News Audiences, U.S.

News audiences in the 21st century are rapidly changing, particularly as new technologies open news media to consumers who cannot or will not pay for their information. At the end of the 19th century, newspapers dominated and directed public life and conversation. The penetration of television into American daily life in the mid-20th century established the nightly news program as the arbiter of public life. Now in the 21st century, legacy news organizations are struggling to adapt to a new media environment dominated by instantaneous, Internet-driven communication channels, social media, and on-demand entertainment content. Younger generations are accessing a multitude of news sources rather than relying on one source, rendering it difficult to get a true snapshot of who is consuming news and how they ...