Despite declining public attention to local news, many Americans express positive feelings about their local news media.

For instance, most U.S. adults (85%) believe local news outlets are at least somewhat important to the well-being of their local community, including 44% who say they are extremely or very important.

Those who feel more attached to their local communities are especially likely to hold this view: Around two-thirds of Americans who feel very attached to their communities (66%) see local news outlets as extremely or very important, compared with around a third (31%) of those who feel not very or not at all attached.

Older adults also are more likely to perceive local journalism as important to their community. Around half of U.S. adults ages 50 and older (51%) say local news outlets are extremely or very important, compared with 38% of adults under 50 – including 34% of those ages 18 to 29.

Most U.S. adults also think their local news media are doing their jobs well in several areas – largely unchanged from 2018.

About seven-in-ten Americans say their local journalists are doing a good job of reporting news accurately (71%) and covering the most important stories and issues (68%). People are modestly less likely to believe their local news media are performing well at being transparent about their reporting (63%) and keeping an eye on local political leaders (61%). The share who say local media are doing well as political watchdogs is down slightly from 66% in 2018.

About a third of U.S. adults say their local news media are not doing well at keeping an eye on local political leaders (35%) or being transparent about their reporting (34%).

Read the full article about community perspectives on local news by Elisa Shearer , Katerina Eva Matsa , Michael Lipka , Kirsten Eddy, and Naomi Forman-Katz at Pew Research Center.