This week’s action: Identify one local creator your newsroom could learn from.
What the survey says: A majority of American teens and adults (57%) get news from “influencers” or “independent creators” at least sometimes. Among teens ages 13-17, that number jumps to 81%.
Other popular sources of news that U.S. teens and adults turn to at least daily: television or streaming services (46%), digital news sites (41%) and social media (37%). Search engines or the radio are also places about a quarter of Americans turn to for news.
When looking at local news specifically, American teens and adults are most likely to get their local news from traditional outlets like TV, newspapers and radio. This is followed by local people they know personally. Thirty-three percent of respondents also get local news from independent creators at least sometimes, with nearly half of teens ages 13-17 saying they do.
What it means for local news:While traditional outlets remain a crucial resource for local news, they aren’t the only sources of information helping people understand their communities. Paying attention to local creators and in-person networks will help you better understand how your newsroom fits into the local information ecosystem and identify audience needs you might be missing.
Try this
Start here: Ask three colleagues of different ages, roles and interests to share one independent creator or account they follow for local information.
Take action: Review a few weeks of content from the creators or accounts, noting what audience needs they’re serving, their tone and messaging, and how they interact with followers.
Reflect: What did you learn from your review? Could the creators be a source of information, inspiration, amplification or potential collaboration for your newsroom?
