The line graph illustrates the percentage of people in the USA who accessed news through four different sources – websites, TV, print newspapers, and social media – between 2012 and 2015.
Overall, websites remained the most popular source of news throughout the period, while print newspapers experienced the most significant decline. In contrast, the proportion of people using social media increased steadily. TV was consistently the second most common source, although its popularity decreased slightly over time.
In 2012, around 78% of Americans obtained news from websites, compared with approximately 75% who watched TV news. The figures for print media and social media were much lower, at about 38% and 20%, respectively. By 2013, website usage had risen slightly to 80%, while TV reached its peak of roughly 77%. During the same year, print media also peaked at 50%, whereas social media increased to around 28%.
From 2013 onwards, the percentage of people relying on print newspapers fell dramatically, dropping to approximately 30% in 2014 and just 23% by 2015. Meanwhile, social media continued to gain popularity, reaching about 40% at the end of the period. Website usage increased gradually to just over 80% in 2015, whereas TV declined moderately to around 72%.