5 facts about the state of the news media in 2017

Every year since 2004, Pew Research Center has issued an annual assessment of the state of the news media that tracks key audience and economic indicators for a variety of sectors within the US news media industry. Here are the key findings for 2017:

1. The audience for nearly every major sector of the US news media fell in 2017 – with the only exception being radio. Circulation for US daily newspapers, whose audience has been steadily declining for several decades, fell by 11% in 2017.
2. The “post-election slump” for TV viewership explains audience declines for cable and local TV – but not network.
3. Cable networks stand out for revenue growth, and network news’ economic picture was stable.
4. Digital advertising revenue continues to grow, but little of it benefits news organizations. 
5. Hispanic media also experienced audience declines.