2020 Voters Media Usage Study: California
In February 2020, TVB commissioned Dynata to conduct a study of registered Democratic voters in California to gain an understanding of media usage, and attitudes toward traditional and digital platforms. Over 1,200 respondents were surveyed and to qualify, each respondent had to be a registered Democratic voter and had to have been exposed to any of over 20 media (traditional or digital) in the prior 24-hour period.
Key findings:
- Among California’s Democratic registered voters, broadcast TV has the highest reach of all ad-supported platforms. This was also true with Hispanic Democratic voters, both English and Spanish-speaking,
- The primary source for news among California’s Democratic registered voters is broadcast TV, while cable TV news and social media were a distant second and third.
- 68% of registered Democratic voters find the problem with ‘fake news’ to be most prevalent on social media.
- There is strong concern among Hispanic Democrats in California about fake news on social media. When asked about trust in the news seen/heard on a multitude of media platforms, only 55% of Hispanic Democrats in California trusted news reported on social media while local broadcast TV captured 82% of trust. National broadcast TV news, which is viewed on the local broadcast stations, captured 85%.
- Local broadcast TV news is the most trusted media source among California’s Hispanic Democrats, while social media was second, and cable TV news a distant third.
- Female registered Democratic voters in California, whether living in the urban or suburban/rural areas, regard local broadcast TV news as one of the most-trusted sources, more than news on cable TV, radio, and social media.
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Persons 18+, N = 1208
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Persons 18+, N = 1208
Q5 – Which one of the following sources, if any, would you say is your primary source for news?
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Persons 18+, N = 1208
Q7 I find the problem with “fake news” to be most prevalent on…
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Hispanics 18+ Total, N = 452
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Hispanics 18+, N = 452
Q5 – Which one of the following sources, if any, would you say is your primary source for news?
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Hispanics 18+, N = 452
Q7 I find the problem with “fake news” to be most prevalent on…
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey Hispanics 18+, N = 452
Q6 Agree Strongly or Agree Somewhat. For each source, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: I trust the News that I see/hear on this media source.
Source: Dynata 2020 California Registered Democratic Voter media survey W18+ Urban/City, N = 274; Suburban or Rural, N = 355
Q6 Agree Strongly or Agree Somewhat. For each source, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: I trust the News that I see/hear on this media source.