A new poll from We Media/Zogby Interactive suggests more and more Americans are snubbing traditional news outlets and are instead relying on the internet for their news.
Of the 1,979 people polled, Reuters reports:
- Nearly 70% believe traditional journalism is out of touch.
- 64% are dissatisfied with the quality of their local news.
- Less than a third get their news from TV.
- 11% get their news from radio.
- Just 10% pick up news from a newspaper.
- Meanwhile, nearly 50% said their primary source for news was the internet.
I’d love to see more data as to why we’re switching to the web for our news. Could it be:
- We can get news faster on the web.
- We can read news when we want and how we want.
- News on the web tends to be in a different, more concise format.
- News on the web–especially blogs–includes more opinion. Which makes us think more.
- News on the web is less likely to be biased.
- News on the web is more likely to be biased.
- All of the above???
What do you think? Are you reading more news online, and if so, why?
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18 comments on “Nearly Half of Americans Get News from the Web”
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Peter Davis Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:37 am
You know who else is out of touch? The advertisers who still spend big bucks putting ads on the TV news, on the radio, and in the newspapers. Why the heck are they spending 90% of their ad budget on dead media when they could be rocking by putting that money into the web?
Futon-Matt Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 am
Those are some impressive numbers.
Mens Health Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 am
It is amazing the number of people that get news from their computers rather than the T.V. today and the number will rise for sure.
Don Moore Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 am
Nearly half the people ONLINE get their news from ONLINE sources… Look at the poll parameters! A similar poll of television viewers revealed that local news is where they get their news.
We need a poll of PEOPLE from all points of view. We might find that most people don’t watch or care about news.
Andy Beal Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 am
@Don – nice observation. Aren’t all studies biased like this?
horisly Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
We can get news faster on the web.
We can read news when we want and how we want.
News on the web tends to be in a different, more concise format.
News on the web–especially blogs–includes more opinion. Which makes us think more.
teeni Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I hardly ever turn on the television anymore so I’m one of those that gets most of her news from the web.
Don Moore Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I found my source (Lost Remote – http://www.lostremote.com/2008/02/28/study-on-local-tv-news-ads-websit es/
As you can see the TV folks (Hearst-Argyle and Magid) pump up their numbers and spin it for TV.
Alex Isaacs Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Another point to consider is that most of corporate America sits at a desk, and logs their hours behind a desk in a cubicle. It’s not a constant 8 hours of work, so during the down times it’s easiest to browse the news, weather, or sports from the convenience of your desk. You can access several sources and different views instead of what the one guy wrote in the paper, or which ever channel did a better job covering the story.
Yasin Kisioglu Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I almost do never read newspaper as paper, always on internet. Is there any news website out there bringing out news from all over the world with translated news updated regularly.
Jaan Kanellis Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Well all want our news at different times. We can all wake up and get it from whenever we want and get it online when we want.
We don’t want to have to wait for the morning paper detailing yesterdays news or have to sit in front of the tube at certain times of the day.
Online is here and now. As long as the content is updated accordingly it will win over traditional media in the long run.
Tom Beaton Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
There was an earthquake here in the UK last week. As soon as it happened i switched the TV on and nothing! 24 hour news channels had no breaking news on it, after 10 minutes I went and checked online and there was a breaking news ticker on the bbc news website, but nothing more. Just an announcement. On local forums and blogs there were already posts regarding the earthquake.
Mike Montague Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
The main difference is how fast news can be delivered over the net. You don’t have to wait around for the 5 o’clock news or wait for the morning paper to get what you need.
Steven Bradley Says:
March 4th, 2008 at 12:05 am
I get most of my news from the internet and have been for years. It’s much quicker, but I also spend so much time online it’s simply easier for me.
I still watch news on tv and read the paper to get a somewhat more balanced view of things.
Nicole Says:
March 4th, 2008 at 4:32 am
I do keep up with the latest happenings online, but I still love my traditional dose of newspaper with breakfast every morning. I’m amongst the 10%
Alex Isaacs Says:
March 4th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Yasin is right. It would be nice to have a source of world news that delivers it in a clear concise format, and only reports relative events that effect everyone. ie: How oil prices are hammering everyone, or how the weak US dollar effects the gloabal markets.
December 23, 2008 « Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
[...] A story covered extensively on large blogs is going to reach (at least) hundreds of thousands of high-information, highly engaged political consumers, as well as most opinion-makers in politics and the media — still almost certainly a lesser quantitative reach than cable news shows currently have, but only by degree, not by level. It’s simply a myth that if a story appears only on “blogs,” it’s reaching only a small, fringe audience as compared to what happens if it’s discussed on cable news. And whatever mild disparity does still exist is diminishing by the day.“ [...]
Drasties - Dutch on the World - World on the Dutch Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
[...] A story covered extensively on large blogs is going to reach (at least) hundreds of thousands of high-information, highly engaged political consumers, as well as most opinion-makers in politics and the media — still almost certainly a lesser quantitative reach than cable news shows currently have, but only by degree, not by level. It’s simply a myth that if a story appears only on “blogs,” it’s reaching only a small, fringe audience as compared to what happens if it’s discussed on cable news. And whatever mild disparity does still exist is diminishing by the day. [...]