Ghost of Midnight

72% of Americans follow local news closely

According to a new Pew study released yesterday 72% of Americans follow local news closely.  Some interesting tidbits…

Nearly three quarters (72%) of adults are quite attached to following local news and information, and local newspapers are by far the source they rely on for much of the local information they need. In fact, local news enthusiasts are substantially more wedded to their local newspapers than others. They are much more likely than others to say that if their local newspaper vanished, it would have a major impact on their ability to get the local information they want.

It seems likely that Front Porch Forum members draw more from this portion of the population as well.  In Burlington, Vt., for example, FPF has 10,000 members out of the 16,000 households in the city.  More from Pew…

Local news consumers are more connected to their communities than others, both in length of time in the community and in their connection with neighbors, and more likely to think they can improve their communities. Roughly three in 10 have lived in their community 20 years or longer (32% vs. 20% of others), and thus not surprisingly are more likely to know all of their neighbors. This is driven largely by local news enthusiasts age 40 and older. As a whole, local news enthusiasts are also slightly more likely than other adults to believe they can have a big impact on making their community a better place to live.

Less than half of these local news enthusiasts use online social networking (6% less than other adults), and less than 1 in 10 use Twitter, although 78% use email and the internet…

Pew states that these local news enthusiasts know their neighbors more than others…

And that they believe more than others that they can have a positive impact on the place where they live…

Out of Pew’s sample, 7% of the local news hounds reported using neighborhood e-newsletters…

Download the report here.