
The two organizations have established The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research to conduct, analyze, and distribute social science research in the public interest on newsworthy topics, and to use the power of journalism to tell the stories that research reveals. Learn more at apnorc.org.
About Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing, Communications
The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University is a leading journalism school offering undergraduate and graduate programs that combine enduring journalistic values with innovation, data-driven strategies and global perspectives. Founded in 1921, Medill emphasizes real-world reporting, media entrepreneurship, and leadership in media’s digital transformation. medill.northwestern.edu
About Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism is one of the world’s premier journalism schools. One of only a handful of programs in the country devoted exclusively to journalism, Merrill College emphasizes immersive, hands-on learning to prepare students for success across today’s — and tomorrow’s — information ecosystem. Guided by a faculty of accomplished journalists and researchers, students work on data-driven national investigations through the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist. They report from Washington and Annapolis with Capital News Service, cover sports beyond the playing field at The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, report on issues vital to Maryland communities through the Local News Network, and contribute to building innovative artificial intelligence-based tools that strengthen journalism. They also pursue international reporting opportunities across the globe. merrill.umd.edu
More from the author
This survey was conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, and the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
American teens and adults hold politicians and social media primarily responsible for the spread of misinformation while largely exempting local news.
While average confidence in news sources remains low, the public has varying degrees of trust across different types of news sources.
Influencers or independent creators have risen as popular sources of news and information, especially among younger audiences. Americans ages 13 and older turn to these sources for a variety of topics and reasons.
American teens and adults hold more positive views of local news and get it from a variety of sources.
American teens and adults, regardless of their age, use a variety of media, including traditional media, digital-only sources, and social media platforms to get news on a range of topics.
This report draws on a nationally representative survey of teens ages 13–17 and adults 18 and older, providing one of the most comprehensive, generationally comparative looks at how Americans navigate an increasingly complex news, information and media ecosystem.
Most adults follow news about elections — from presidential (77%) and state (64%) elections to local ballot initiatives (59%) and policies (70%) — at least somewhat closely.
This survey was conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute (API) and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
The survey highlights several key differences in election news sources and attitudes among Black adults, Hispanic adults, white adults, and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults.
Democrats, Republicans, and independents use similar types of sources for election news, but there are some differences in how frequently they use these sources.
Adults ages 55 and older most closely monitor news related to elections, and adults ages 35 to 54 are more likely than 18 to 34-year-olds to follow local and state elections, presidential elections, and discussions surrounding candidates’ policies and issues with a high level of attention.
This survey was conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute (API) and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
Gen Z and Millennials who pay for or donate to email or video content from independent news creators
As noted in the previous section, Americans ages 16 to 40 across age groups are more likely to pay for or donate to news content [...]
When you look at what type of media Americans 16 to 40 are donating to or paying for, it’s about twice as likely they pay [...]
As the economics of journalism continue to evolve, a defining question about the future is whether the news media can create content that consumers are willing to pay for or donate to directly. Central to answering that question is understanding the behavior of what many publishers call the next generation of news audiences: Millennials and Gen Z. This report examines in detail who among these audiences pay for or donate to news, how these payers or donors get news, and what topics or interests drive that behavior.
Americans have a wide range of options for paying for or donating to news today. There are legacy sources, start-up news organizations, and independent creators, [...]
Overall, Americans ages 16 to 40 pay at least some attention to many topics. On average, they follow nine different topics in our list, often a mix of “lifestyle,” “news you can use,” and “hard news” topics.
Who are the Americans ages 16 to 40 who are most closely following information on traffic, weather, or transportation, and how are they encountering it?
Millennials and members of Generation Z will soon become the industry’s dominant generations of news consumers and subscribers. What news topics do they follow most often, and how do they get that coverage?
This section examines the demographics and news behavior of the 15% of Millennials and Gen Z who say they most closely follow national politics or government.
As the public navigated the COVID-19 pandemic from its onset in 2020, practical information related to COVID-19 played a central role in media coverage. The [...]
Publishers may be able to develop different strategies and messages for moving Gen Z and Millennials “down the audience funnel” based on tendencies for different news followers to pay or share news.
Research shows many Americans are facing increasing mental health and well-being challenges, and Gen Z and Millennials have been especially affected in recent years.
About 15% of Millennials and Gen Z say they most closely follow news about social issues such as abortion, gun policy, or LGBTQ issues, and this section highlights their demographic makeup and news behavior.
When Gen Z and Millennials closely monitor news about crime and public safety, where do they turn for that information and how? The Media Insight [...]
This survey was conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute (API) and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
This survey was conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute (API) and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
Gen Z and Millennials hold traditional expectations of the press and have some positive views of the media Concerns about misinformation and the role of [...]
Gen Z and Millennials use a variety of media to get news Even with signs of fatigue and worry about being online, Americans ages 16 [...]
Gen Z and Millennials feel digital fatigue and are concerned about misinformation in the media Much has changed in the public discourse around information and [...]
A new in-depth survey of 16- to 40-year-olds shows that members of the Gen Z and Millennial generations are active consumers of news and information, [...]
The deep divides over trust in the news media are usually portrayed as largely ideological. Democrats are seven times more likely than Republicans to say [...]
The vast majority of Americans value their right, as well as that of the press, to question authority figures. But only a third have a [...]
This research was conducted by the Media Insight Project — an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
People are strikingly unfamiliar with terms that many journalists use, probably without thinking — such as the difference between an editorial and a news story, [...]
The extent of personal experience a person has with journalism — including being covered or interviewed in the news, or having some education in journalism [...]
The public and journalists expect the same things from the news media. The public just doesn’t think it’s getting it. What do people want from [...]
This survey was conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute (API) and The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
When you step back and look at all the things that lead people to subscribe to a newspaper—the background factors, the specific triggers, the lifestyle [...]
This research was conducted by the Media Insight Project — an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
This research was conducted by the Media Insight Project — an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
This research was conducted by the Media Insight Project — an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs [...]
