Survey finds Virginians consider local news outlets to be most trustworthy sources

Local newspapers are the most trusted and useful sources of news among readers of such outlets in Virginia and the general public, according to one of the largest research studies into attitudes about the news media in the commonwealth.

“A Quantitative Look at Attitudes Toward Virginia’s Newspapers,” a comprehensive survey of more than 6,400 Virginia adults, found that three in four readers of Virginia newspapers (75%) regard local newspapers as useful sources of news, slightly ahead of TV and radio news (71%), national newspapers (69%) and other outlets. At the same time, almost two-thirds (63%) of Virginia readers rank local newspapers as the most trusted news source among all kinds of news outlets.

“The news media has undergone a seismic shift over the past quarter-century, but through it all there has been one notable constant: the trust in local newspapers among a vast majority of Virginians,” said Betsy Edwards, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, which retained Richmond-based SIR to undertake the broad-ranging research. “Virginia’s newspapers have quietly pivoted to new revenue models and harnessed digital resources, all while objectively serving local communities with facts, information and insights.”

Among other key findings from the study:

• 92% of Virginia news readers and 75% of the general public believe local news is a vital source for keeping citizens informed about their local community. Similarly, 90% of Virginia readers and 73% of the public agree that local newspapers keep elected officials accountable.

• more than four in five Virginia news readers see local newspapers as a necessary part of the fabric of the community, a finding that ranges from 84% among urban/suburban weeklies to 89% among small/rural dailies.

• although 63% of readers of Virginia newspapers find local newspapers trustworthy, only 50% of the general public does. Those figures are higher than the trustworthiness percentages among other categories of news outlets such as podcasts (13%) and social media sites (4%) as ranked by Virginia news readers.

• about three in five (58%) of Virginia news readers believe that local newspapers reflect the diverse viewpoints, stories and individuals in the local community, while 43% think that the local papers represent people like them and 36% say they have a lot of influence in the community.

• 77% of Virginia news readers subscribe to a local newspaper, vs. 26% of the general public. The single biggest reason cited for not subscribing is the availability of free local news, a rationale given by 42% of the general public and 50% of Virginia news readers.

“While the research results underscore the vital role that newspapers play in their communities and in a democracy in general, it also exposed some areas where the public believes newspapers can do better,” Edwards said. “These are important findings as local newspapers continue to find ways to fulfill their mission in a way that provides value to their readers.”

Data was compiled through an online survey completed by 1,444 Virginia adults who read the news at least weekly and of 5,014 readers of Virginia newspapers whose email addresses were provided by many of the 160 VPA member publications. The surveys were conducted in the summer of 2021.