The revolution in communications
technology is clearly changing the way Americans live,
and it has created a highly competitive environment for
those who provide news and information to the public.
Nearly seven-in-ten Americans (68%) now use a computer
on at least an occasional basis, up from 61% in 1998 and
58% in 1996. Almost as many have a computer in their
home -- 59%, up from 43% in 1998 and 36% in 1995.
The number of Americans who go online has increased at
an even greater rate, more than twice as many people now
go online to access the Internet or send and receive
email as did just four years ago (54% vs. 21% in 1996).
In addition to computers and the
Internet, a large majority of the public has access to a
seemingly unlimited number of television outlets through
cable TV and satellite dishes. Fully eight-in-ten (79%)
Americans have either cable or a satellite dish (5% have
both). The numbers for cable have remained
relatively stable in recent years, while the percentage
of those owning a dish has tripled since 1995.
More than half of Americans (53%) now
have a cell phone, up from 24% in 1995. Men, women and
people of all races are equally likely to use a cell
phone. Older Americans do lag behind, however. Roughly
one-quarter of the public has a pager. As many as 16%
have a DVD player and 5% own a Palm Pilot.
As these new technologies have taken
hold, providing many new avenues for obtaining news and
information, the overall media landscape has been
drastically altered. As a result, new patterns of news
consumption are emerging and the core audiences for
traditional news outlets are steadily diminishing.
While newspaper and magazine
readership has fallen off moderately in recent years,
the impact of the new media environment on
television news has been more noticeable. Only 55% of
Americans now report having watched the news or a news
program on television "yesterday." This is
down from 59% in 1998 and 1996, and from a high of 74%
as recently as 1994. In addition, Americans are spending
less time watching television news these days.
In 1994, 37% of the public reported spending at least
one hour watching the news on TV "yesterday."
That number has fallen steadily over time. In 1996, 29%
said they had spent an hour or more watching TV news, it
was 28% in 1998, and today the number stands at 23%.
The falloff in TV news consumption has taken place
primarily among the broadcast network news outlets. The
percentage of Americans regularly watching the network
evening news has fallen precipitously in the last two
years. Viewership of network news magazines, such as
20/20 and Dateline, as well as the morning shows has
fallen off too, though less dramatically. As a result,
the cumulative network news audience has shrunk
significantly in recent years.
Over this same period of time, cable
news consumption has remained virtually flat. The cable
news audience, encompassing CNN and some of the newer
all-news cable networks, amounts to 40% of the
population. This number is unchanged from 1998. When
specialty cable channels, such as the Weather Channel
and ESPN are taken into account, the cable news audience
swells to 61%, basically unchanged from 1998.
Fragmented Audiences
In this age of hybrid news audiences,
when many Americans regularly watch the broadcast
networks and cable, there is a segment of the
population -- one-in-four -- which regularly watches the
networks but not cable news. The counterpart to this
group is a smaller audience -- 14% of the public --
which regularly watches cable news but not broadcast
networks. Another 26% fall into a third group, which
regularly watches both the broadcast networks and cable
news channels.
These three groups are vastly
different in terms of demographic characteristics,
behavior and attitudes. And they illustrate the
challenge which the broadcast networks face today in
trying to attract a large, mainstream audience.
The exclusively broadcast audience is
largely female and is older than the population at
large. 
The
primary news interests of this group are health, crime
and community news. The cable-only group is younger than
average and dominated by men. The primary news interests
for these cable loyalists are sports, crime, and science
and technology. The hybrid group is a mix of men and
women, but like the broadcast sector, it is considerably
older than the public at large.
While both the broadcast group and the
hybrid group are extremely loyal television news
viewers, the exclusively cable group watches TV news
much less frequently. Only 54% report having watched TV
news yesterday, compared to 71% of broadcast loyalists
and 74% of those who watch both broadcast and cable. On
the other hand, the cable group is almost twice as
likely as their broadcast counterparts to go to the
Internet for news: 32% vs. 19%, respectively, get news
online at least three days a week. The cable-only group
has different attitudes about the news as well. Only 44%
say they enjoy keeping up with the news a lot, vs. 51%
of the broadcast-only group and fully 70% of those who
watch broadcast and cable.
Just Half Watch Evening
News
Americans are increasingly less
inclined to tune into the nightly network news
broadcasts for their daily dose of news. And for the
first time since 1987, the percentage of Americans who
report watching a nightly network news program does not
reach majority status.
Just 50% now say they tune into the
nightly broadcasts anchored by Peter Jennings, Tom
Brokaw or Dan Rather, compared with 59% in 1998, 65% in
1995 and 71% in 1987. The percentage who say they regularly
watch the network news has fallen eight points in just
the last two years -- from 38% to 30%. Moreover, the
regular audience has been cut in half since May 1993.
Audiences for other network TV
offerings have also declined in recent years. Roughly
three-in-ten Americans (31%) now regularly watch news
magazine shows such as 20/20 and Dateline -- down from
37% in 1998. The audience for the three network morning
shows has also fallen, though slightly, over the past
two years.
TV's Generation Gap
The rise of the Internet as a news source is only one of
several difficult challenges confronting broadcast news
organizations. Not only have the audiences for rival
cable news outlets remained more stable, those audiences
are younger than the viewers of network news offerings.
Only 17% of those under age 30 watch
the nightly network news on a regular basis, compared to
50% of those age 65 and older. The same pattern exists
with local TV news. News magazine shows such as 60
Minutes, 20/20 and Dateline, as well as the network
morning shows, also draw in a disproportionate number of
older viewers. In addition, these programs hold much
more appeal for women than men. Among the most loyal
group of viewers for these shows are women over the age
of 50. The generation gap so apparent for the network
and local TV news is less dramatic for CNN and virtually
nonexistent for the newer all-news cable channels, MSNBC
and the Fox News Channel.
CNN's audience, while smaller than it
had been in the mid-1990s, is largely unchanged from
1998. Today 21% of Americans regularly watch CNN, vs.
23% in 1998. Even more Americans watch at least one of
the newer all-news cable channels. Fully three-in-ten
say they watch at least one of these channels
-- either CNBC (13%), MSNBC (11%), or the Fox News Cable
Channel (17%) -- on a regular basis. Not surprisingly,
business news enthusiasts are among the most loyal of
CNBC's viewers: nearly one-third of those who follow
business news very closely tune in regularly.
In addition, large proportions of Americans tune into
specialty cable news channels, such as the Weather
Channel and ESPN. Fully 32% of the public are Weather
Channel regulars this year, virtually unchanged from
1998 (33%). Sports news on ESPN attracts about
one-quarter of the public on a regular basis (23%).
Among men under age 30, the number swells to 46%. The
audience for C-SPAN's live coverage of Congress is much
smaller; C-SPAN is viewed regularly by 4% of the public
and by one-in-ten of those who are very interested in
political news. Republicans and Democrats watch the
public affairs network at nearly equal rates.
Documentaries on cable channels such
as the History Channel or the Discovery Channel are
extremely popular with the public. Fully 37% say they
regularly watch these shows. Men dominate this cable
venue: 43% watch documentaries regularly vs. 31% of
women.
Local News Down, Public
Broadcasting Stable
While local TV news remains more
popular than the networks, there has been a steady
decline in the local audience in recent years as well.
Today 56% of Americans watch local TV news
regularly, down from 64% in 1998, 72%
in 1995 and 77% in 1993.
And like their national counterparts,
local broadcast news outlets are facing competition from
cable. Local all-news cable channels have
become quite popular: Fully 29% regularly watch local
cable news, another 23% tune in at least sometimes.
The audience for public radio and
television has remained constant in recent years. As was
the case in 1998, 15% of Americans say they listen to
National Public Radio regularly, while another 17%
listen occasionally. NPR's audience is
disproportionately affluent and well-educated. On public
television, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer draws 5% of the
public on a regular basis; another 12% sometimes watch.
Univision and other Spanish-speaking
TV outlets are staples for Hispanic-Americans. Fully
one-quarter of the Hispanics interviewed as part of this
survey (all English-speaking) watch Spanish TV
regularly. Another 25% tune in at least sometimes.
Graying Newspaper Readers
Newspaper readership, which declined in the 1980s and
early 1990s, has leveled off in recent years. While the
percentage of Americans saying they read a daily
newspaper regularly is down slightly this year from 1998
(63% vs. 68%), the percent saying they read a newspaper
yesterday is virtually unchanged (46% now vs. 48% in
1998).
But the generation gap in newspaper
readership remains wide. Only 29% of those under age 30
report having read a newspaper yesterday. This compares
with 63% of those age 65 and older. College graduates
and those with family incomes in excess of $50,000 are
among the most likely to read a newspaper.
The weekly news magazines, such as
Time and Newsweek, have lost some ground in recent
years. Today, 12% regularly read this type of magazine,
compared to 15% in 1996 and 24% in 1993. Young people
are actually as likely as older Americans to read weekly
news magazines. Roughly half (46%) of those under age 30
read a weekly news magazine at least sometimes, compared
with 37% of those age 65 and older.
Readership of business magazines such
as Fortune and Forbes, as well as literary magazines
such as The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly has
remained relatively stable in recent years.
Court Shows Popular
"Real life" dramas have
strong followings. Nearly one-in-five Americans watch TV
shows such as Cops or America's Most Wanted. These shows
are most popular among those who never attended college
and those with family incomes under $30,000. These same
demographic groups are among the more loyal viewers of
courtroom shows such as Judge Judy and Divorce Court.
Overall, 12% of Americans watch these court shows
regularly.
Among daytime TV talk shows, programs
like those hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell
are somewhat more popular than daytime
"tell-all" shows hosted by Ricki Lake or Jerry
Springer. Roughly one-third of the public (31%) watches
shows like Winfrey's at least sometimes, while 19% watch
Springer and company. The audience for O'Donnell and
Winfrey is largely dominated by women. Women of all ages
tune into these shows, but they hold little appeal for
men of any age.
The tell-all shows, on the other hand,
attract both men and women and draw disproportionately
from young viewers. Both daytime formats attract viewers
with less education and lower-than-average incomes.
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:
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PEW Research Center
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