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
share of Internet news consumers who say they are using other
news sources -- like television -- less often. Nearly
one-in-five (18%) of those who get news online at least
once a week say they now use other sources less often,
up from 11% two years ago. Those who now use other
sources less typically say the Internet is replacing
television or newspapers in their lives.
What's more, several measures show
that the decline in the television news audience over
the past two years has been greater among Internet users
-- including users who regularly go online for news --
than among non-users. Two years ago, there was no
difference in the number of Internet users and non-users
who watched television news on a typical day -- 59% in
each group. Today, just 53% of Internet users watch
television news on a typical day, while the number among
non-users remains the same, at 59%.
Internet users are also spending less time
watching TV news. The number of Internet users who spend
a half-hour or more watching television news on a
typical day dropped from 48% of viewers two years ago to
40% today. Time spent watching TV news also dropped by 8
percentage points among users who regularly get news
online. But among non-users, there has been almost no
decline in the time spent watching TV news on a typical
day -- 49% spent a half-hour or more in 1998, compared
to 47% today.
Similarly, just one-in-four Internet
users (26%) say they regularly watch a nightly
network news broadcast, down from 35% two years
ago. This compares with 35% of non-users who regularly
watch the network news, down just 4 percentage points in
two years. More detailed analyses show that Internet
users are significantly less likely than non-users to
watch the network news, even when controlling for
demographic factors like sex, age, and education that
are associated with both news viewership and Internet
access. Taking these demographic factors and personal
interest in the news into account, Internet users watch
the network news at lower rates than non-users.(1)
[(1) Based on
multiple regression analysis.]
Internet users are also slightly less
likely than non-users to watch other network broadcast
news programming, including morning shows like Today and
Good Morning America and evening news magazines like 60
Minutes, 20/20, or Dateline. For example, 28% of
Internet users say they regularly watch network news
magazines, compared to just over one-third (34%) of
non-users. While the differences between Internet users
and non-users when it comes to these broadcast news
programs are relatively small, they stand in contrast to
other types of news sources -- such as newspapers,
radio, and many cable outlets -- which Internet users
are as likely, or more likely, to use.
Daily
tracking of the public's online activities also reveals
the Internet's growing status as a primary news source
for many Americans. A separate daily tracking poll found
that one-in-five Internet users (22%) get news online on
a typical day, and most of these users go to Internet
sites specifically to learn what is in the news.(2)
Among those who get news online on a typical day, 55%
said they went to an Internet news site to read the
news, while 43% said they happened to see news while
they were doing something else online.
[(2) Based on a
daily tracking survey conducted throughout the month of
March by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.]
Narrowing Gender Gap
The Internet is becoming a news source
in its own right, with one-in-three Americans (33%) now
regularly getting news online, up from just 20% two
years ago. This represents a solid majority of all
Internet users -- 61% -- who go online for news at least
once a week, including 27% of users who get news online
every day.
Although men are still somewhat more
likely than women to get news online, the gender gap is
closing. Today, the population of regular Internet news
consumers is comprised of 57% men and 43% women, a
slight narrowing from the 61%-39% split in April 1998.
What's more, some 22% of those who get news online at
least once a week are over age 50, compared to just 16%
two years ago.
Americans who regularly get news
online are more interested than non-Internet users in
news about science and technology, business and finance,
and sports. For example, 27% of those who get news
online at least once a week say they follow news about
science and technology very closely, compared to just
14% of those who don't go online. More than twice as
many Internet news consumers (22%) as non-users (10%)
pay very close attention to business and finance news.
Notably, these topics are among the leading types of
news that Internet users seek out when they go online.
Fully 63% of those who get news online use the Internet
to get updates on science and health, and nearly as many
(59%) get technology news online. Half (53%) get
business news online. These topics rank below only the
weather, which remains the most popular type of online
news -- two-thirds (66%) of Internet news consumers say
they get weather news and updates online.
Indeed, the popularity of the Internet
as a source of weather updates is underscored by growth
in the number of women getting weather online. Even as
more women have started getting news online on a regular
basis, the share of those women who get weather updates
on the Internet has jumped substantially, as well. Two
years ago, just 41% of women who got news online used
the Internet for weather news, compared to 55% of men.
Today, the numbers among Internet news consumers are
nearly comparable, with 64% of women and 68% of men
getting weather news online.
Other types of stories rate somewhat
below these major topics -- weather, science, health,
and business -- in popularity among those who get news
online. Roughly four-in-ten online news consumers say
they check the Internet for international news (45%) and
sports news (42%). About as many (44%) get entertainment
news online. Just over one-third get political news
(39%) or local news (37%) online.
Heavy Users Constantly
Connected
Those who are daily Internet
news consumers -- and are among the most
heavily-connected Americans -- underscore a number of
the trends that are contributing to the Internet's
popularity as a new source. Those who get news online
every day are disproportionately well-educated, younger
men: 61% of daily Internet news consumers are men, 75%
are under 50, and nearly half (47%) have a college
education. Half (52%) have family incomes of $50,000 or
more.
For
these people, technology is clearly a plus. Three out of
four (77%) not only go online on a daily basis, but also
have a cell phone, pager, or Palm Pilot. Just as many
(77%) say they like having access to all the information
that comes through television, newspapers and computers,
with just 19% saying they feel overloaded. This compares
with a much narrower 52%-36% split among non-users.
Daily online news consumers are also
heavily-engaged in the stock market and pay especially
close attention to business news. Indeed, fully 42% of
them personally trade stocks -- compared to 21% of all
Americans -- and one-in-four (26%) made a trade within
the last month. Half (52%) say they follow business and
financial news closely most of the time, regardless of
whether something important is happening, compared to
just one-third of all adults (33%). Not surprisingly, an
overwhelming majority (74%) get financial news online.
Reports by the Pew
Research Center - "For The People&
the press" - They are an independent opinion
research group, sponsored by The
Pew Charitable Trusts, that studies public attitudes
toward the press, politics and public policy issues. The
Center's main purpose is to serve as a forum for ideas
on the media and public policy through its research...
Related Links:
The
PEW Research Center
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