This is an interesting question because the source of news for many is in a state of transition. Some get their news from a traditional newspaper, some use television, some look to the Internet, whilst the rest are getting their news from a multiple number of sources throughout the day.
But the Internet is causing users to look further into cyberspace for their news fix. We can utilise RSS Feeds in a multiple number of ways, whether pulling the feeds into a Blog, Email, personalised news sites like MeeHive, Social Networking Site or software like NetNewsWire. Then every Newspaper, Television News Station and every type of newspaper has a website section dedicated to news. Consumers are also looking towards journalistic web blogs that can carry the news from one person to the next, and is simultaneously posted to a number of sites, introducing conversation to allow users to discuss the news subject. Twitter has been a new recent source of success and continues to grow at an alarming rate. I am not saying that this is a definitive list, but it shows that there are a number of options and creative opportunities to get the news you want, how you want it and when you want it.
Now that accessing the Internet from your mobile phone without major issues using Mobile browsers like Skyfire are possible, you are actually getting your news direct to your handset, which is usually positioned with you twenty-four hours a day. And with the recent unveiling of Apple’s latest gizmo, the iPad, magazines like Wired, GQ and Vanity Fair are already preparing their digitised versions of their magazine for launch in April 2010 which bring even more options for consumer engagement.
Personally, I do not think I can give up a traditional newspaper for a while yet. There’s a few reasons for this, I prefer not to look at a screen as soon as I wake up and I find reading a paper newspaper is generally more relaxing. Interestingly, even though I read a number of traditional newspapers throughout my day, sometimes I still do not come across the same news story on the Internet, unless the traditional newspaper has forced me to look for it. So I wonder how all the people can see all the news without missing some of it. This is also one of the reasons I started this blog, I sometimes find things that I want to share, but how do I know my if my friends or colleagues have also seen the same content.
My day is spent in front of some screen or another, so there is always time for the Internet. Should the future do away with the traditional newspaper, for economic or environmental reasons, I will be sad, but I could always print my news if I missed it that badly.
Pew Internet & American Life Project recently conducted a study called Understanding the Participatory News Consumer. When you look at the findings which looked at American citizens news habits, there were some key points to note.
Content below courtesy of Pew Internet & American Life Project.
78% of Americans say they get news from a local TV station
73% say they get news from a national network such as CBS or cable TV station such as CNN or FoxNews
61% say they get some kind of news online
54% say they listen to a radio news program at home or in the car
50% say they read news in a local newspaper
17% say they read news in a national newspaper such as the New York Times or USA Today.
Americans today routinely get their news from multiple sources and a mix of platforms. Nine in ten American adults (92%) get news from multiple platforms on a typical day, with half of those using four to six platforms daily. Fully 59% get news from a combination of online and offline sources on a typical day. Just over a third (38%) rely solely on offline sources, and 2% rely exclusively on the internet for their daily news.
Of course not every country is the same and there is only so much news you can digest in one day. Therefore news for the future consumer is likely to continue to arrive from a multiple number of sources and from different delivery platforms accessed at different times. This post will have to be updated in a few years time, because I cannot wait to see where I get my news from next.
Find out more about the Pew Internet & American Life Project findings at :
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News/Summary-of-Findings.aspx?r=1
Read more about magazines coming soon to the iPad courtesy of Stephanie Clifford, New York Times at :
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/business/media/01conde.htm
Vy.ber ~ Virtually Cyber 