While 69 percent of Americans say that it wouldn’t have a major impact on their lives if their local newspaper no longer existed, the truth is that in actual practice, we actually rely on the local paper for more than we realize.
The table below summarizes findings from the Pew Research Center. You can see the data here.
| Type of News | How we prefer to get it |
|---|---|
| Community events, crime, taxes, local government, arts/culture, social services, zoning, development | Primary local newspapers, with TV as a secondary source for local politics. |
| Housing, schools, jobs | Newspapers & Internet (tie) |
| Local political news | Newspapers & TV (tie) |
| Weather, breaking news | TV |
| Traffic | TV & radio (tie) |
| Restaurants & other local businesses | Internet |