It’s not your Dad’s news anymore

Article By: Digital Perspective Blog

Pew Internet released a new study today called “Understanding the Participatory News Consumer.” Essentially the study reports that Americans use multiple platforms to get their news. This isn’t news in and of itself, but what I did find a little surprising was where the Internet ranked in the list of sources.

The internet is now the third most-popular news platform, behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio. Getting news online fits into a broad pattern of news consumption by Americans; six in ten (59%) get news from a combination of online and offline sources on a typical day.

Quite honestly I would have expected the Internet to be the top source for news. When I watch television news at this point, whether it be national or local, it is almost for entertainment purposes. Any time I want to dig deep and truly understand the news or an issue I always go to the Internet and usually go to multiple sources. Regardless, the study does support that 92% of Americans use multiple platforms to get their news and that 33% are now getting their news on their mobile phones as well.

Other interesting points from the study include:

• 46% of Americans say they get their news from four to six media platforms on a typical day.
• Only 7% get their news from a single media platform.
• TV is still the top source for news with 78% saying they get news from a local TV station, followed by 73% who say they get news from a national network such as CNN
• The most popular online news subjects are the weather (followed by 81% of internet news users), national events (73%), health and medicine (66%), business and the economy (64%), international events (62%), and science and technology (60%). This is interesting to me because outside of a major storm like the one that just slammed upstate NY, I don’t generally consider weather to be news.
• 75% of online news consumers say they get news forwarded through email or posts on social networking sites and 52% say they share links to news with others via those means.
• 51% of social networking site (e.g. Facebook) users who are also online news consumers say that on a typical day they get news items from people they follow. Another 23% of this cohort follow news organizations or individual journalists on social networking sites.

So, what does this all mean? To start, it means that integration is key. I must sound like a broken record by now, but news, information and conversations move online and offline and online again. Therefore, creating content and reaching audiences traditionally and via online and social media is critical to effectively disseminating messages. For marketers, this study reinforces the need for compelling and creative content. People are multitasking in everything they do, even in something as simple as getting their daily dose of news, so only the most interesting content will cut through the clutter. Given that 75% of those who consume news online say they get it from email links or via social networking sites, cutting through the clutter and creating advocates to spread your message continues to become even more important.

When I was a child I was the remote control for my dad in watching the 6:00 news. We didn’t talk, or eat, or do anything as he recapped the day with the anchor du jour. Times have changed (duh) but I wonder what my daughter will say about my news consumption when she is an adult.