logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Civic Engagement Tied to Local News Consumption, Pew Survey Finds

Lauren Karch
November 8, 2016
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
Local-news
Locked Local News / Cole Camplese

November 3, 2016; Pew Research Center

A study published last week by the Pew Research Center shows a correlation between civic engagement and interaction with local news sources.

A survey conducted in January of this year by the American Trends Panel, Pew’s surveying arm, asked U.S. adults about their level of civic engagement and local news intake, using self-reported metrics. Perhaps unsurprisingly, participants who reported a high level of civic engagement were more likely to follow local news.

The panel asked approximately 5,000 participants about their level of community attachment, local voting habits, participation in local groups, rating of their communities, and perceived political diversity within the communities where they reside. The panel asked the same group about their local news intake: whether they follow community news regularly and through a high number of sources.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

The best predictor of local news intake was community attachment. Of the 19 percent of respondents who said they were “highly attached” to their community, 59 percent followed local news closely, and 44 percent said they got local news from three or more sources. People who said they could name all of their neighbors, another measurement of community attachment, were also highly engaged with local news.

However, another strong correlation appeared in the survey data: Participants who reported always voting in “local elections, such as for mayor or school board”—about 27 percent of registered voters—were much more likely to report a high level of interest in local news. When asked if they follow local news closely, 52 percent of “always” voters responded affirmatively, compared to 31 percent of respondents who do not always vote. Frequent voters were more likely to report using three or more sources for community news.

A 2015 Pew report showed a similar result: civically-engaged residents used the most diverse set of local media, had more conversations about local news with other residents, and got more of their news online. The use of social media to read or share political news has also been tied to increased community engagement. In short, engaged residents tend to do more than watch their local TV affiliates.

The authors of the new Pew study state, “The study does not point to whether civic engagement triggers local news interest, intake or more positive attitudes about local news media, or whether it is, in fact, the reverse.” However, the correlation between diverse local news sources and voting is, on this Election Day, especially interesting. Last year, a report from the Knight Foundation (a partner in the Pew study) showed that millennial voters who do not vote in local elections feel uninformed about local candidates or issues, or believe there is not enough news coverage of local elections.—Lauren Karch

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Lauren Karch

Lauren has worked on outreach campaigns for a variety of non-profit and governmental organizations. She currently serves on the board of the Association of Ohio Recyclers, a conservancy nonprofit.

More about: civic engagementNonprofit News

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Widening Our Lens, Seeing the Full Opportunity to Win
Kalia Abiade
Universities after Neoliberalism: How to Build a Democratic Civic University
Ira Harkavy and Rita A. Hodges
Raising Consciousness on Civic Engagement: The Engaged Cities Award
Derrick Rhayn
Does Home Ownership Lead to Civic Virtue? Maybe Not
Pam Bailey
Philanthropy, Democracy, and the Weird Civic Playground of Nonprofit Museums
Chelsea Reichert
Philanthropy Seeds University Center to Help Community Address Poverty
Sean Watterson and Steve Dubb

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Widening Our Lens, Seeing the Full Opportunity to Win
Kalia Abiade
AOC’s “Tax the Rich” Dress Dazzles Met Gala, while...
Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Universities after Neoliberalism: How to Build a Democratic...
Ira Harkavy and Rita A. Hodges

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.