More Americans choosing Web as primary source of news
A recent study showed nearly half of Americans surveyed chose the Web as their primary source of news – roughly 48 percent. Their reason? It probably had to do with the fact nearly 70 percent of the survey’s respondents believed traditional journalism is ‘out of touch’.
Reuters reported the We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll’s results that also saw 64 percent note dissatisfaction with their communities’ quality of journalism.
Andrew Nachison of think-tank iFOCUS saw the results in more positive bent: “That’s a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives.” Nachison presented the findings at an iFOCUS-organized forum in Miami.
1,979 people responded to the survey. Less than one third of them used the television, with 11 percent choosing radio and only 10 percent getting their news from the papers.
Older adults of 65 and beyond still preferred a primary news source other than the Internet, 38 percent of them choosing television.
The findings come at a time when America’s newspapers are beleaguered with news of editorial layoffs and restructuring. In these times of economic uncertainty, newspapers will have to struggle to remain competitive. Yet what the survey shows is the public is clamouring for more, and better, journalism. That the one thing publishers cannot afford to skimp on in their endeavours to reduce overhead is quality. “They’ll know it when they see it,” the old tome on quality once said…and the public doesn’t seem to be seeing it anymore.
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