Those interested in media, journalism, and the like, listen up! Read this. It’s an article on the recent Pew Research Center study that found some really interesting things about the public’s news diet.
Those who are more inclined to newspapers than television might find it particularly interesting. True, it’s been common knowledge that Americans use the TV more for news than other sources. And the study did find that television is the main source of news for three popular topics: weather, traffic, and breaking news. But the interesting thing? People rely on newspapers and their websites for 11 other topics, like local government, zoning, and crime news. Also, sources like texting and Twitter are the second most common distributors of local news.
Newspapers are not obsolete! 50 percent of the surveyed read newspapers or related websites for local news at least once a week. But here comes the most interesting part: 69 percent also said that “the death of their local paper would have at most a minor impact on their news diet” with young adults being “especially unconcerned.”
What a contradiction! It points to society’s tendency to, according to Pew director Tom Rosenstiel, not think of information as a privilege, but as a right. “There’s a feeling, I think, that in the digital age, information is a commodity that’s just available — and there’s not always a sense of how it’s generated or produced,” he said.
Read the article! It’s quick, interesting, and worth your time.
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