With the rise of digital media, it’s no secret that traditional newspapers and radio broadcasts have been in a steady free fall for some time. If not from traditional mediums, where are people catching the news? It may surprise you to hear that a whopping 67% of people get their news from Facebook! Twitter is also a respectable source drawing in 16%, followed by Pinterest (15%) and Instagram (13%). The younger generations are shifting the pendulum even faster; over one-third (a rate that’s still growing) of young people find news on social media, compared to only 25% of people in their 40s.
News on the Go
Information is just a few clicks away, no matter where you are. 62% of smartphone owners use their device to keep up with the news, along with 64% of tablet owners. This makes sense, given that half of Americans own a tablet or smartphone device. Today, almost one-third of the world’s population is online, representing over 500% growth in internet connectivity since 2000!
So will digital news take over completely? Has video really killed the radio star?
News Consumption Trends in 2013
We appear to be living in a state of peaceful co-existence between new and traditional media. While digital news has surpassed the likes of print media and radio, TV is still the leading source of information, with 55% of people in the U.S. reporting TV as their primary news source. 39% of news consumers now use digital or mobile as a primary source of information, followed by radio at 30%. The rate of newspapers as consumers’ primary news source has fallen to 29%.
What were the top stories from last year? The 2012 US election reached far beyond American borders, generating 327,000 tweets per minute, peaking on Election Night. Another major event included the Mars Curiosity mission, as the world watched every tense moment leading up to the safe landing on the red planet in live streaming video and on Twitter. Twitter also reported that the two-week 2012 London Olympic games was reported through the network in over 150 million tweets.
While digital media is playing an increasingly larger role in modern news consumption, you can’t always trust what you read online. It seems that television will remain a go-to source for many seeking serious news.
Source: Uberflip
What’s your primary source of news these days?
I actually prefer the web because there are still some REAL investigators that give the real news going on. The networks are now so biased it is sad. I hope one day they wake up and get back to REAL reporting not Biased based news that only gives you one side, fluff & entertainment news.
It seems like the web and TV will eventually converge as the Internet becomes more of a trusted source.
Daniel Zeevi Your right and you will start to see more Internet TV News Stations pop up with real news in the near future because they wont have to adhere to FCC rules and government regulation so the REAL NEWS will get out there eventually. Hopefully soon.
John Sweeney Jr. and Daniel Zeevi, you are absolutely right. Not only has advertising overrun our information, but the entire news industry in America has become politically polarized with very few exceptions. We wrote about it this article a while back on our blog. http://bit.ly/111Nn9b. I believe that you’re right on point in your thoughts that soon, internet tv will begin cropping up and overtaking/converging with traditional television. Thanks for the great infographic.
People are reading the news on Pinterest and Instagram? How do they find it in between all the dessert recipes and unflattering selfies?
Haha, that did cross my mind, especially news from Instagram?
See here an example: http://pinterest.com/localpt/portugal/