Pew Research Center did not publish a standalone 2025 report verified under the title “State of the News Media.” The available findings instead come from several separate studies. Together, they show that most U.S. adults follow news at least occasionally, but people do not draw the boundary around “news” in exactly the same way.
There is no single 2025 Pew “State of the News Media” report
The title can suggest one annual report covering the entire news industry. The Pew materials available for 2025 are separate projects: a tracker of 30 news sources, a study of what Americans consider news, an analysis of partisan differences in news sources, and a survey about journalists’ role in society. Their findings should be read as a roundup, not as one unified annual census.
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The studies also ask different questions and use different measures. For example, following news, regularly using a source, trusting a source, and having confidence in journalists are related but distinct ideas.
What the News Media Tracker measures
Pew’s News Media Tracker reports on Americans’ awareness of, regular use of, and trust in 30 major news sources. Its FAQ says the tracker’s nationally representative survey included 9,482 U.S. adults and was conducted March 10–16, 2025.
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The tracker provides breakdowns by age and political party. Its measures should be kept separate: knowing about a source does not necessarily mean regularly using or trusting it. The tracker is useful for comparing sources on the questions it asks, but the available figures here do not establish which source leads on each measure.
Most adults follow news, but fewer say they seek it frequently
In Pew’s study “What News Is (and Isn’t) According to Americans,” 77% of U.S. adults said they follow news at least some of the time. A smaller share, 44%, said they intentionally seek news extremely often or often. Both figures come from the survey of 9,482 adults conducted March 10–16, 2025.
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The distinction matters: following news at least occasionally is a broader measure than deliberately seeking it frequently. These results describe respondents’ reported habits; they do not, by themselves, measure how much news people consume or which sources they use.
Americans draw clearer boundaries around some kinds of news
The same study asked whether different kinds of information count as news. Election updates were the clearest category in the figures reported: 66% said they were definitely news. Information about the war in Gaza was also widely classified that way, with 62% saying it was definitely news. By contrast, 3% said celebrities and their lives were definitely news. These are responses to the specific “definitely news” option, not measures of whether respondents ever encounter those subjects in news coverage.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThe project combined several kinds of evidence: a nationally representative survey, a qualitative online discussion board with 57 U.S. adults, and on-the-record interviews with 13 journalists and editors. The survey ran March 10–16, 2025; the interviews took place July 18–September 6, 2024. Discussion-board responses can help illustrate how participants think about news, but they are not population estimates.
Do not treat the 2025 and 2019 source questions as a direct trend line
Pew’s 2025 tracker asked which sources respondents regularly get news from. The 2019 survey instead asked which sources they used for political and election news during the prior week, as explained in Pew’s analysis of partisan differences in news sources. The topic scope and reference period differ, so a comparison between them does not show a like-for-like change in regular news use over time.
When comparing sources or years, check what each question actually measures: the population, the subject of the news, the time period respondents were asked to recall, and whether the measure is awareness, use, or trust.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Journalists’ perceived importance is not the same as confidence in them
In an April 2025 survey covered in Pew’s study of Americans’ views of journalists, 59% said journalists were extremely or very important to society. Separately, 45% said they had a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in journalists to act in the public’s best interests.
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The two percentages answer different questions: one asks about journalists’ importance to society, while the other asks about confidence in their conduct. They should not be treated as contradictory readings of a single measure.
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