Survey: Online news 'more popular' than newspapers

Web most popular form of news delivery behind TV in USA

[Syzygy]

Sixty-one per cent of readers surveyed said they got their news online on a typical day, compared with 78% from local news channels and 71% from a national TV network such as NBC or cable channels such as CNN or Fox News. Fifty-four per cent said they listened to radio news programmes at home or in the car.

More than 90% use more than one method to get news, and 57% consult between two and five websites as part of their newsgathering, the survey found.

Source: [news.bbc.co.uk...]

Whilst there's no real surprise that online news has overtaken print as the source of choice for many, I did think the following was interesting...

"Americans have become news grazers both on and offline - but within limits," said Amy Mitchell, deputy director for the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. "They generally don't have one favourite website but also don't search aimlessly. Most online news consumers regularly draw on just a handful of different sites."

So, unlike the days of old when people chose their newspapers based on factors such as social status, political leanings - and maybe even quality of journalism - and typically remained a loyal reader for life, nowadays it would seem that such loyalty is a thing of the past.

Whilst the online news markets are, in many respects, still yet to mature, I wonder if that loyalty will come with time or if it is gone forever with 'readers' merely skimming the news from a handful of preferred sites.

If the latter is the prevalent behaviour, as is described by the survey creators, then this has to be a significant blow for any publisher still believing in 'old-fashioned' subscription models.

[engine]

No surprise about the newspapers, however, I was surprised that Local news channels were so high.