Choosing the news – Study shows Americans use multiple sources

It shouldn’t surprise you that Americans rely on several sources for news throughout the day or that the World Wide Web is one of those sources. The Internet has climbed to the third-most-popular news source spot, behind local and national television broadcasts. Results of a study released today by the Pew Research Center (http://bit.ly/ch0tUz) shows that mobile phones also play an important role in where people get their news, and that more people are participating in the news process.

The study shows that 92 percent of Americans use more multiple news sources and 46 percent get their news from four to six media platforms daily. Only 7 percent say they typically get their news from a single source.

Here are key numbers from the report summary:
— 78 percent of Americans say they get news from a local TV station.
— 73 percent say they get news from a national network such as CBS or cable TV station such as CNN or Fox News.
— 61 percent say they get some kind of news online.
— 54 percent say they listen to a radio news program at their homes or in their cars.
— 50 percent say they read news in a local newspaper.
— 17 percent say they read news in a national newspaper such as The New York Times or USA Today.

The study reveals that 80 percent of Americans have mobile phones today and 37 percent of them access the Internet from their phones. More than one-quarter (26 percent) said they get some form of news from their mobile phones daily. More than one-third (37 percent) say they have contributed to the creation of news, posted comments or spread the word through social media channels.

Here's a breakdown of what they report doing:
— 25 percent have commented on a news story
— 17 percent have posted a link on a social networking site
— 11 percent have tagged content
— 9 percent have created original news material or written an opinion piece
— 3 percent have tweeted about news

Types of news being accessed by mobile users:
— 26 percent - weather
— 25 percent - news and current events
— 16 percent - sports scores and stories
— 13 percent - traffic information
— 12 percent - financial information
— 11 percent - receive new e-mail and text messages

See the complete study here: (http://bit.ly/bX4mel)