Monitoring trends for over 75 years
Sources of Economic News and Information for Consumers May 3, 2024
Joanne Hsu, PhD, Director
© The University of Michigan, 2024. All rights reserved.
Consumers incorporate a variety of information about the economy
when forming their views and expectations: their own direct
experiences, what they discuss with peers; what they read or hear
about in the news. The Surveys of Consumers have continuously
asked consumers what, if anything, they have heard about
developments in business conditions. With the proliferation in
internet access over the last two or so decades, news cycles have
accelerated, and information can now be accessed at any time in a
wider variety of formats, including social media, podcasts, and
news aggregators, among others. The impact can be seen in the
share of consumers reporting hearing unfavorable news about
inflation or higher prices, which was much higher in 2022 than during the objectively worse inflation episodes of the 1970s.
Between January and April 2024, the Surveys of Consumers asked 2,409 respondents open-ended questions about how or
where they obtain most of their information about the economy.
Consumers draw from a wide variety of sources when forming their economic views
Figure 2 displays the most
commonly cited sources of
economic information. The
appendix at the end of this report
details how responses were
classified; note that up to three
source types per consumer were
coded. Mainstream news,
other/general/unspecified news
sources, and non-social media
internet sources were the most frequently cited sources, at over 30% of consumers each. About 20% of consumers cited
word-of-mouth sources, which include friends, co-workers, and family. Business news and partisan news sources were
mentioned by 18% and 15% of consumers, respectively. Mentions of social media sources were not widespread, at 13%,
and fewer than 10% of consumers mentioned following the stock market or their personal experiences.
Some information sources are associated with more favorable economic news and higher levels of sentiment than
others
Figure 3 displays a scatterplot of the favorability of news heard against the sentiment index for each information source.
The least favorable readings seen in the lower-left corner
came from consumers referring to their own experiences
and word-of-mouth as sources of information about the
economy. At the other end of the spectrum in the upper
right, those citing mainstream and business news have
the most favorable levels of sentiment. Taken together,
some consumers appear to have experiences (or know of
others who have experiences) with the economy that
diverge from the more positive portrayals noticed by
consumers following mainstream or business news.
Those referencing general/other news sources, and
0
10
20
30
40
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
% of Consumers Mentioning
Figure 1: Unfavorable News Heard About Higher
Prices (3-Month Moving Averages)
0
10
20
30
40
Mainstream
News
Business
News
Partisan
News
General/
Other News
Social
Media
General/
Other Internet
Stock
Market
Word of
Mouth
Personal
Experiences
% of Consumers Mentioning
Figure 2: Shares of Consumers Mentioning Information Source
50
60
70
80
90
100
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Index of Consumer Sentiment
(Higher is more favorable)
Net Favorability of News Heard (Higher is more favorable)
Figure 3: Favorability of News Reported and Sentiment,
by Information Source
Mainstream News
Business News
Stock Market
All Consumers
Partisan News
Internet (General/Other)
News (General/Other)
Social Media
Word of Mouth
Personal Experiences
Monitoring trends for over 75 years
© The University of Michigan, 2024. All rights reserved.
general/other internet sources report levels of sentiment and favorability of news heard that are very close to the overall
averages, shown in red. This likely reflects the broad variety of underlying information sources that might be included in
these catch-all categories.
The upward slope of the points on Figure 3 indicates that more favorable news heard is associated with higher levels of
sentiment. Note that the relationship may not necessarily be causal; one alternative possibility is that consumers may
gravitate toward news or information sources that confirm their existing impressions of the economy. Further research
would be needed to shed light on the nature of this relationship.
Partisan news is associated with more negative views for Republicans, and more positive views for Democrats and
Independents
As seen in Figure 3 above, followers of partisan news sources exhibited sentiment levels and favorability ratings of news
heard close to the overall averages, a reflection of the blend of sources at different parts of the political spectrum included
in this category. When looking separately by political party, divergent trends are clearly visible. Partisan news is associated
with lower sentiment and more negative news for Republicans, but the opposite is true for Democrats as well as
Independents. As a result, Democrats and Republicans who mention partisan news are further from the national average
than those who do not. Taken together, partisan news appears to amplify differences in views between Democrats and
Republicans.
References to mainstream news sources exhibit strong partisan differences; other sources less so
Figure 4 displays partisan differences in the sources of economic news mentioned by consumers. Mainstream news exhibited
the largest partisan difference by far; about half of Democrats mentioned mainstream news sources, followed by 27% of
Independents and only 16% of Republicans. The most common responses for Republicans were general or other unclassified
sources of news (38% of Republicans) and internet sources (37% of Republicans), though Democrats and Independents also
cited these sources at similarly high rates. About 21% of Republicans mentioned partisan news sources, compared with a
still-notable 15% of Democrats. Independents were least likely to mention partisan news sources.
Yes No Yes No Yes No
Net Favorability of
News Heard
143 123 99 68 31 47
Consumer Sentiment
109.5 98.9 83.3 72.7 52.7 64.5
Democrats
Table 1: Average Sentiment and News Heard, by Partisan
News and Party Affiliation
Mentioned Partisan
News?
RepublicansIndependents
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Mainstream
News
Business
News
Partisan
News
General/
Other News
Social
Media
General/
Other Internet
Stock
Market
Word of
Mouth
Personal
Experiences
% of Consumers Mentioning
Figure 4: Sources of Economic Information, by Political Party
Democrats Independents Republicans
Monitoring trends for over 75 years
© The University of Michigan, 2024. All rights reserved.
Information sources vary across age, income, and education
There was little variation in age across specific types of news outlets, with average ages between 54 and 58. Consumers
mentioning general internet sources, personal observations, or word-of-mouth were somewhat younger (average ages
between 47 and 51). The youngest group by far was consumers mentioning social media, with an average age of 36.
Consumers citing social media were also lower-income and less-educated, though these characteristics are highly correlated
with age, as some younger consumers may not have completed their schooling.
Consumers relying on personal experiences as sources of economic information are least likely to have a college degree and
also have lower incomes relative to those citing most other sources. Recall that consumers citing personal experiences report
hearing strongly unfavorable news about the economy and have the lowest levels of sentiment (see Figure 3); their
demographic characteristics suggest that their views of the economy may be informed by having more vulnerable financial
circumstances.
Mainstream Business Partisan
General/
Other
Social
Media
General/
Other
Stock
Markets
Word of
Mouth
Personal
Experiences
Average Age 54 54 58 56 36 49 55 51 47
Median Income $100,000 $135,000 $90,000 $80,000 $80,000 $95,000 $105,000 $90,000 $80,000
% with College Degree
66 74 51 49 41 54 58 49 32
News Outlets Internet Sources
Table 2: Demographic Characteristics of Consumers, by Information Source
Monitoring trends for over 75 years
© The University of Michigan, 2024. All rights reserved.
Appendix
Text of Questions
During the last few months, have you heard of any favorable or unfavorable changes in business conditions? What did
you hear?
We are interested in how people get information about current business conditions and the economy. Where do you get
most of your information about the economy? (PROBE: Anything else?)
Classification of Information Sources
Up to three types of sources were coded for each respondent. If respondents mentioned more than three types of sources,
the first three distinct source types were coded. As a result, percentages in figures 2 and 4 do not add up to 100.
Mainstream news: national television and radio broadcast networks (for example, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR,
Telemundo, Univision), CNN, newspapers or magazines with national or international readership (such as Time,
Newsweek, Reuters, USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, the Guardian), mentions of “national
news.”
Business news: outlets focused on business or financial market news, including Wall Street Journal, CNBC,
Financial Times, Fox Business News, Bloomberg News, Forbes, Marketwatch, Barrons.
Partisan news: all outlets listed as “Left” and “Right” in the All Sides Media Bias Chart (version 9.2)
News (Other/General): all named outlets not classified above, or mentions of “news” with no further specificity.
Social media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Reddit, LinkedIn, “social media” with no further
specificity. Mentions of the social media account of a specific news outlet were classified as the type of outlet in
the first four bullets.
Internet (Other/General): online news aggregators like Google News or Apple News; websites; podcasts; online
videos or research; nonspecific digital subscriptions; mentions of “internet” with no further specifics. Mentions of
websites of a specific news outlet were classified as the type of outlet in the first four bullets.
Word of mouth: references to hearsay, friends, family, business people, financial advisors, colleagues,
networking.
Personal experiences: for example, experiences with spending or shopping, work, personal observations.
Stock markets: for example, tracking personal investments, information from brokerage accounts
The following sources were also coded but were omitted in the analysis above due to small sample sizes (mentioned by
fewer than 2% of consumers):
Government statistics or reports, elected officials
Named public figures, including pundits, celebrities, non-elected political figures
Other
