Understanding the Participatory News Consumer

Part 1: The news environment in America

Satisfaction with coverage of different news topics

Americans may complain about the mix of news stories they get across the variety of platforms, but a majority still think that topic by topic there is sufficient coverage. There is interesting variance across the topics, though, as significant majorities say there is enough coverage of such subjects as: sports and athletes; business and finance; music and the arts; international news; technology; U.S. domestic policy (see table below).

There are five subjects about which noteworthy pluralities of Americans say they would like more coverage. In some of these instances it is interesting to note that younger adults lead the pack in wanting more coverage:

Science news and discoveries: 44% of Americans say there is not enough coverage of science-related news. Younger adults are more likely than senior citizens to express interest in increased coverage. Some 52% of those ages 18-29 would like more coverage of this news, compared with 41% of 50-64 year-olds and 34% of those age 65 and older. Those who use the most news platforms (between four and six on a typical day) are among the most interested in getting more science news: 48% of them say so.

Religion and spirituality: 41% of Americans say there is not enough coverage of religious and spiritual issues. Women (44%) are more likely than men (37%) to seek more coverage of this area; young adults ages 18-29 (49%) are more likely than those over age 50 (35%) to say this; and bloggers (50%) are more likely than non-bloggers (40%) to say this.  Race/ethnicity is also a factor, with African-Americans (57%) significantly more likely than both whites (38%) and Hispanics (43%) to say they would like to see more coverage of religion and spirituality. 

Health and medicine: 39% of Americans say there is not enough coverage of health and medical news. African-Americans (50%) are more likely than whites (36%) to say there is not enough coverage; non-internet users (43%) are more likely than internet users (37%) to say this. 

Your state government: 39% of Americans say there is not enough coverage of news about their state government.  There are no significant demographic variations where this topic is concerned.

Your neighborhood or local community: 38% of Americans say there is not enough coverage of their neighborhood and local affairs. Young adults (41%) are more likely than senior citizens (31%) to believe this; those who get news on the internet (44%) are more likely than others (36%) to express this view.

News subjects get enough attention

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Copyright 2012 Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center. The Center is supported by The Pew Charitable Trust.