The latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey is out and the researchers say that “radio news content held broadly steady in 2025, with 76.7% of surveyed stations reporting they run local news – up 6.2 points and marking a third consecutive year of growth.” Other key findings from the survey 
include: 1) Commercial stations produce news at a notably higher rate than non-commercial stations (65.7% versus 62.6%), though the commercial figure fell nearly 10 points from last year while non-commercial stations edged up slightly; 2) Locally owned stations are now nearly 40% more likely to air news than non-locally owned stations; 3) The typical (median) amount of weekday local news rose to 50 minutes, up 10 minutes from last year, though average minutes swung sharply depending on market size – major markets saw an enormous drop in average weekday minutes, which researchers attribute to unusual data the prior year rather than a real decline, while large and medium markets saw increases.
The study also found that more radio news managers planned to increase local news production in 2026 than actually increased it in 2025, a pattern consistent with prior years in which projected changes tend to outpace realized ones. Major-market stations anticipate the largest gains (31.6%), followed by medium, large and small markets.
This annual survey, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025, drew responses from more than 1,100 television stations and nearly 600 radio stations, and is supported by the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association. See more about the report here.