The Internet Overtakes Newspapers As A News Source

Image credit: The Franklin Institute

Over the last few years, I've gradually been getting more news from the Internet than from television, radio, or newspapers. I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and read a newspaper. Of course, they're getting harder to find. Barnes And Noble bookstores,, for instance, haven't carried them for years.

If the Pew Research Center is to be believed, lots of Americans are making the same transition, as Ars Technica reports today:

The Internet has surpassed newspapers as a primary way for Americans to get news, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That makes the Internet the third most popular news platform overall, with many connected users taking advantage of nontraditional consumption methods such as social media postings, personalized news feeds, and getting their news on-the-go.

National and local TV stations still dominate the news cycle for most Americans, but the Internet now stands third in the list, ahead of national and local newspapers. Additionally, the majority of news consumers say they use two to five websites per day to get their fix—a number we think sounds about right—but a surprisingly high number (21 percent) rely on that one favorite site to get everything they need.

Internet Overtakes Print In News Consumption Among Americans

Caption: Yahoo News - one of the ways the Internet lets us organize news.

Image credit: Screenshot by Cujo359

The Internet also provides ways of aggregating the news. Some, like Google News and Yahoo News, can be customized by area of interest and location. Google News, for instance, feeds me headlines from my home city. Yahoo News issues weather reports for locations I specify.

To me, the ability of readers to comment is one of the advantages of finding information on the Internet. Readers can correct errors, if the authors of the articles are willing to be corrected. If they're not, then that tells me something, too. Ars Technica seems to agree:

Pew points out that consumers who don't just rely on newspapers and TV are much more interactive with their news, too. A full third of those with cell phones said that they get their news while mobile, and 37 percent of those with Internet access reported having contributed to the creation of news themselves, commenting on it, or disseminating it via Facebook or Twitter.

Internet Overtakes Print In News Consumption Among Americans

I'm a bit disappointed that number isn't larger, but even that many people participating can have the effect of improving news. Since newspapers largely abandoned the rigorous process of editing and checking their stories years ago, it shouldn't be surprising that they are losing out to the Internet. Our readers are the closest thing there is to disciplined fact-checking, and we can find the wire service articles by ourselves.

If newspapers want to compete, they need to offer something we can't do. To me, that means going back to the old practice of checking and carefully editing news before it's published. Hiring writers who have, or can develop, detailed knowledge of the subjects they write about is another thing that could set them apart. As the Pew poll demonstrates, many readers still prefer to go to one place or a select few to get their news. It's clear that news readers still want to find sources they can trust. Some, at least, will base that trust on the quality and accuracy of the articles they read. Since many newspapers exist in online form, they can provide that service if they want.

That newspapers choose not to, and still lose business, is sad and potentially tragic. But they can't say we didn't warn them.