How do Americans find news? Do they actively search news publications and sites, or do they passively rely on social media feeds and friends to keep them informed?
A recent Rutgers study examining how people engage with news found that the public is more likely to think they can stay informed about “soft news,” such as entertainment and sports, without purposely looking for that information (a belief referred to as NFM, or “News Finds Me”). However, they are less likely to think they can stay informed about politics, health, and climate change news if they don’t actively seek it out.
"If people assume important news will just come to them, they may not seek out the information they need to vote, protect their health, or understand major issues," said the study's lead co-authors, SC&I alumnae Afrooz Mosallaei Ph.D. '26 and Luxuan Wang Ph.D. '24. "Our findings suggest this passive approach is more common for entertainment than for civic topics, which is somewhat reassuring. But our work also highlights that we need better ways to understand how people actually engage with different kinds of news. This matters for journalists, educators, and anyone trying to keep the public informed."
The study, "From Politics to Entertainment: Exploring 'News Finds Me' Perceptions Across News Topics," by Mosallaei, Wang, and Associate Professor of Communication Katherine Ognyanova, was published in Social Media + Society.
To gather data, the researchers conducted an online survey with 1,098 U.S. adults, using demographic quotas to reflect the broader American population. They asked about their news habits, how closely they follow different topics, and their beliefs about staying informed. They also tested their actual knowledge of politics, COVID-19, and climate change to see how these beliefs connect to what people really know.
If people assume important news will just come to them, they may not seek out the information they need to vote, protect their health, or understand major issues," said the study's lead co-authors, SC&I alumnae Afrooz Mosallaei Ph.D. '26 and Luxuan Wang Ph.D. '24.
This study addresses a gap in the literature, the researchers noted, "because it shows that it is critical to understand news consumption beliefs, behaviors, and outcomes by looking at specific topics, rather than assuming similar patterns will hold across news genres."
The question framing the study, Ognyanova said, was, "Does this belief that you can stay informed without actively seeking news apply equally to political news, health news, science, sports, and entertainment? We suspected the answer was no, and that people think differently about staying informed on serious topics versus lighter ones."
Ultimately, they also confirmed that relying on the NFM approach has consequences. "Believing news will find you is associated with knowing less about politics and COVID-19," Wang said. "In a digital environment where algorithm-driven information feeds allow you to keep up with what's going on with little effort, information may just flow through the mind without leaving much behind to turn into real knowledge on critical issues.
By analyzing the data by topic, the researchers found that many people think that only news on certain topics will find them without effort. For example, the study found, "People who care about politics or COVID-19 are less likely to assume news will find them, so they actively seek it out. People interested in entertainment or sports are more likely to feel informed without trying. Also, people who enjoy thinking critically are less likely to passively rely on news reaching them."
Ultimately, they also confirmed that relying on the NFM approach has consequences. "Believing news will find you is associated with knowing less about politics and COVID-19," Wang said. "In a digital environment where algorithm-driven information feeds allow you to keep up with what's going on with little effort, information may just flow through the mind without leaving much behind to turn into real knowledge on critical issues."
"Our findings offer several contributions to research and practice," Mosallaei said. "Theoretically, we show that NFM is a topic-sensitive belief, strongly shaped by what the news is about, who it’s for, and how it circulates. Methodologically, we urge future studies to avoid vague, all-encompassing measures of news beliefs. Practically, this work helps explain why soft news thrives online while vital civic issues may get ignored. Platforms, educators, and journalists must recognize that not all news is equally “findable.” If we care about informing the public on urgent issues like climate change, we need strategies tailored to how people encounter—and avoid—different types of news."
