Changes in technology and market forces are resulting in the US population increasingly shifting to the internet as their primary source of news.
A new study by Merrill Brown, commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation, shows that consumers are accessing and processing information in ways that “challenge the historic function of the news business and raise fundamental questions about the future of the news field.”
The assessment looks at the 18-34 year old age range, with data suggesting that this segment of the population intends to continue to increase their use of the internet as a primary news source in the coming years and that it is embraced in meaningful ways.
Among this age bracket, local television is ranked as the most used source of news, with over 70% using it at least once a week and over half of those surveyed using local television at least three times a week.
The local television ranking was shown to be driven in an overall sense by women and low-middle income groups, while the second most used weekly news source, the internet, is number one among men, high income groups and broadband users.
Merrill Brown predicts daily internet usage to rise, aided by the increasing penetration of broadband. The survey found that 44% of those questioned used portals for news at least once a day, with local television and newspapers at 19%, cable networks with 18% and national broadcast networks at 16%.
Other notable findings from the survey show that although ranked the third most important for news sources newspapers are the least preferred choice for local, national and international news.
Cable news is the fourth most valuable news source, just ahead of national network programs, and is considered up-to-date and accessible, but not as informative as the internet.
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