Measuring people's news habits and attitudes has long been a key part of Pew Research Center's efforts to understand American society. Its surveys regularly ask Americans how closely they are following the news, where they get their news and how much they trust the news they see.
But as people are exposed to more information from more sources than ever before and lines blur between entertainment, commentary and other types of content, these questions are not as straight-forward as they once were. This unique study from the Pew-Knight Initiative explores the question: What is "news" to Americans – and what isn't?
Before the rise of digital and social media, researchers had long approached the question of what news is from the journalist perspective. Ideas of news were often tied to the institution of journalism, and journalists defined news and determined what was newsworthy. “News” was considered information produced and packaged within news organizations for a passive audience, with emphasis (particularly in the United States) placed on a particular tone, a set of values and the idea of journalism playing a civic role in promoting an informed public.
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