Latest Media Research Shows Where People Get Their News Now

The new landscape is changing so quickly that “legacy” media cannot respond fast enough. That’s why these trends are so important to follow.

Digital news surpasses newspapers, radio: Percentage of Americans who saw news or news headlines on a social networking site doubled—from 9 percent to 19 percent—since 2010.

With young, newspapers lack relevance: 33 percent of those under 30 get their news via social networking sites, 34 percent from TV, and only 13 percent from newspapers.

Newspaper free fall continues: Just 23 percent of all those surveyed read a newspaper yesterday. That’s down by half (47 percent) since 2000.

Magazine drop continues: Only 18 percent read a magazine yesterday, down from 26 percent in 2000.

TV stable for old, but tumbling with young: 55 percent watched TV news or a news program yesterday, but only 34 percent of those under age 30 watched TV news yesterday, down from 49 percent in 2000.

Local TV news slips: Local TV news dropped from 54 percent in 2006 to 48 percent in 2012; under 30, and fell from 42% in 2006 to 28% today. Only 23% under 30 watched cable TV news.

Reading still popular: 51 percent enjoy reading though there is a shift to electronic or digital formats.

Digital growing: Of those who read a magazine yesterday, 9 percent read digitally, while 20 percent of those who read a book did so in electronic format. The study noted that 55 percent of subscribers to The New York Times, 48 percent of USA Today subscribers, and 44 percent of Wall Street Journal subscribers read the newspaper on a computer or mobile device. For magazines, 25 percent read digital forms.

Online news is more mobile, or social: 17 percent got news on mobile devices and 38 percent saw news on a social networking site, doubling from just 19 percent two years ago.

It’s this last trend that’s most significant to the media businesses as well as those who still hope to use traditional media to reach consumers.

Stay informed on media and society trends by following the work of the Pew Research Center. Follow them on Twitter, browse their website or subscribe to their research newsletter.

Jeff Domansky, APR, is a PR and social PR strategist and CEO of Peak Communications. He is author of “PRoactive: The Public Relations Job Hunter's Guide,” and he blogs at The PR Coach. You can also follow him on Twitter @theprcoach or Scoop.it (PR 2.0 Insight).