In contrast to citizen produced information such as newsletters, or commercially produced online information (not to mention professionally produced journalism), the efforts by local government to communicate directly to citizens barely registers as a key source of information for the majority of local topics included in the survey.  Just 3% of adults say they rely on their local government (including both local government websites or visiting offices directly) as the main source of information for both taxes and for local social services, and even fewer cite their local government as a key source for other topics such as community events, zoning and development, and even local government activity. 

Interestingly, in the case of local social services, non-internet users and older adults—populations generally more in need of such services—are more likely to rely on word of mouth as their key source of information about social services than to go directly to their local government.  For both of these groups, local newspapers and television news are the top sources, but word of mouth is the third most cited source.