Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The same demographic groups which are moving away from the nightly network news in the greatest numbers are some of the very same groups which are moving toward online news use at the highest rates — more affluent, more well-educated Americans. Indeed, as the number of people regularly getting news online has grown, so has […]
The decline in the number of Americans who say they enjoy the news is a continuation of a long-term trend. In 1995, a majority (54%) said they enjoyed keeping up with the news a lot. That number fell to 50% in 1998 and 45% this year. While Americans remain generally satisfied with the quality of […]
Introduction and Summary Traditional news outlets are feeling the impact of two distinct and powerful trends. Internet news has not only arrived, it is attracting key segments of the national audience. At the same time, growing numbers of Americans are losing the news habit. Fewer people say they enjoy following the news, and fully half […]
Part 1: How email is changing women’s lives “What’s most memorable about my family email? Just daily contacts and sharing cards, stories, etc. We have exchanged everything from birthday information to medical situations to pick-me-ups to drab daily things.” — A 39-year-old woman describes the role of email in her life In the past six […]
Fewer Turn To Broadcast TV and Papers While television continues to be the principal source of campaign news for a large majority of Americans, the percentage of people relying on either network (24%) or local television (25%) to keep up with the campaign has fallen over the past four years (down from 39% and 34%, […]
The Public Remains Disconnected In spite of the accelerated pace of the 2000 presidential campaign, only 16% of the public is following news about candidates very closely. Interest in the campaign has not meaningfully increased since July, despite competitive contests for both parties’ nominations. Even fewer Americans closely followed the recent GOP candidate debates. Less […]
“There just has not been a reason to watch local news for a long time.” That sad summary doesn’t come from a critic, but from a longtime television news consultant, Don Fitzpatrick, president of Don Fitzpatrick and Associates, a San Francisco-based consulting firm. While local news is still the most popular form of TV news, […]
Introduction and Summary The Internet audience is not only growing, it is getting decidedly mainstream. Two years ago, when just 23% of Americans were going online, stories about technology were the top news draw. Today, with 41% of adults using the Internet, the weather is the most popular online news attraction. Increasingly people without college […]
The public’s news interests help explain the relative resilience of these news sources. Crime, health and community — the focus of much of today’s local news — are the subjects that most interest Americans. The public expresses considerably less interest in news about political figures and events in Washington and international affairs — topics which […]