Poll: Internet Now The Third News Source For Americans


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March 1, 2010 11:04 p.m. EST

Topics: science and technology, lifestyle and leisure, media, IT/computer sciences, economy, business and finance, consumer issue, United States
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) - The Internet is not only rapidly becoming the main source of news for Americans, but the technology associated with it has also transformed news consumption into a social and mobile experience, a new survey said on Monday.

A poll by Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that six in 10 Americans get news from a combination of online and offline sources. Among sources, the Internet is now the third most popular source of news for Americans.

Seventy-eight percent of Americans get their news from a local television station, 73 percent follow the news from a national network or cable station, and 61 percent access the news online.

Radio came in fourth with 54 percent, followed by local newspapers at 50 percent. Only 17 percent of Americans said they read news from national dailies, a finding that points to the growing difficulties faced by traditional news publications that have closed shop or laid off staff because of declining revenues.

The survey also found that 26 percent of Americans, or 33 percent of all mobile owners, get the news using their cell phone. Most of the news gathered via cell phones are about the weather, current events, sports scores and traffic.

Following the news has also become a social activity. Seventy-five percent said they get the news forwarded through posts on social networking sites or through email messages. Fifty-two percent share links to news through social networking sites or email. In addition, 72 percent say follow the news because they enjoy discussions with other people about current events.

"No longer is a story's legs solely dependent on the quality of news but its sharebility on sites like Facebook and Twitter," the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a non-profit, said in a statement. "This study also reiterates.... the newfound power that online journalism organizations have in a world that is now more accepting of online news ventures."


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