Study: Only 21% Say Radio is Main Source for News

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When it comes to news, 71% cite television as their source for most national and international news, reports a new Pew Research survey. TV is also where most of the public turns for local news (64%) compared with 41% who say they get most local news from newspapers. Americans are about equally likely to say radio is their main source for national and international news (21%) and local news (18%).

And while 42% of Americans rely on the Internet for national and international news, fewer than half as many (17%) say the Internet is their main source of local news.

Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. Similarly, only about a quarter (26%) now say that news organizations are careful that their reporting is not politically biased, compared with 60% who say news organizations are politically biased.

The public's impressions of which news organizations do the most to uncover local news stories largely mirror the top sources for local news. More than four-in-ten (44%) say that local television stations do the most to uncover and report on important local issues, while a quarter (25%) identify local newspapers as the primary sources of local news reporting. Far fewer people identify local independent online organizations (11%) or radio stations (10%) as responsible for uncovering most local news stories.