LIFT releases first report on Indiana
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Jasmine Snow and Danielle Brown
The News for Hoosiers: Community Priorities and Media Preferences Report is LIFT’s fourth statewide report on communities in the Midwest.
Continuing our mission to uncover who Midwesterners trust, what they care about, and how to best support quality information pipelines for communities with limited representation, the LIFT Project has officially published its 2026 report on Indiana.
For this report, we surveyed more than 2,200 Indiana residents for the News for Hoosiers: Community Priorities and Media Preferences Report. This report aims to highlight Hoosiers' media habits, community concerns, and preferences for local news
Here are some highlights from the report:
Trust is low and tied to identity. Consistent with our past Midwest research, the vast majority of people struggle to name anyone they trust for news. When they do, trust leans heavily on shared identity markers and partisanship. While right-leaning national figures hold significant sway, passionate and highly visible local journalism legends continue to earn their communities' trust. Black and immigrant communities, especially, are relying more
The expectation gap in local news. On average, Hoosiers get most of their news from peers, internet searches, and social media. Yet, when they need highly reliable information, they overwhelmingly turn to local broadcast TV. While residents generally agree local news is doing a good job, there remains a stark gap between the high expectations audiences have and their assessment of actual media performance.
The cost of living and AI top community concerns. Like many communities we've surveyed, the cost of living—along with related issues like homelessness and crime—remains the dominant concern. However, unique to this report, Hoosiers also expressed deep and valid concerns about the rise of AI and computer-generated images in the media.
Stay tuned for further insights and recommendations from the report, with upcoming deep dives focusing on Black Hoosiers, immigrant communities, and the unique role of trusted messengers in Indiana.
The full report—made possible with funding from the Lumina Foundation and Michigan State University —can be accessed here.
