Do most American prefer watching or reading the news?

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More Americans prefer to watch the news than read or listen to it

By Emily Tomasik and Christopher St. Aubin, Pew Research

The information environment has experienced major changes in recent years, from the rise of podcasts and news influencers on social media to declining audiences for traditional news outlets. But overall, there has been little shift in the way Americans prefer to get their news – whether by watching it, reading it or listening to it.

The most common way that Americans prefer to get their news is by watching it: 44% of U.S. adults say this, according to an August 2025 Pew Research Center survey. A smaller share (37%) prefers to get news by reading it, while 19% prefer listening to the news.

These numbers are nearly unchanged from 2018 – the last time we asked this question – when 47% of Americans preferred to get news by watching it, 34% by reading it and 19% by listening to it.

News watchers prefer television, readers prefer digital devices

There are many ways to watch news, from traditional cable or network TV to streaming services and social media. A rising share of Americans have been getting news from YouTube and TikTok.

Still, a majority of Americans who prefer to watch the news (62%) say they prefer to get it from TV, rather than another platform. An additional 34% say they prefer digital devices – including 12% who favor social media and 11% who prefer news websites or apps.

Americans who prefer to read the news overwhelmingly prefer to do so digitally (80%). This includes 39% who prefer to get their news from news websites or apps and smaller shares who prefer social media (19%) or search engines (14%).

Among Americans who prefer to listen to the news, about half (52%) prefer to do so on digital devices – including 21% who say they favor podcasts as a news platform. One-in-five news listeners prefer to get news from radio, and a similar share like TV best (23%).

A majority of Americans ages 65 and older prefer to watch news

Older adults are more likely to prefer watching news; younger adults more likely to prefer reading it

More than half of U.S. adults ages 65 and older (57%) prefer to watch their news. This group is also more likely to get news on TV and to prefer TV as a news platform, according to previous Center research.

Younger age groups are more mixed in their preferences. Among adults under age 30, the largest share prefers to get news by reading it (45%), while 31% say they prefer watching it and 23% prefer listening to it.