Overview

• Pew’s April survey of more than 9,300 U.S. adults finds 59% consider journalists very or extremely important to society.
• Nearly half (49%) say journalists are losing influence, with only 15% seeing gains, a shift focus groups tie to the rise of alternative news sources and lower barriers to entry.
• Fewer than half (45%) express at least a fair amount of confidence that journalists act in the public interest.
• Large majorities want core traits from news providers: honesty, intelligence, authenticity, accurate reporting (over 90%), and correction of false claims by public figures (84%).
• Americans are split on who counts as a journalist, widely recognizing newspaper, TV, and radio reporters but less often podcast hosts (46%) or newsletter writers (40%), with sharp partisan and educational divides across measures.