(Pew Research Center) The COVID-19 outbreak has been a major national news story, dominating news consumption and prompting frequent presidential press conferences. But it is also an important local news story, with many Americans depending on their local media outlets for information about the outbreak.
In an April survey by Pew Research Center, conducted as part of the American News Pathways project, about six-in-ten Americans (61%) said they were following news about the coronavirus outbreak at both the national and local level equally. Around a quarter (23%) said they were paying more attention to news at the local level, while 15% said they were focused more on COVID-19 news at the national level.