According to a study by Magid and commissioned by the Radio Television Digital News Association, most U.S. local news consumers want journalists to ask tough, but respectful, questions of candidates and regularly fact check those running for office. RTDNA released the data at its RTDNA23 in Minneapolis. The study finds 62% of local news viewers and listeners say it is “very important” that local sources and
journalists “ask tough, but respectful questions to get answers,” and 61% say it is very important they fact-check those candidates. RTDNA president and CEO Dan Shelley comments, “In our highly polarized society, Americans need to rely on their trusted local sources of news to get the facts about candidates, campaigns and other political issues. These findings offer a clear roadmap to ensure local reporters and news managers are providing voters with the information they crave to make critical decisions in the voting booth.” Other data from the study reflects news consumers’ attitudes about news organizations, finding that 47% of those surveyed said they were in strong agreement that the information they get from local news sources is accurate and correct. That number drops to 41% when local news outlets cover political issues. It also found that just 39% of people were in strong agreement that local news sources were balanced and represented all sides of an issue. See more from the RTDNA here.
