The Pew Research Center reported that a survey it conducted in April found about six-in-ten Americans (61%) said they were following news about the coronavirus outbreak at both the national and local level equally. Around a quarter (23%) said they were paying more attention to news at the local level, while 15% said they were focused more on COVID-19 news at the national level.
Pew reported the survey also found nearly half of U.S. adults (46%) named local news outlets as a major source for COVID-19 news.
Americans also see local news outlets as more credible sources of COVID-19 information than the news media in general.
The Shop Talk panelists this week share their thoughts on the survey results.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.
