The Participatory News Consumer

As a news junkie this latest Pew report rings true by me.

Understanding the Participatory News Consumer
by Kristen Purcell, Lee Rainie, Amy Mitchell, Tom Rosenstiel, Kenny Olmstead
Mar 1, 2010

Read the full report here (51 page PDF)

A couple of teaser bites:

“Portable: 33% of cell phone owners now access news on their cell phones.

Personalized: 28% of internet users have customized their home page to include news from sources and on topics that particularly interest them.

Participatory: 37% of internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it, or disseminated it via postings on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.”

“Among those who get news online, 75% get news forwarded through email or posts on social networking sites and 52% share links to news with others via those means.”

“Over half (55%) say it is easier to keep up with news and information today than it was five years ago, but 70% feel the amount of news and information available from different sources is overwhelming.”

Information Today commentary here.

“78% of Americans get news from a local TV station.
73% get news from a national television network such as CBS or a cable TV station such as CNN or FOXNews.
61% get some kind of news online.
54% listen to a radio news program at home or in the car.
50% read news in the print version of a local newspaper.
17% read news in the print version national newspaper such as The New York Times or USATODAY.”

Librarian in Black commentary here.

New Pew Internet Report on News Consumption: An Opportunity for Libraries

“92% of Americans surveyed use multiple places & platforms to get their daily news
local & national television stations still come out ahead of the internet as news sources
59% of Americans surveyed use both online & offline news sources
33% of cell phone owners access news on their phones
28% of internet users have customized homepages with news sources (e.g. iGoogle)
37% of internet users have actually participated in news dissemination, creation, or commenting
75% of those who get news online find news through email forwards or through friends’ posts on social networking sites
52% of those who get news online also share links to news with others through email or social networking
55% report that it is now easier to keep up with news and information than it was five years ago, and yet…
70% feel overwhelmed by the amount of news and information available ”

And a good overview from ReadWriteWeb

Study: Only 2% of U.S. Adults Rely Exclusively on Internet for Getting News
I agree with Sarah, this is a huge opportunity for libraries to integrate quality access to news sources for news omnivores like me. (And don’t forget hte gossip columns)

Stephen

Stephen