☀️ Happy Thursday! The Briefing updates you on what’s happened and what’s coming in the news and information world – and what our data tells us about it. Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here!
In today’s email:
- Top story: Police raid local Kansas newspaper and seize computers, reporting materials
- Under the radar: Some social media users are getting breaking news from pop culture accounts
- Looking ahead: A look at a network of partisan local newsrooms ahead of the 2024 election
- Chart of the week: Older and more experienced journalists are especially concerned about press freedoms
🔥 Top story
On Friday, law enforcement in Kansas raided the office of the Marion County Record, a family-owned weekly newspaper, and seized computers and reporting material. Experts are concerned that this unprecedented raid may be a violation of the freedom of press guaranteed by the First Amendment. A local prosecutor has now concluded that the raid was unwarranted.
Most journalists in the United States are highly concerned about the future of press freedoms in the country, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of nearly 12,000 journalists. 57% of U.S. journalists surveyed say they are extremely or very concerned about potential restrictions on press freedoms in the country.
(Refer to the chart below for more data on how journalists differ in their views toward the future of press freedoms in the U.S.)
🕵️ Under the radar
- A look at pop culture X (formerly Twitter) accounts and the rise of nontraditional news consumption
- Gen Z influencers are being recruited to defend impeached Texas attorney general
- How Fox leverages hit shows to charge higher carriage fees and keep Fox News on the air
- Local reporting on a businessman’s use of a slur spurs defamation suit and financial struggle
- How Spanish-language misinformation spreads on social media amid climate disasters
- Pro-government social media influencers in El Salvador seek to counter negative press from independent media
📅 Looking ahead
This week, we look at the growth of partisan news outlets ahead of the 2024 election. Progressive local news group Courier Newsroom is launching newsrooms in Nevada, Texas and New Hampshire. Courier is a part of a public benefit corporation that seeks to address disinformation through investment in local news outlets.
According to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 61% of Americans believe local journalists should not express their views on local issues, compared with 36% who say they should.
📊 Chart of the week
Debates about press freedom took center stage this week. Our 2022 survey of U.S. journalists found that older and more experienced journalists have higher levels of concern about potential restrictions on freedom of the press than their younger peers.
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert.
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