Pew report not a surprise
Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Project for Excellence in Journalism surveyed 2000 people by phone and mobile and came up with this result: people get their news from multiple places. Duh!
New Media sources have been discussing this report quite heavily. Even the Pew headline reads The New News Landscape: Rise of the Internet. Keep in mind the research was sponsored by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Not the Radio-Television News Directors Association.** Still, while this report shows the internet rising as a source for news and information, it’s a bit like saying color made TV more fun to watch. It’s progress. Is anyone really surprised?
First, the data you may not be hearing on your internet sources:
▪ 78% of the survey group get their news from local TV.
▪ 73% get their news from a network such as CNN, Fox and MSNBC.
But yes, the internet is becoming a source. People always do what is easiest. If they are home, the newspaper is sitting there. As they are getting dressed in the morning, the TV is on (oddly, a mostly audio experience for the user). One the road, radio and mobile devices take over. At the office, the desktop browser is available.
The most popular news item for the news-via-internet user is the weather at 26%. Why? Because the weather is happening now and changing quickly. Your morning newspaper, printed at 11pm last night, doesn’t do well here. Television weather is too often presented by a talk-show-host-wannabe who has seriously overpacked his presentation so that each map and data point is viewable for a mere couple of seconds. And most viewers, at that point, just need to know one thing. Jacket...yes, no?
I did find some results interesting. 75% of the internet audience get their news from friends via email or social networking. This, by definition, is filtered news, forwarded by people pushing the story because it’s funny or simply due to some outrage. The one percentage that will grow is how many people get their news via a “real-time” device such as Twitter. Only 3% register that preference now. So Twitter is more buzz then believable, but I think you will see that change. Smart news managers will take advantage of this technology.
The other interesting point. Liberals feel the news covers their issues fairly. Conservatives feel the news is bias. Considering Fox News, this makes me laugh a bit. But, it does demonstrate the genius of Roger Ailes. Conservatives feel that traditional news doesn’t talk to them, so give them a channel that talks right at them, and take it to the bank.
One datapoint I could not find. What was the geographic location of the poll sample? In my mind, that is a key point. Like I said, people do what is easiest, and the internet requires access.
So, the future? A user asking “what is happening now, near me”? The geo-aware device with real time information will be the news source of America.
_________________________________________________
**The link for the Radio Television News Directors Association is here. No comment
.
First, the data you may not be hearing on your internet sources:
▪ 78% of the survey group get their news from local TV.
▪ 73% get their news from a network such as CNN, Fox and MSNBC.
But yes, the internet is becoming a source. People always do what is easiest. If they are home, the newspaper is sitting there. As they are getting dressed in the morning, the TV is on (oddly, a mostly audio experience for the user). One the road, radio and mobile devices take over. At the office, the desktop browser is available.
The most popular news item for the news-via-internet user is the weather at 26%. Why? Because the weather is happening now and changing quickly. Your morning newspaper, printed at 11pm last night, doesn’t do well here. Television weather is too often presented by a talk-show-host-wannabe who has seriously overpacked his presentation so that each map and data point is viewable for a mere couple of seconds. And most viewers, at that point, just need to know one thing. Jacket...yes, no?
I did find some results interesting. 75% of the internet audience get their news from friends via email or social networking. This, by definition, is filtered news, forwarded by people pushing the story because it’s funny or simply due to some outrage. The one percentage that will grow is how many people get their news via a “real-time” device such as Twitter. Only 3% register that preference now. So Twitter is more buzz then believable, but I think you will see that change. Smart news managers will take advantage of this technology.
The other interesting point. Liberals feel the news covers their issues fairly. Conservatives feel the news is bias. Considering Fox News, this makes me laugh a bit. But, it does demonstrate the genius of Roger Ailes. Conservatives feel that traditional news doesn’t talk to them, so give them a channel that talks right at them, and take it to the bank.
One datapoint I could not find. What was the geographic location of the poll sample? In my mind, that is a key point. Like I said, people do what is easiest, and the internet requires access.
So, the future? A user asking “what is happening now, near me”? The geo-aware device with real time information will be the news source of America.
_________________________________________________
**The link for the Radio Television News Directors Association is here. No comment
.
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