News Audience Demographics

Roughly half of U.S. adults say they have listened to a podcast in the past year, including one-in-five who report listening at least a few times a week. Most podcast listeners say this experience includes hearing news, which they largely expect to be mostly accurate. Large shares of listeners say they turn to podcasts for entertainment, learning or having something to listen to while doing something else.

Those ages 18 to 29 differ from older Americans in their news consumption habits and in their responses to major news events and coverage.

59% of Americans think news organizations do not understand people like them, while a minority – 37% – say they do feel understood.

Black adults were much more likely than whites and somewhat more likely than Hispanic adults to frequently discuss the pandemic with others.

More than two-thirds of adults ages 65 or older said they were following news of the pandemic very closely.

Americans turn to a wide range of media outlets for political and election news, but Fox News and CNN stand out as especially common sources.

There are notable differences between white and black Democrats in news consumption habits and assessments of recent political events and figures in the news.

Black adults stand out for their trust in local news organizations, and they are more likely to feel connected to their main source of news.

A majority of rural Americans say local news media mostly cover an area other than the one where they live.