Latinos are getting their news mostly in English and from digital sources, according to a new Pew Research Center study, which also found significant nuances in how this bicultural and often bilingual set of the American population stays informed.
The study shows how their changing demographics and language dynamics are having an impact in the way Latinos consume news.
Almost 1 in 5 Americans, 62.6 million, are Hispanic, according to the 2020 census, a 23% increase from 2010, mainly driven by U.S.-born Latinos. But even though the Hispanic population is growing fast, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home has decreased. Also, the median age in Latino adults is about 30, which is younger than other racial or ethnic groups.
While Latinos overall prefer to get their news digitally and in English, their news consumption habits are more nuanced, based on how long they have lived in the U.S.
Who follows the news closely?
About 1 in 5 Latinos (22%) said they closely follow the news all or most of the time — down from 28% in 2022, according to Pew.
The pattern echoes a larger nationwide trend showing that the share of all U.S. adults who reported closely following the news has been declining.
Additionally, Latino adults tend to be younger than other groups, and younger people are less likely to follow the news closely, according to Pew.
About a third (36%) of Latinos said they follow the news some of the time, while 23% said they do so every now and then. Seventeen percent reported they hardly ever follow the news.
Most of the Latinos who reported following the news closely are over the age of 50 or have a college degree, the study found.
A quarter of Latinos who reported getting their news mostly in English said they follow the news all or most of the time. Only 19% of those who reported getting their news mostly in Spanish said they closely follow the news, and 21% of Latinos who get their news in both languages equally said they closely follow the news.
By the numbers: How Latinos consume news
A little more than a half of the Latinos living in the U.S. (54%) get their news predominantly in English, according to the study.
The other half of the Hispanic population is virtually split — with 21% reporting they get most of their news in Spanish and 23% reporting that they consume news equally in English and Spanish.
Eighty one percent of Latinos who were born in the U.S. said they get their news mainly in English.
But those born outside the mainland U.S. have more varied news consumption habits: they consume news predominantly in Spanish (41%) followed by primarily in English (26% ) and then in both languages equally (31%).
Among Latino immigrants, those who have lived in the U.S. longer are less inclined to get news in Spanish, according to the study.
What language do bilingual Latinos prefer?
Among Hispanic people who speak both English and Spanish, 55% said they are getting their news in English and 34% reported consuming news in both languages equally. Only 9% said they consume news predominantly in Spanish.
Regardless of language or platform, Latino news consumers mostly turn to Hispanic news outlets to get news about their countries of origin, according to Pew.
Their study defines Hispanic news outlets as those that focus on providing news and information specifically to Hispanic audiences. These can include newspapers, radio, TV stations, podcasts or social media accounts. Their content could be in Spanish, English or in both languages.
Spanish-speaking Latinos, including those who are bilingual, make up the majority of the audience for Hispanic media outlets, according to Pew.
About a third of Latinos who reported consuming information from Hispanic news outlets at least sometimes (34%) get most of their overall news mostly in Spanish. About another third (35%) said they consume news equally in both languages, while 29% said they get most of their overall news mainly in English.
Nearly two-thirds of Latinos (63%) who consume information from Hispanic media outlets are immigrants and are more likely to have lower incomes, the study found.
Most Latino adults (65%) prefer to get their news from digital sources using smartphones, computers, or tablets, the study found.
Their preferred digital sources are:
Social media (21%)
News websites or apps (19%)
Search (18%)
Podcasts (7%)
Almost a quarter (23%) of Hispanic people prefer getting their news on television and about 8% prefer radio or newspapers.
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