A recent Pew survey looking at whether the internet and mobile devices help or hurt journalism found that more Americans enjoy having an overload of news -- including local news --  saying it helps them learn faster. 

In the Pew survey, 62% of respondents reported that the Internet helped them stay more informed about their local news. Furthermore, about half of respondents said the internet helps them stay more informed about local civic activities, and about 40% said it helps them keep up on their neighborhood and neighbors.

According to Pew, responses to online awareness of neighborhood-level news and information "vary across several demographics, including gender, race/ethnicity and age. Women and internet users under age 50 are all slightly more likely than their counterparts to report feeling better informed about their neighborhood and neighbors thanks to their cell phone and internet use."

Overall, local news/information categories ranked at the bottom of topics Pew asked about in this research -- far below products and services to buy (81% reported the internet keeps them better informed about these) or national news (75%).

Reporting on this research, Nieman Lab noted: "Media news tends to focus on the national narrative — BuzzFeed versus The New York Times versus whoever’s spending millions of dollars to build a huge new website this week. But despite efforts of programs like the Knight Foundation’s Community Information Challenge, the tougher nut to crack for the Internet seems to be disseminating information on a more granular level."

Local sites are constantly working to efficiently and effectively reach their audience, usually competing with national sites. Here are some KDMC insights from 2014 about what some local sites have discussed and reviewed to improve their work.