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And for once, Democrats and Republicans actually agree on something
If you’ve ever felt like your town doesn’t get nearly enough coverage, you’re not alone. According to a new poll from the Rutgers-Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, two-thirds of New Jersey residents want more local news and they want it regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.
The poll found that 65% of New Jerseyans say they would like to receive more news about their local area, while just 4% say they’d like to see less.
Statewide news isn’t far behind: 56% would like more coverage of New Jersey as a whole.
What makes these numbers interesting is who’s saying it. Sixty-four percent of Republicans, 64% of independents, and 66% of Democrats all said they want more local coverage. This makes this one of the rare issues where pretty much everyone is on the same page.
“Bipartisan agreement on anything is notable right now, and we see it on a critical issue that sits at the very foundation of an informed democracy,” said Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling. She noted that the appetite for more local news is clear, but the real question is whether the infrastructure actually exists to meet that demand, or whether social media is stepping in to fill the gap instead.
So How’s Local News Actually Doing?
The demand for more local coverage makes a lot more sense when you look at how residents feel about what they’re already getting. Only 11% of New Jerseyans say local news in their area does “very well” at keeping them informed on the issues that matter most. Another 44% say it does “somewhat well,” while 24% say “not very well” and 15% say “not well at all.”
That’s nearly 4 in 10 residents who feel their local news is falling short.
There are also some notable gaps in who feels well-served. Democrats are the most satisfied, with 63% feeling at least “somewhat well” informed. Republicans trail significantly, with just 46% saying the same, and independents fall in the middle at 52%.
Women (58%) are more likely than men (50%) to feel at least somewhat well-informed by their local coverage.
Geographically, one region stands out as particularly underserved: the Jersey Shore is the only part of the state where fewer than half of residents feel “very well” or “somewhat well” informed, coming in at just 47%.
What People Actually Want Covered
The types of stories people are hungry for aren’t exactly breaking-news drama.
According to Lisa Sahulka, executive director of the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium (which partnered with Rutgers-Eagleton on the poll), residents want coverage of things like new businesses opening, town council meetings, infrastructure proposals, and community-building events — the everyday stuff that shapes life in their neighborhoods but rarely gets national attention.
The desire for more coverage holds across income levels, age groups, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and regions of the state. Half or more of every demographic group surveyed said they want more local and statewide news.
About the Poll
The Rutgers-Eagleton Poll surveyed 1,568 New Jersey adults from March 27 to 30, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. The survey was conducted in both English and Spanish through the Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel.
