Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
As newspapers struggle to stay in business while revenue declines, a Pew Research Center study released on Tuesday confirms what most of us already figured: those eyeballs are now viewing the Internet, rather than newspaper print.
These findings are based on a recent installment of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press’ weekly News Interest Index. This survey was conducted Dec. 3 – 7
among 1,489 adults.
The survey (.PDF) notes that 40% pf those surveyed say they get most of their news about national and international news from the Internet, up from 24% in September 2007. Meanwhile only 35% cite newspapers, while television, at 70% continues to be cited most frequently as a main source for news.
Totals can exceed 100% as those surveyed could cite more than one source.
For those between 18 and 29, 59%, equal to the number who cite television as a major source, use the Internet for news. In September 2007, things were quite different, with 68% saying the relied mostly on TV, vs. 34% using the Internet.
At the same time, however, where do people get their news online? That’s not made clear by the survey. But as News.com notes, much of the content that Internet “viewers” read are from sites such as the New York Times or MSNBC. The problem, as with much of the Web, is monetization, not something easily solved.
Other interesting conclusions from the survey were the the top stories of 2008:
- Conditions of U.S. economy (Sept 22-28) 70%
- Rising price of gasoline (June 2-8) 66%
- Debate over Wall St. bailout (Sept 29-Oct 5) 62%
The presidential election fell in at #4, with 61% of respondents mentioning it.
And despite what Fox News would like you to believe, the survey showed that CNN is still the most widely watched TV news source, 23% to 17% (Fox News is #2).
