{"id":325918,"date":"2026-07-01T16:01:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T20:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=prc_email_campaign&#038;p=325918"},"modified":"2026-07-09T13:46:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:46:37","slug":"which-americans-are-most-likely-to-have-spoken-with-a-local-journalist","status":"publish","type":"prc_email_campaign","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/newsletter\/the-briefing\/which-americans-are-most-likely-to-have-spoken-with-a-local-journalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Americans are most likely to have spoken with a local journalist?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-07-01T16:01:44-04:00\">July 1, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"the-briefing\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#2a2a2a;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:clamp(17.905px, 1.119rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 1.147), 28px);font-weight:700\">The Briefing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background\" style=\"background-color:#2a2a2a;color:#2a2a2a\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday!<\/strong> <em>The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. <a href=\"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&#8217;s email:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Featured story:<\/strong> NPR retracts\u00a0Alito retirement\u00a0story<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New from Pew Research Center: <\/strong>Which Americans are most likely to have spoken with a local journalist?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In other news:<\/strong> The Onion relaunches InfoWars website<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Looking ahead:<\/strong> C-SPAN program will help cover local midterm elections<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chart of the week:<\/strong> Where do Americans get local political news?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"featured-story\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#2a2a2a;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);\">\ud83d\udd25 <strong>Featured story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>NPR<\/strong>\u00a0on\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/30\/business\/media\/npr-samuel-alito-nina-totenberg.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted and retracted a story<\/a>\u00a0that incorrectly reported\u00a0<strong>Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito<\/strong> was retiring.\u00a0Veteran\u00a0journalist\u00a0Nina Totenberg, who\u00a0wrote\u00a0the article,\u00a0said\u00a0she\u00a0mistakenly\u00a0believed a court announcement about upcoming retirements referred to Alito.\u00a0The\u00a0story was\u00a0published for\u00a0only a few minutes before being removed, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/npr-public-editor\/2026\/06\/30\/g-s1-131107\/npr-retracts-story-about-alito-retirement\">NPR issued a correction<\/a>.\u00a0Totenberg took responsibility for the\u00a0error\u00a0and personally apologized to Alito, saying she had\u00a0\u201cassumed something no reporter should ever do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most Americans say they\u00a0<strong>value transparency from journalists in how they handle mistakes.<\/strong>\u00a0In\u00a0a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2025\/08\/20\/how-do-americans-think-journalists-should-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 Center survey<\/a>, about two-thirds of U.S. adults (66%) said it is extremely or\u00a0very important\u00a0for journalists to share with their audiences how they handle mistakes in their work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"new-from-pew-research-center\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#2a2a2a;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);\">\ud83d\udea8 <strong>New from Pew Research Center<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About a quarter of Americans (23%) say they have ever<strong> spoken with or been interviewed by a local journalist or reporter, <\/strong>according to a new <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/06\/29\/which-americans-are-most-likely-to-have-spoken-with-a-local-journalist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pew Research Center analysis<\/a> from the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/collections\/pew-knight-initiative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pew-Knight Initiative<\/a>. Some groups are more likely than others to say this, including adults with more formal education and higher family incomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"in-other-news\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#2a2a2a;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);\">\ud83d\udccc <strong>In other news<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Onion<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbez.org\/media\/2026\/06\/29\/the-onion-relaunches-infowars-alex-jones-right-wing-conspiracy-website-this-week\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">relaunches<\/span><\/a> <strong>InfoWars <\/strong>website\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/supreme-court-declines-hear-alan-dershowitz-appeal-defamation-case-rcna346954\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Supreme Court denies<\/span><\/a> Alan Dershowitz appeal in defamation case against <strong>CNN<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>U.K. government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/06\/30\/media\/uk-discovery-wbd-merger-intl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">may challenge<\/span><\/a> <strong>Paramount-Warner Bros. <\/strong>merger<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New York Times<\/strong>\u2019 Wirecutter podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/current.org\/2026\/06\/new-york-times-to-bring-wirecutter-podcast-to-public-radio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">coming to public radio<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Committee to Protect Journalists <\/strong>will review its database of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/general-news\/press-freedom-group-gaza-journalists-database-1236633045\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">journalists killed in war zones<\/span><\/a> after previous errors\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Axel Springer<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2026\/jun\/30\/telegraph-takeover-germany-axel-springer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">completes takeover<\/span><\/a> of <strong>The Telegraph<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fact-checkers <\/strong>worldwide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niemanlab.org\/2026\/06\/at-globalfact-fact-checkers-reckon-with-declining-grant-funding-and-ai-generated-disinfo-on-the-rise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">face AI threats<\/span><\/a> and shrinking budgets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"looking-ahead\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#2a2a2a;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);\">\ud83d\udcc5 <strong>Looking ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>C-SPAN<\/strong>\u00a0has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thedesk.net\/2026\/06\/cspan-midterm-election-news-partnership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced a new initiative<\/a>\u00a0that will\u00a0<strong>send journalists to film candidate town halls,\u00a0forums\u00a0and campaign events<\/strong>\u00a0in at least 10 states during the 2026 midterm elections, then share the footage with nonprofit and independent local newsrooms\u00a0for free. The program is intended to address what C-SPAN describes as a growing shortage of local political journalism, particularly video coverage of congressional campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Americans do not widely see it as easy to find the news and information they need to take part in the local political process,<\/strong>\u00a0according to\u00a0a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/07\/24\/how-americans-get-local-political-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 Center survey<\/a>.\u00a0A much higher share of Americans say they are at least\u00a0somewhat interested\u00a0in news about local elections (70%) than say it is very or\u00a0somewhat easy\u00a0to find the information they need to make voting decisions (45%).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is\u00a0virtually no\u00a0difference between\u00a0the shares of\u00a0Democrats and Republicans (including independents who lean toward each party) who say it is easy to find the information they need to vote\u00a0in local elections. But younger adults are less likely than those ages 50 and older to say it is easy to\u00a0find this information.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"chart-of-the-week\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#2a2a2a;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);\">\ud83d\udcca <strong>Chart of the week<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week&#8217;s chart comes from a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2024\/07\/24\/how-americans-get-local-political-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 Center survey<\/a> that asked U.S. adults <strong>how they get news about local government and politics. <\/strong>Americans get this news from a variety of sources: the most common are <strong>friends, family and neighbors<\/strong> (70%) and <strong>local news outlets<\/strong> (66%). Just over half (54%) say they often or sometimes get local political news from <strong>social media.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/06\/PJ_2024.07.25_local-political-news-0-03.png?resize=620,810\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7654444523860577;object-fit:cover;width:420px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\ud83d\udc4b That&#8217;s all for this week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Christopher St. Aubin, Emily Tomasik, Joanne Haner, and Sawyer Reed. It is edited by Kirsten Eddy 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 <a href=\"mailto:journalism@pewresearch.org\">journalism@pewresearch.org<\/a> or fill out this <a href=\"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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Briefing \u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday! The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information. Sign up here! In today&#8217;s email: \ud83d\udd25 Featured story NPR\u00a0on\u00a0Tuesday\u00a0posted and retracted a story\u00a0that incorrectly reported\u00a0Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring.\u00a0Veteran\u00a0journalist\u00a0Nina Totenberg, who\u00a0wrote\u00a0the article,\u00a0said\u00a0she\u00a0mistakenly\u00a0believed a court announcement about upcoming retirements referred to Alito.\u00a0The\u00a0story was\u00a0published for\u00a0only a few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5591,"template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","prc_watchers":[],"footnotes":"","prc_email_subject":"Which Americans are more likely to have spoken with a journalist?\u00a0","prc_email_preview_text":"Plus, NPR retracts story mistakenly claiming that Justice Alito was retiring, The Onion relaunches InfoWars website","prc_email_template_slug":"","prc_email_mailchimp_audience_id":"3e953b9b70","prc_email_mailchimp_segment_id":"37","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_id":"0a4d0f8c5f","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_admin_url":"https:\/\/us1.admin.mailchimp.com\/campaigns\/edit?id=10343774","prc_email_mailchimp_campaign_status":"sent"},"categories":[],"prc_newsletter_list":[3083],"_post_visibility":[2643],"formats":[],"class_list":["post-325918","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":635,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/newsletter\/the-briefing\/which-americans-are-most-likely-to-have-spoken-with-a-local-journalist\/","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,"caption":""},"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,"caption":""},"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,"caption":""},"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,"caption":""},"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,"caption":""},"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,"caption":""}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Which Americans are most likely to have spoken with a local journalist?","description":"The Briefing \u2600\ufe0f Happy Thursday! 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