Insights
Key findings, reports, and analysis from the Civic Information Needs Census (CINC).
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Americans report major gaps in local information
On many topics critical to overall civic health, there are double-digit gaps between the importance Americans place in having local information and their satisfaction with what's available.
Importance: How important is it to you to stay informed about each of the following in your day-to-day life?
Satisfaction: When you seek out news and information about each of the following topics, how satisfied or unsatisfied are you with the information you are able to get?
The Proximity Paradox: it's harder to stay informed about your neighborhood than about another country
Americans report that it is easier to get information about things that are farther away. 44% say it's difficult to get information about what's happening in their neighborhood, compared to 27-30% for what's happening nationally or around the world.
% who say it is somewhat or very difficult to get information
How difficult is it for you to get information about each of the following in your day-to-day life?
Urban centers have larger information gaps for transportation
Residents of New York City and Chicago consider transportation info far more important (83-90%) than the national average (56%), but their satisfaction is similar (64%-65%), creating significant negative gaps in cities vs a positive gap nationally.
Importance: How important is it for you to get information about each of the following topics in your everyday life?
Satisfaction: When you seek out news and information about each of the following topics, how satisfied or unsatisfied are you with the information you are able to get?
Parents have the highest information gaps for education
Education is not in the top 5 topical information gaps for the overall population, but for parents, it is by far the number one topic.
Importance: How important is it for you to get information about each of the following topics in your everyday life?
Satisfaction: When you seek out news and information about each of the following topics, how satisfied or unsatisfied are you with the information you are able to get?
Trump and Harris 2024 voters alike report major local information gaps
Trump and Harris 2024 voters both report significant unmet information needs across nearly all topics.
Gap: Satisfaction − Importance. Importance: % who say a topic is important. Satisfaction: % satisfied with ability to get information on topic.
Importance: How important is it for you to get information about each of the following topics in your everyday life?
Satisfaction: When you seek out news and information about each of the following topics, how satisfied or unsatisfied are you with the information you are able to get?
Reports & Coverage
A new study: Black residents of Augusta, Georgia have big information needs on economic opportunities and the environment
A new CINC survey of 524 Black adults in the Georgia city shows news and information priorities and sources differ by age and gender.
A new study: Arkansas residents are unsatisfied with local news and information, and hungry for more investigative journalism
A recent Civic Information Needs Census study finds that residents turn to informal and self-directed sources over traditional outlets.
Study: Marin County residents find local news much more difficult to access than national news
A survey of 832 adults in the area also identified significant information needs on local topics like politics, the environment, and public safety.
Tampa Bay residents report information gaps on the environment, politics, and public safety
The first Tampa Bay Civic Information Needs Census — 1,006 residents across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties — also offers insights into trusted sources of local information and civic participation rates.
A new Chicago CINC: safety, environment, and emergency prep top information needs
The second Chicago Civic Information Needs Census also offers new insights into generational shifts in trusted sources and divides in civic engagement within the city.
Chicago Public Media readies chicago.com, a citywide community hub
Chicago Public Media's plans for a citywide news hub draw on CINC findings that 37% of Chicagoans find it difficult to get neighborhood-level information.
— current.org
Study finds Marin residents face nation's widest gap in finding local vs. national news
Coverage of the Marin County CINC, which found the widest local-vs-national news access gap of any CINC survey to date — 51% of residents find local news hard to get, versus 21% for national.
— localnewsmatters.org
The American Journalism Project's Weekly Wire highlights five CINC studies on the Proximity Paradox
“In five successive studies, the Civic Information Needs Census (CINC) has found that Americans say it is harder to find news about their own neighborhood — and in four of the five, their own town or city — than about the country and the world.”
— theajp.org
Americans Find It Easier to Find News About the World Than Their Own Community
Four new CINC studies — in Chicago, Marin County, Tampa Bay, and Arkansas — deepen the “Proximity Paradox”: in every survey, people say local news is harder to get than national or international news.
Study Reveals Americans Find It Harder to Get News About Their Neighborhood Than About the World
CINC launches partner program to catalyze local information needs measurement in communities around the country.
Rebuild Local News's Press Advocate spotlights CINC's local-news gap
“A recent national survey from the Civic Information Needs Census (CINC) reveals that Americans are far more likely to struggle getting information about their own neighborhood (44%) than about national (26%) or even international news (30%).”
— rebuildlocalnews.org
CNN's Reliable Sources spotlights CINC's second national survey
“This Civic Info Needs Census shows that ‘Americans find it harder to stay informed about their neighborhoods, towns, and cities than about national and international news.’”
— cnn.com
6 Takeaways from a New Report on the Local Information Needs of New Yorkers
New York City shows the largest information gaps of any survey conducted, with residents particularly underserved on education, housing, and public safety information.
What New Yorkers Want from Education News
Chalkbeat examines what the CINC NYC survey reveals about New Yorkers' education information needs and preferences.
The American Journalism Project's Weekly Wire cites the Civic Information Needs Census
“Americans find it harder to stay informed about their neighborhoods, towns, and cities than about national and international news, according to a new study released today by the Civic Information Needs Census (CINC).”
— theajp.org
6 Big Takeaways on America's Local Information Needs
Key findings from our national survey of over 2,000 Americans reveal significant gaps between how important local information is and how satisfied people are getting it.
5 Takeaways from a New Report on Chicago's Information Needs
Chicago residents report larger unmet information needs than the national average on every topic surveyed, with transportation and education gaps standing out.
To Promote Civic Information, We Need to Measure It
Kang-Xing Jin argues that healthy media ecosystems depend on understanding community information needs, and introduces the Civic Information Needs Census as a survey-based measurement approach.
Rebuild Local News's Press Advocate highlights CINC's first national survey
“The Civic News Company released The Local Information Needs of Americans, a survey on Americans’ satisfaction with the information they get on important topics.”
— rebuildlocalnews.org
CNN's Reliable Sources previews CINC's first national information-needs report
“Civic News Company … is publishing a ‘census’ report about what Americans say is important … and how they rate the quality of the information about it. As you might expect, there are big gaps between ‘importance’ and ‘satisfaction.’”
— cnn.com
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