{"id":311700,"date":"2025-02-20T13:36:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T18:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?prc_email_campaign=democrats-consider-digital-media-strategy-post-election"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:25:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:25:52","slug":"democrats-consider-digital-media-strategy-post-election","status":"publish","type":"prc_email_campaign","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/newsletter\/the-briefing\/democrats-consider-digital-media-strategy-post-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats consider digital media strategy post-election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information<\/em>.<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/sign-up-for-the-briefing\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/sign-up-for-the-briefing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Sign up here!<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In today<em>\u2019<\/em>s email:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li><strong>Featured story:<\/strong> Democrats and left-leaning influencers consider media strategy after election<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>New from Pew Research Center:<\/strong> Who Americans think of as news influencers on social media<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>In other news:<\/strong> Mississippi judge orders newspaper to remove editorial criticizing public officials<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Looking ahead:<\/strong> Knight Foundation to invest $25 million in local nonprofit news initiative American Journalism Project<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Chart of the week:<\/strong> The specific people who come to mind when Americans think of news influencers&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udd25\u00a0<strong>Featured story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the wake of President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2024 election victory, Democrats and left-leaning influencers are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/02\/16\/2025\/democrats-influencers-huddle-for-a-new-new-media-strategy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grappling with the changing digital media ecosystem<\/a>\u00a0and its role in the election outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/11\/18\/americas-news-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent Pew Research Center study of news influencers<\/a>\u00a0on social media found that\u00a0<strong>slightly more news influencers explicitly identify with the political right than the left.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We also analyzed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/02\/06\/how-news-influencers-talked-about-trump-and-harris-during-the-2024-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">news influencers\u2019 posts leading up to the election<\/a>, finding that about\u00a0<strong>twice as many posts by all the news influencers in our sample mentioned Trump (12%) as mentioned Democratic candidate Kamala Harris (6%)<\/strong>\u00a0during the study period. A slightly higher percentage of posts that mentioned Trump were supportive of him (27%) compared with the share of posts about Harris that were supportive of her (19%).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udea8 <strong>New from Pew Research Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/02\/19\/no-consensus-on-who-comes-to-mind-when-americans-are-asked-to-name-a-news-influencer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new Center analysis<\/a>, we asked the 21% of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from news influencers on social media to name <strong>the first news influencer who comes to mind.<\/strong> Respondents gave a wide variety of answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Half named individual people, ranging from journalists to opinion commentators to politicians to content creators. A small share mentioned media outlets. And 42% gave no response or said they couldn\u2019t think of a news influencer. This suggests that even for many Americans who say they regularly get news from news influencers, it is difficult to quickly think of a specific one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis is from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/pew-knight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pew-Knight Initiative<\/a>, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udccc\u00a0<strong>In other news<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\n<li><strong>Mississippi judge<\/strong> orders newspaper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarionledger.com\/story\/news\/local\/2025\/02\/19\/city-officials-sue-clarksdale-ms-newspaper-over-editorial\/79226725007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to remove editorial<\/a> criticizing public officials&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Trump Media <\/strong>and <strong>Rumble <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/02\/19\/donald-trump-truth-social-brazil-lawsuit-020672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sue Brazilian judge<\/a>, alleging censorship&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>U.S. State Department<\/strong> orders embassies and consulates to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/media\/2025\/02\/18\/state-department-news-subscriptions-trump-media-crackdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cancel news subscriptions<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li>A profile of <strong>Hasan Piker,<\/strong> the <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2025\/02\/hasan-piker-donald-trump-news-elon-musk-jd-vance.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">online news pundit<\/a> attracting young, left-leaning men &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>The New York Times<\/strong> greenlights <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/02\/16\/2025\/new-york-times-goes-all-in-on-internal-ai-tools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI tools for internal use<\/a> &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>Italy\u2019s national journalist union<\/strong> submits <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/feb\/19\/journalists-launch-legal-action-against-italian-government-over-spyware-claims\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal action against government<\/a> over spyware concerns &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Pentagon spokesperson invites <strong>conservative radio hosts<\/strong> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/02\/18\/conservative-radio-hosts-invited-broadcast-pentagon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">broadcast from the Pentagon<\/a> &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udcc5\u00a0<strong>Looking ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this week, the American Journalism Project <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/02\/18\/local-news-knight-foundation-ajp-investment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> that the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will invest <strong>$25 million<\/strong> in the venture philanthropy initiative to <strong>\u201caccelerate the growth of nonprofit local news organizations nationwide.\u201d<\/strong> (The Knight Foundation is also a partner to Pew Research Center through the Pew-Knight Initiative.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These efforts follow <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/fact-sheet\/newspapers\/#economics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decades of steep decline<\/a> in newspaper revenues nationwide. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/05\/07\/americans-views-on-the-financial-health-of-local-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 Pew Research Center survey<\/a>, <strong>most U.S. adults (63%) think their local news outlets are doing very or somewhat well financially,<\/strong> although this share is down somewhat since 2018 (from 71%). While 85% of Americans say local news is at least somewhat important to the well-being of their local community, just 15% say they have paid for local news in the past year (whether through subscriptions, donations or memberships).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/04\/29\/nonprofit-news-outlets-are-playing-a-growing-role-in-statehouse-coverage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2022 Center analysis<\/a>, <strong>nonprofit news organizations are playing an increasing role in covering state capitols.<\/strong> The number of nonprofit news reporters who cover state capitols nearly quadrupled between 2014 to 2022, and these journalists accounted for 20% of the nation\u2019s total statehouse press corps in 2022, up from 6% eight years before.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udcca\u00a0<strong>Chart of the week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week\u2019s chart is a look into\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/02\/19\/no-consensus-on-who-comes-to-mind-when-americans-are-asked-to-name-a-news-influencer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our new analysis<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0<strong>who Americans think of as news influencers on social media.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an open-ended question, we asked U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from news influencers to name the first one who comes to mind for them. The most frequently mentioned news influencers included\u00a0<strong>Philip DeFranco<\/strong>\u00a0(volunteered by 3%),\u00a0<strong>Tucker Carlson<\/strong>\u00a0(2%),\u00a0<strong>Ben Shapiro<\/strong>\u00a0(2%),\u00a0<strong>V Spehar from Under the Desk News<\/strong>\u00a0(2%),\u00a0<strong>Carlos Eduardo Espina<\/strong>\u00a0(2%) and\u00a0<strong>President Donald Trump<\/strong>\u00a0(2%).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eae8e8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eae8e8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"1364\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/SR_25.02.19_news-influencer-open-end_1_9de0a8.png?resize=480,1056 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/SR_25.02.19_news-influencer-open-end_1_9de0a8.png?resize=620,1364 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/02\/SR_25.02.19_news-influencer-open-end_1_9de0a8.png\" alt=\"This is a bar chart with the left side showing the share of Americans who regularly get news from news influencers on social media who volunteered different types of creators when asked to identify the first news influencer who comes to mind. Responses were coded into several categories, including individuals, media outlets, social media sites, search engine or news aggregator, and Don\u2019t know\/no response. The right side is a list of most frequently mentioned individuals.\" class=\"wp-image-200304 not-transparent\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\ud83d\udc4b That\u2019s all for this week.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by Anna Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Do you like this newsletter? Email us at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:journalism@pewresearch.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">journalism@pewresearch.org<\/a> or fill out this <a href=\"https:\/\/us1.list-manage.com\/survey?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&amp;id=449f3c3d35&amp;attribution=false\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/us1.list-manage.com\/survey?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&amp;id=449f3c3d35&amp;attribution=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two-question survey<\/a> to tell us what you think<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!\u00a0The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! In today\u2019s email: \ud83d\udd25\u00a0Featured story In the wake of President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2024 election victory, Democrats and left-leaning influencers are\u00a0grappling with the changing digital media ecosystem\u00a0and its role in the election outcome.\u00a0 A\u00a0recent Pew Research Center study of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5591,"template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","prc_watchers":[],"footnotes":"","prc_email_subject":"Democrats consider digital media strategy post-election","prc_email_preview_text":"Plus, a new analysis of who Americans think of as social media news influencers","prc_email_template_slug":"","prc_email_mailchimp_audience_id":"","prc_email_mailchimp_segment_id":"","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_id":"","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_admin_url":"","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_status":"","prc_email_mailchimp_pending_send_at":"","prc_email_mailchimp_delayed_send_cancelled":""},"categories":[],"bylines":[],"prc_newsletter_list":[3083],"_post_visibility":[2643],"formats":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-311700","prc_email_campaign","type-prc_email_campaign","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","_post_visibility-hidden-on-index"],"label":"Newsletter","post_parent":0,"word_count":765,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/newsletter\/the-briefing\/democrats-consider-digital-media-strategy-post-election\/","charts":[],"art_direction":{"A1":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":"5591","rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/07\/briefing_featured_image_2-1.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"prc_checklist":{},"watchChildPosts":false,"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Democrats consider digital media strategy post-election","description":"\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!\u00a0The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! 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