News Platform Fact Sheet

The transition of the news industry away from print, television and radio into digital spaces has caused huge disruptions in the traditional news industry, especially the print news industry. It is also reflected in the ways individual Americans say they are getting their news. Today, an overwhelming majority of Americans get news at least sometimes from digital devices. Explore the patterns and trends that shape the platforms Americans turn to for news below.

News consumption across platforms

A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say they often or sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, including 56% who say they do so often. This is more than the 49% who said they often got news from digital devices in 2022 and the 51% of those who said the same in 2021. The portion that gets news from digital devices continues to outpace those who get news from television. The portion of Americans who often get news from television has stayed fairly consistent, at 31% in 2022 and 32% in 2023. Americans turn to radio and print publications for news far less frequently than to digital devices and television.

When asked which of these platforms they prefer to get news on, nearly six-in-ten Americans say they prefer a digital device (58%), more than say they prefer TV (27%). Even fewer Americans prefer radio (6%) or print (5%).

A line chart showing that more Americans prefer to get news on digital devices and television and fewer Americans prefer radio and print

News across digital platforms

Though digital devices are by far the most common way Americans access their news, where they get that news on their devices is divided among a number of different pathways. Today, news websites, apps and search engines are the digital pathways most Americans get news from at least sometimes. Half of Americans at least sometimes get news from social media, and three-in-ten say the same of podcasts.

Stacked bar charts showing News consumption across digital platforms since 2020 and . Half of Americans at least sometimes get news from social media, and three-in-ten say the same of podcasts.

Among digital platforms, news websites or apps are also the most preferred source for news: A quarter of U.S. adults prefer to get their news this way, compared with 15% who prefer search, 12% who prefer social media and 6% who say they prefer podcasts.

Who uses each news platform

News consumption across platforms varies by age, gender, race, ethnicity, educational attainment and political leaning. Americans ages 50 and older are more likely than younger adults to turn to and prefer television and print publications.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who get news at least sometimes from …  

	Television	Radio	Print publications	Digital devices
Total	62%	52%	37%	86%
Men	61%	51%	35%	86%
Women	65%	53%	38%	86%
Ages 18-29	41%	37%	24%	89%
30-49	53%	52%	29%	90%
50-64	72%	62%	39%	86%
65+	85%	52%	55%	77%
White	62%	54%	38%	86%
Black	76%	54%	39%	80%
Hispanic	62%	48%	32%	87%
Asian*	52%	42%	32%	93%
High school or less	67%	53%	37%	77%
Some college	63%	51%	35%	89%
College+	57%	51%	37%	93%
Lower income	61%	48%	34%	80%
Middle Income	64%	53%	37%	88%
Upper income	60%	52%	38%	92%
Rep/Lean Rep	63%	54%	35%	85%
Dem/Lean Dem	63%	50%	38%	87%

*Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.
Note: White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanic adults are of any race.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2023.

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who get news at least sometimes from …  

	News websites or apps	Social media	Search	Podcasts
Total	67%	49%	71%	30%
Men	68%	44%	71%	33%
Women	66%	54%	72%	27%
Ages 18-29	59%	69%	77%	41%
30-49	70%	55%	74%	35%
50-64	72%	40%	71%	26%
65+	63%	34%	62%	17%
White	68%	46%	69%	28%
Black	64%	53%	71%	33%
Hispanic	60%	56%	74%	31%
Asian*	83%	61%	82%	43%
High school or less	57%	48%	65%	24%
Some college	69%	52%	75%	30%
College+	76%	49%	74%	36%
Lower income	56%	52%	70%	28%
Middle income	70%	49%	73%	30%
Upper income	81%	46%	72%	37%
Rep/Lean Rep	66%	48%	70%	29%
Dem/Lean Dem	69%	50%	73%	32%

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who say they prefer ___ for getting news    

	Television	Radio	Print publications	Digital devices
Total	27%	6%	5%	58%
Men	25%	7%	5%	61%
Women	30%	6%	5%	55%
Ages 18-29	8%	3%	4%	83%
30-49	17%	8%	3%	69%
50-64	36%	8%	4%	48%
65+	50%	5%	10%	30%
White	28%	8%	6%	55%
Black	38%	4%	4%	50%
Hispanic	23%	4%	4%	65%
Asian*	16%	4%	2%	78%
High school or less	37%	5%	5%	48%
Some college	25%	6%	4%	62%
College+	19%	8%	6%	65%
Lower income	30%	5%	4%	57%
Middle income	29%	7%	5%	57%
Upper income	19%	9%	6%	64%
Rep/Lean Rep	27%	8%	5%	57%
Dem/Lean Dem	28%	6%	5%	59%

% of U.S. adults in each demographic group who say they prefer ___ for getting news    

	News websites or apps	Social media	Search	Podcasts
Total	25%	12%	15%	6%
Men	27%	11%	15%	8%
Women	23%	13%	15%	4%
Ages 18-29	22%	30%	22%	9%
30-49	29%	15%	17%	8%
50-64	27%	5%	12%	4%
65+	18%	3%	7%	2%
White	26%	10%	13%	7%
Black	18%	13%	16%	4%
Hispanic	19%	21%	18%	7%
Asian*	37%	19%	17%	5%
High school or less	16%	12%	14%	6%
Some college	25%	13%	18%	6%
College+	34%	12%	12%	7%
Lower income	18%	17%	18%	5%
Middle income	25%	11%	14%	7%
Upper income	37%	9%	12%	6%
Rep/Lean Rep	24%	11%	15%	7%
Dem/Lean Dem	26%	13%	15%	5%

Find out more

This fact sheet was compiled by Research Analyst Jacob Liedke and Research Associate Luxuan Wang.

Read the methodology and the topline.

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the latest report in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Follow these links for more in-depth analysis of news consumption:

Social Media and News Fact Sheet, Nov. 15, 2023

Americans are following the news less closely than they used to, Oct. 24, 2023

Black Americans’ Experiences With News, Sept. 26, 2023

For National Radio Day, key facts about radio listeners and the radio industry, Aug. 17, 2023

Podcasts as a Source of News and Information, April 18, 2023

The Role of Alternative Social Media in the News and Information Environment, Oct. 6, 2022

News on Twitter: Consumed by Most Users and Trusted by Many, Nov. 15, 2021

About four-in-ten Americans say social media is an important way of following COVID-19 vaccine news, Aug. 24, 2021

Large Majorities of Newsmax and OAN News Consumers Also Go to Fox News, March 23, 2021

More than eight-in-ten Americans get news from digital devices, Jan. 12, 2021

Measuring News Consumption in a Digital Era, Dec. 8, 2020