PRESS RELEASE
The Texas Lyceum Poll: Texans’ News Habits Show Both Stability and Change as Media Landscape Evolves
New data unveiled at the Texas Lyceum Conference highlights generational divides, enduring trust in local news, and the rising role of social media in media consumption habits
DALLAS – September 19, 2025 – The Texas Lyceum today released new findings from its 2025 Poll at the organization’s conference, Informing the Future: Instability and Innovation in Media, in Dallas. The newly released data, held from previous poll results specifically for the event, focuses on Texans’ media consumption habits, underscoring both the durable influence of traditional outlets like local news and the growing reliance on social media, especially among younger Texans.
The annual, nonpartisan, mixed-mode survey of 1,200 Texas adults explores some of the most pressing issues facing the state, while providing the public with a long-term series of data.
Local News Endures Amid a Fractured Media Landscape
Despite continuous disruption in the media industry, local news remains Texans’ most relied-upon source of information, with 25% saying they rely on it “a lot.” This is very closely followed by social media (24%), national news outlets (20%), and friends and family (19%), illustrating just how fragmented the modern media landscape has become.
“Local news remains a top source of information for many Texans, even if those options appear to be diminishing at a rapid rate,” said Joshua Blank, PhD, research director for The Texas Lyceum. “What remains unclear is what or who is going to fill in the gap for Texans seeking information, assuming a continued decline in the local news industry.”
For Younger Texans, Social Media Rivals Traditional Sources
The Poll highlights social media’s powerful role as a news source, especially among younger generations. Among Texans under 30, 47% say they rely on social media “a lot”, compared to just 7% of Texans over 65.
Most Texans Still See Their News as ‘Mainstream’
Even with the rise of partisan outlets and an increasingly fractured news environment, 56% of Texans consider their primary news source to be part of the “mainstream” media. Only 25% said their source was not mainstream, with 19% unsure.
“We are constantly reminded of the enduring power of the media and growing power of social media, and how both help to shape public discourse in American society,” said Frank Ward, chair of this year’s Texas Lyceum Poll. “Despite changing media habits–especially the influence of social media on people of all ages–these poll results indicate that a majority of Texans believe in the credibility of their news sources. In a time of rapidly increasing polarization and political discord, respondents make clear that trust in the news they consume still matters a great deal.”
Together, the findings reflect an industry balancing continuity with disruption: enduring trust in traditional sources like local news, rapid generational shifts toward digital platforms, and a public that still sees its chosen news sources as credible, despite widespread debate over bias and partisanship.
Trustworthy and Accurate Reporting is Critical to Democracy and Civility
“The news media must continue to play an essential role in our democracy as the 'fourth check' in our country’s check and balance system of government,” said Crayton Webb, the 2025 President of The Texas Lyceum and also a former journalist. “This new data from The Texas Lyceum Poll supports the idea that consumers of news still rely on traditional media to provide balanced and reliable information – and both sides of a story from an unbiased perspective. Trustworthy and accurate information from the media remains a critical element in a democracy to promote civil discourse and discussion as we debate public policy decisions.”
Earlier this year, The Texas Lyceum launched a national Campaign for Civility, calling on elected officials and everyday Texans alike to embrace civil discourse in debating critical policy, political, and social issues. Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, The Texas Lyceum has a long history of bringing together civic and business leaders of diverse opinions and expertise to find common ground and engage in robust and civil discourse on local, state, and national issues.
The Texas Lyceum’s 19th annual poll was conducted from May 28 to April 4, 2025. The overall margin of error for the poll is +/- 2.83 percentage points.
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ABOUT THE TEXAS LYCEUM
The Texas Lyceum is the premier non-profit, non-partisan, statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top Texas leaders. The organization has 96 active Directors from around the state, and alumni go on to serve our communities, state, and nation in significant ways. Texas Lyceum alumni have served as president of the United States, White House staff, U.S. Senators & House Members, ambassadors, in the Governor’s Mansion, the Texas Legislature, and in corporate leadership.
Throughout its 45-year history, the Lyceum has explored topics ranging from education to energy, and criminal justice to banking. The goal of the Lyceum is to inform, engage, and spark debate among Texans about the important issues facing our state. To learn more, visit texaslyceum.org.
POLL METHODOLOGY
From May 28 to April 4, 2025, the Texas Lyceum conducted a 1,000-person telephone survey of adult citizens from the state of Texas. The survey employed a stratified probability sample design, with respondents randomly selected at the household level and interviewed by live interviewers. The survey also employed a randomized cell phone supplement, with 60 percent of completed telephone interviews being conducted among cell phone-only or cell phone-dominant households. A Spanish-language instrument was developed, and bilingual interviewers offered respondents the option to participate in the interview in either English or Spanish.
On average, respondents completed the interview in 12 minutes. To ensure an appropriate sub-sample of unregistered citizens, a supplement of 200 interviews among Texas adults confirmed as unregistered was completed online. This yields a total statewide sample of 1,200 adults, 926 of whom are registered voters according to self-reports. The final data set is weighted to the joint distribution of race/ethnicity, age, and gender to achieve representativeness as defined by the Texas Demographic Center 2023 population projections. The overall margin of error for the poll is +/- 2.83 percentage points, with a larger margin of error for sub-samples.