How people follow and judge local news
Core finding
Local news use appears softer than five years ago, but adults are not rejecting local TV news outright.
About 33% say they watch less local news than they did five years ago, compared with 26% who say more and 31% who say the same. Local TV news trust is mostly partial: 54% say they sometimes trust their local TV news networks.
Less local news viewing outweighs more viewing
Asked about local news compared with five years ago, 33% say they watch less.
Another 31% say they watch the same amount, 26% say they watch more, and 11% say they do not watch local news.
Stacked breakdown
33% say they watch less local news than five years ago.
n = 1,000 · Aug 1–6, 2025 · MoE ±3.2%
Trust in local TV news is mostly conditional
About 54% say they sometimes trust their local TV news networks. Another 17% say they always trust them.
Outright distrust is smaller: 17% rarely trust local TV news and 4% never trust it.
Stacked breakdown
54% say they sometimes trust local TV news networks.
n = 1,000 · Aug 1–6, 2025 · MoE ±3.2%
Google still dominates online information search
Familiarity with major news brands remains high: 87% have heard of the New York Times, 84% the Wall Street Journal, and 72% the BBC.
For online search, 76% say they used mostly Google in the past 30 days, while 6% say mostly ChatGPT and 13% say they used both about the same.
Stacked breakdown
76% say they used mostly Google to search for information online.
n = 1,000 · Aug 1–6, 2025 · MoE ±3.2%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | United States adults |
| Field dates | Aug 1–6, 2025 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.2% |
| Module | A |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- verasight-quirks-2025.tiiny.co
Thinking about local news, are you watching more, less or the same amount as you did 5 years ago?
- verasight-quirks-2025.tiiny.co
How often do you trust your local TV news networks?
- verasight-quirks-2025.tiiny.co
Which of the following news media outlets, if any, have you heard of?
- verasight-quirks-2025.tiiny.co
In the past 30 days, which tool have you used more often to search for information online?
Cite this topic
Verasight Quirks Omnibus Survey, fielded August 1-6, 2025, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.2%.