Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 2 SECTION 1: Executive Summary 3-6 SECTION 2: Where do people get news and how?..7-11 SECTION 3: What is news?......12-14 SECTION 4: What news do people want?...15-18 SECTION 5: Where do people want to get news from?...19-21 SECTION 6: How do people want to get to that future?...22-30 SECTION 7: The business side 31-36 SECTION 8: What new thing is the station doing to get you to watch the news?...37 SECTION 9: What one thing would you change about local TV news to make it better?...38-41 SECTION 10: Methodology....42-43 APPENDIX 1: Survey of the general public.. 44-52 APPENDIX 2: Survey of TV news directors.. 53-62 1
Introduction A new study by the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation and sponsored by the Ford Foundation finds that local television news stands out among traditional media for sustaining its power with the public. Local television news is the top choice for news among all adults even younger ones. But while many people continue to turn to local television news and other traditional media, they are also greatly interested in innovations and new technology that will allow them greater control over news content and when and how they receive news. The study also finds that the country is in a serious mood, and people want TV to supply more national and international news and provide better coverage of meaningful issues. The purpose of this study is to examine the future direction of news where the general public wants it to go, where TV news directors think it s heading and the extent to which those two views coincide. Along with that, the study seeks to examine the relationship between businesses/advertisers and television news. For the survey, researchers called a national random sample of 1,016 adults and asked their views on what news is, what they care about and how they re interested in receiving news (see Appendix 1 for the full survey). All local television news directors in the U.S. were called for their views as well. A total of 251 surveys were completed with TV news directors (see Appendix 2 for the full survey). Because the research is about the future of news, we intentionally skewed the sample of the general public young, with half (50.2 percent) of all surveyed adults are between the ages 18-34. The sample error for the survey of the general public is +/- 3 percent. The sample error for the television news directors is +/- 6 percent. For a complete discussion of survey methodology, see Section 10 Methodology. 2
Section 1: Executive Summary Overwhelmingly, people say they get most of their news from local TV: 65.5 percent. That s more than double second-place newspapers (28.4 percent) and almost six times the figure for the Internet (11.2 percent). The Internet came in below national network TV news (28.3 percent) and local radio news (14.7 percent). When asked if they could get the same news whenever they wanted on TV, radio, newspaper, online or a handheld electronic device almost two-thirds (63.3 percent) said TV. Only 17.8 percent chose newspapers and just 11.1 percent chose online. People like traditional media. They know it, and they re comfortable with it. But while people expressed support for traditional media in this study, they also made clear they want a whole range of new media type options. In particular, they want news and information on demand, and many want to interact with that news. The challenge for the industry isn t mass defection it s the nibbling away at the edges and the splintering of traditional mass medium into fragments whose total is mass but whose parts are not. While blogs are clearly a niche medium, and the daily readership of 3.1 percent poses no threat to the mass media, the 7.1 percent who read them several times a week or more nibbles at the edges. Less than 5 percent of the general public has ever seen small screen news, and only about 10 percent say they even have any interest in it. But that may well be enough for a meaningful niche business, especially given the comparatively high income of those most interested. More nibbling away at the edges. The message in the data is not to abandon efforts in small screens or blogs or anything else. This research does raise questions whether either has a mass media future, but the research also suggests that the news departments that survive into the future will have to operate on many technological platforms at the same time. The concern in the industry is a loss of advertising dollars as that mass market continues to fragment. This research also suggests that stations looking at new revenue streams need to tread carefully when attempting to link news and business through such devices as product placement or product endorsement. Overwhelmingly, people are concerned about the links between businesses/advertisers and news. Those who are the most concerned about that relationship are the people advertisers want the most the affluent, educated and young. The data in this report make clear that predictions of the imminent demise of traditional news media are premature. That is especially true for local television. But people do not want the status quo either. They want new technology that offers them more convenience, utility and responsiveness. It is, in the end, all about value. Even though people don t pay directly for local TV news, it does involve an investment in time, and if the audience doesn t feel that it is getting value for the time investment, then the audience will surely drift away. 3
Findings and implications: Where do people get news and how? Local TV news dominates the landscape as people s major source of news at 65.5 percent. That s followed by local newspaper at 28.4 percent, national network TV news at 28.3 percent, local radio news programs at 14.7 percent, the Internet at 11.2 percent, national newspaper at 3.8 percent and someplace else at 1.3 percent. People could name up to three sources, which is why the figures add up to more than 100 percent. Young people are the most likely to say the Internet, but they re also the most likely to say local TV news. They re the least likely to say local or national newspaper. What is news? Varying people have a surprisingly consistent view of what news is. The general public draws sharp distinctions among programs that they see as news and those they see as not news. And among all the broadcast options, local TV news is at the top of the list. At the bottom of the list (for all demographics): The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, talk shows like Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres and blogs. More than 80 percent of the general public drew some distinction between news and information, and while a plurality said they seek out both, there s quite a split. Young people and those with the most education are the most likely to distinguish between the two. What news do people want? These are serious times, and this research suggests that the audience is looking for that seriousness in both content and presentation. Weather is at the top of the list of subjects people want to know about, but it just barely edges out (in order): information on what s going on around the country, what s going on around the world, and information about politics, education, health care and the environment. At the bottom of the 11-item list: restaurant, movie or entertainment reviews, as well as information about entertainment and sports. The general public is most interested in urgent, breaking news, but there were complaints about the mislabeling of news that was neither urgent nor breaking. In comparatively distant second place: live, going on right now. Young people, ages 18-44, are particularly interested in live reporting but only if it really relates to something happening right then. Regular news about the community, investigative reporting and features followed, in that order. People want their news to be right up to the minute. More than 90 percent of those surveyed say it s very or somewhat important, and the figure is even higher for young adults. 4
The role of the anchor People say TV news is better with anchors, and younger people are even more likely to say that than older people. People who say newscasts look different are most likely to say it s because of the anchors, but more than 60 percent of the general public think all TV newscasts look pretty much the same; that figure rises to 72 percent for those ages 18-24. When do they watch news? People want to be able to watch TV when it s convenient for them not simply when it s convenient for the station or network. Almost three-quarters (73.4 percent) say it s very or somewhat important to be able to watch TV news when they want. Most people say they watch TV news when they can rather than watching for something specific they heard about. Younger people are more likely to say they watch because of something specific that they heard about. News and new technology More than two-thirds of the general public say they have never read a blog or don t know what they are. Less than 5 percent of the general public has ever watched news or information on a small screen like a mobile phone. And only about 10 percent say they have any interest in it. Given a choice of watching TV news on a TV, a computer or a handheld electronic device, more than three-quarters chose TV. In fact, when given a choice of continuing to do what they now do on a computer or doing it on a TV instead, over 60 percent chose TV. More than three-quarters of the general public say they d rather read a newspaper printed on paper than online on a computer. Even 18-24 year olds said that, although at a lower percentage. The vast preponderance of the general public says it will not pay for information online. If an online site charges, they say they ll go elsewhere. If all online sites charged, they say they ll seek out information offline. When asked if they could get exactly the same news whenever they wanted in a traditional newspaper, on the television, on the radio, online or on a handheld electronic device TV news was the overwhelming first choice at 63.3 percent, followed by newspaper at 17.8 percent, computer online at 11.1 percent, radio news at 5.8 percent and handheld electronic device at 2 percent. 5
What changes in news do people want to see in the future? More than 40 percent of the general public would like to assemble their own newscasts. But the key variable wasn t age, it was education. People with college degrees or higher were the most interested in assembling their own news. More than 60 percent of the general public would like to interact with TV news, something we defined in the question as pressing a button to get more information on something that you see in a newscast. That figure rose to more than 70 percent of those aged 18-34. The business and promotion side of news People think that business influences TV news. They care, and stations should tread carefully with anything that blurs the line between business and news. The demographic groups most concerned about the issue are higher income, better educated, young men. In other words, the people stations and advertisers most want to attract to the news are those who feel the strongest about maintaining a clear separation between business and news. Less than 10 percent of the general public said they had noticed any promotional efforts to get them to watch the news more on the part of the station they most often watch for news. Most of those who did notice said the effort was contentrelated. By far, the number one general public suggestion to make TV news better: fewer commercials. After that, the suggestions were mostly content-related: create more and better news. 6
SECTION 2: Where do people get news and how? TV news dominates the landscape as people s major source of news: 1. Local TV news 65.5% 2. Local newspaper 28.4% 3. National network TV news 28.3% 4. Local radio news programs 14.7% 5. On the Internet 11.2% 6. National newspaper 3.8% 7. Someplace else 1.3% Because people could name up to three sources for their news, the percentages add up to more than 100 percent. At 65.5 percent, local TV news is more than double second-place newspapers and almost six times the figure for the Internet. Three-quarters of TV news directors (74.9 percent) say people get most of their news from TV, but they award the Internet a distant second at 9.6 percent and local newspapers at half that (4.8 percent), behind national TV networks at 5.6 percent. It s important to note that this question asks people their perception of where they get most of their news. That s important as a guide, but it s not definitive. Other studies, such as the Middletown Media Studies observational research found that people s perceptions of media use can differ markedly from their actual use. That said, nothing in the Middletown Media Studies data on media use directly contradicts these numbers. In terms of major source for news, there s no meaningful difference for local TV between people ages 18-34 and 35+, but local radio is much higher with the older group (19.2 percent versus 10.2 percent). So is local newspaper (32.8 percent versus 24 percent). The younger group scores much higher on the Internet (13.9 percent versus 8.5 percent). By more defined age groupings, local TV news is actually highest for the 18-24 year old group at 74.5 percent, while all other groups range from 62 to 67.4 percent. Local radio news is lowest with the 18-24 year olds at 7.5 percent, and 25-34 year olds are not much higher at 10.9 percent. Older groups range from 15.2 to 24 percent. Local newspapers are lowest for the 18-24 year olds at 15.1 percent, and highest for the 65+ group, at 40.7 percent. In between, the range is 26.3 to 32 percent. National network TV news has a similar pattern, although 35-44 year olds were slightly lower than 18-24 year olds. The Internet generally went steadily down from 13.2 for the 18-24 year olds and 14.1 for 25-34 year olds, to 4 percent for 65+. 7
First choice for news by age group Local TV Local radio Local paper Network TV Natl paper Internet Someplace else 100 % 80 60 40 20 0 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Women more often than men name local TV news as their preferred way of getting news (70.5 percent versus 60.5 percent) and they score higher with local newspapers (30.1 percent versus 26.7 percent for men). Men outnumber women on the Internet (12.8 percent versus 9.6 percent). The higher the income, the lower local TV news scored, from 74.4 percent for those making under $30,000 to 54.1 percent for those at $100,000+. But that still made local TV news the commanding source, even for the top income group. Local radio news (10 to 13.1 percent), local newspapers (23.3 to 29.5 percent) and national newspapers (1.1 to 4.9 percent) all fall within a relatively small range. The Internet moved up steadily with income: 6.1 percent for those making under $30,000 to 16.4 percent for those making $100,000. Local TV news generally dropped as a major source for news as education level rose, from 71 percent for those who did not finish high school down to 41.7 percent for those with post graduate degrees. But even with the highest education group, local TV news came out on top, although its margin was much closer. Local radio news was much lower for those without a high school degree at 6.5 percent, with all other groups ranging from 14.2 to 15.9 percent. Local newspapers peaked in the middle of the group (some college at 37.1 percent), with all other groups ranging from 21.6 to 29.8 percent. National network TV news went erratically up with education, from 25.8 percent for those with less than a high school degree, ending with 35.7 percent for those with post graduate 8
degrees. National newspapers took that same kind of journey, starting at 3.2 percent up to 10.7 percent. The Internet was the clearest in movement based on education, starting at 6.5 percent for those with less than a high school degree, going steadily upward to 17.9 percent for those with post graduate degrees. Local TV news scored on top for every ethnic group. Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanics were near or above 70 percent. Caucasians and Asian Americans were in the low 60 percentile range. Hispanics and Mixed/Other were low in local radio news; Native Americans were high at about 30 percent, and everyone else was in the mid-teens. At under 5 percent, Hispanics were much lower than anyone else for local newspapers. Mixed/other, African Americans and Asian Americans ranged from 19 to 27 percent for local newspapers, with Caucasians and Native Americans around 30 percent. Most groups ranged from about 20 to 30 percent for national network TV news, but Mixed/Other and Native Americans ranged from 38 to 46 percent. Most groups ranged from 8 to 11 percent on the Internet, except Native Americans, who were much lower. People watch TV news when they can. Although almost 20 percent of the general public says it watches TV news in response to specific events (and perhaps news promos), most TV news viewing is done when people are able to do it: 58.5% usually watch TV news when they can 19.7% watch for something specific 19.8% do both 2.1% not sure News directors have a very different perception of how the process works, generally ascribing far more importance to people reacting to news events (36.3 percent) and far less to people simply watching TV news when they can (34.7 percent). There were no differences on the answer to this question based on gender or broad age group. By individual age groups, the only significant variation is for the 18-24 year olds. They had a lower incidence of saying that they generally watched TV news when they can (48.6 percent versus 59.5 percent for the others). There were no meaningful variations based on education or income. Hispanics and Mixed/Other were both a little more likely to say that they watched in response to something specific in the news (23.8 percent versus 17 percent) and less likely to say that they watched when they can (47.6 percent versus 62.4 percent average for all others). People think TV news mostly looks the same. More than 60 percent of the general public says that TV newscasts look pretty much the same: Yes, the same 60.4% 9
No, different 36.3% 3.2% TV news directors expected the number saying newscasts look the same would be even higher (85.7 percent). Men and women came in at almost the exact same figure on this question, but that wasn t the case based on age. Younger people, ages 18-34, were more likely to say that TV newscasts look the same. By individual age group, we find that there is a fairly steady drop in the percentage of people saying that all TV newscasts look the same, from 72 percent for those 18-24 to 50.7 percent for those 65+, and a corresponding increase in the percentage who say they look different, from 18 percent for 18-24 to 44 percent for those 65+. There was no meaningful variation on this question by income, but there was one difference based on education. The most-educated group, those with post graduate degrees, were less likely than all the other groups to say that the newscasts all looked the same (52.4 percent versus 61.3 percent for all others) and more likely to say that there was a difference (45.2 percent versus 35.2 percent for all others). Asian Americans were more likely to say that all newscasts look the same (72.2 percent versus 60.5 percent average for all others), and less likely to say that they looked different (22.2 percent versus 38.6 percent average for all others). Those who said the newscasts were different were asked whether the difference was in the anchors, the stories or both: Anchors 45.8% Stories 21.1% Both 30.4% Neither 1.6% 1.1% News directors expected the general public to say anchors less often (33.3 percent) and both more often (46.7 percent). The bottom line for both questions is that most people see TV newscasts as largely the same, and, where different, they see most of that difference in the personalities. Fewer than half of adults subscribe to their local newspaper. A majority of the general public said they do not subscribe to their local newspaper: Yes 47% No 51% 2% News directors thought far more people (56.6 percent) subscribed to the local paper. There was little difference in newspaper subscription based on gender, but younger adults, 18-34, were considerably less likely to say they subscribed to a paper (40 10
percent versus 54.2 percent). In fact, there was a fairly steady rise in subscription by age group, from 30.8 percent for 18-24 year olds to 75.3 percent for those 65+. There was no consistent pattern on newspaper subscription based on education, although the most educated group, those with post graduate degrees, were higher than all the rest (67.9 percent versus 46.8 for all the other). There was, however, a straight line relationship between income and newspaper subscription, moving up from 38.9 percent for those making less the $30,000 a year to 55.7 percent for those making $100,000+ a year. Asian Americans and Hispanics were far less likely to say they subscribed to a daily newspaper than other groups (23.4 percent average for those two groups versus 45.4 percent average for the others). There s a mixed picture on whether people seek multiple sources of news. We asked whether people seek out news from multiple media sources or skip a story once they ve seen it in one place. More than one source 45% Skip other sources 38.5% Varies 14.5% No difference 2.1% The answer to this question is potentially important as we move more and more into an on-demand world, and the general public is split on this issue. More TV news directors expected the general public to say it skipped multiple sources (51.4 percent) and underestimated the percentage who said they seek out multiple sources (27.9 percent). The only difference based on age was that the youngest (18-24) and oldest (65+) in the survey were noticeably less likely to say they check multiple sources of information (38.5 percent versus 47.1 percent for the others). Women were more likely than men to say that they checked multiple sources on a story. Generally, the higher the education, the more likely the person to seek out multiple sources for information. Interestingly, those with the highest income were the least likely to seek out multiple sources of information for the same story (37.7 percent versus 45.2 percent for all the others). African Americans were the most likely to say they seek multiple sources on a story (58.8 percent) and Hispanics and Native Americans were the least likely (25.7 percent) with everyone else in the middle (45.8 percent). 11
SECTION 3: What is news? As we look toward the future, particularly in electronic news, we decided to see how the general public defines news right now. We asked them to determine which TV and radio programs are news and which are not. Do people draw distinctions among the various news, talk and information programs? The question wasn t whether they watched or liked the programs just whether they considered them to be news. People rated the choices on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning that the program is definitely not news and 5 meaning that the program definitely is news. The general public draws sharp distinctions among programs that they see as news and not news. The answers break down into three broad categories. These are the programs that the general public says are definitely news ranked in order: 1. Local evening TV newscasts 4.4 2. Newscasts on cable channels like CNN, Fox and MSNBC 4.4 3. Network evening news on ABC, CBS and NBC 4.4 4. Local radio newscasts 4 A second group, clearly lower, may be considered news: 5. Programs like 60 Minutes and Dateline 3.7 6. Sunday morning interview shows like Face the Nation and Meet the Press 3.5 7. Morning shows like Today, Good Morning America and The Early Show 3.4 The third group, farther down the scale, appears not to be viewed as news: 8. Cable talk shows like The O Reilly Factor, Lou Dobbs Tonight and Countdown with Keith Olbermann 2.9 9. Radio programs like Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken 2.4 10. Programs like Inside Edition and Entertainment Tonight 2.3 11. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 2.1 12. Talk shows like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres 2.1 13. Blogs 1.9 The general public draws much sharper distinctions among these programs than TV news directors expected. When asked how the general public would rate those 13 choices, the news directors said the general public would rate every single choice higher (as news) than the general public actually did. More than half of the ratings were off substantially (more than half a point). That was especially true for the radio, cable and television talk programs. How the news directors said the public would rank the programs: 1. Network evening news on ABC, CBS and NBC 4.8 2. Local evening TV newscasts 4.8 3. Newscasts on cable channels like CNN, Fox and MSNBC 4.6 4. Programs like 60 Minutes and Dateline 4.5 5. Local radio newscasts 4.4 6. Sunday morning interview shows like Face the Nation and Meet the Press 4.2 7. Morning shows like Today, Good Morning America and The Early Show 4.1 12
8. Cable talk shows like The O Reilly Factor, Lou Dobbs Tonight and Countdown with Keith Olbermann 3.6 9. Radio programs like Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken 3 10. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 2.7 11. Programs like Inside Edition and Entertainment Tonight 2.6 12. Blogs 2.5 13. Talk shows like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres 2.2 Certainly, there are people who view all of these shows as news, but, overall, the American public clearly draws sharp distinctions among these programs. There were no meaningful differences by broad age groups: 18-34 and 35+. In fact, the only deviation in order came at number 11, where younger people rated Jon Stewart just ahead of Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres and people 35+ reversed that order. Both groups rated blogs last. Looking at more defined age groups, the big differences didn t involve ranking as much as familiarity. For instance, the ranking of Jon Stewart as news only varies from 1.99 to 2.19, and 18-24 year olds rank was not the highest. What did change dramatically was the percentage of people in each group familiar with Jon Stewart. While 88.7 percent of 18-24 year olds were familiar with Stewart, that number dropped steadily with age, and only 51.7 percent of those 65+ were familiar with him. But familiarity didn t cause younger people to give Jon Stewart s Daily Show a higher news rating. Familiarity with blogs followed the same pattern, with 79.2 percent of 18-24 year olds being familiar with blogs straight down to 44.9 percent among those 65+. But, again, 18-24 year olds gave blogs a lower news rating than all older groups except those 65+. News score for The Daily Show and blogs (1 meaning that The Daily Show and blogs are definitely not news and 5 meaning that they definitely are news): 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ The Daily Show 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.2 2 Blogs 1.8 1.9 2 2.2 2 1.5 Overall, the news ranking for local radio news and the morning network news shows generally dropped with age: radio from 4 to 3.7 and morning network news from 3.7 to 3.1. Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres rose with age groups, from 1.9 to 2.4. Gender, education and income made little difference. Ethnicity appears to play a minor role in defining what news is. The top four choices were the top four for every ethnic group other than Asian Americans, which elevated 60 Minutes into the number four position, followed by the Sunday morning talk shows and then local radio news. African Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans all rated Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres slightly higher on the news scale than whites or Hispanics, but the difference was small. Hispanics and Native Americans rated Jon Stewart lower than other groups (in last place, 13, as opposed to 9 to 11 for the other groups). Native Americans rated radio talk shows higher than any other group (number 7 versus 9 to 12 for all others) and rated the morning network news shows much lower than any other group (number 10 versus 5 to 7 for all others). 13
Members of different political parties and different political persuasions may not agree on much in terms of public policy, but they do agree, overall, on what news is. Program selections were virtually identical across self-described Republicans, Democrats, independents, other, conservatives, liberals and moderates. There were a couple of exceptions. Democrats ranked radio talk shows much lower than others (number 12 versus number 9 for all others) and ranked Jon Stewart higher than all the others (number 9 versus numbers 11 to 12 for the other groups). Self-identified liberals put Jon Stewart at number 9 while conservatives, moderates and other put The Daily Show at 11 to 13. And moderates elevated the morning network news to the number 4 position, pushing local radio news down to number 5. 14
SECTION 4: What news do people want? Most of the research in this area is proprietary conducted by consulting firms for TV stations and station groups. We wanted to get an overall, national picture of what kind of news and news approach are most important to people. We attempted to get at that through several questions. First, we broke news down into categories of news approaches and news philosophies and asked people to rank them on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 meaning that they really didn t care about that approach or area and 5 meaning that they really cared a lot. People are most interested in urgent, breaking news. This list makes clear, broadly speaking, what kind of news emphasis people are most interested in: 1. Urgent, breaking news 4.5 2. Live, going on right now 4 3. Regular news about the community 3.9 4. Investigative 3.6 5. Human interest features 3.2 TV news directors were close in their estimations of the general public on this list, and it tends to be reflected in today s TV newscasts and news promotion. The news directors thought there would be more interest in investigative stories and slightly less in human interest features. How news directors expected the public to rank the approaches to news: 1. Urgent, breaking news 4.6 2. Investigative 4 3. Live, going on right now 4 4. Regular news about the community 4 5. Human interest features 3 By broad age group, there was one difference. The younger group, 18-34 ranked live in second place, ahead of regular news about the community; the 35+ group reversed those two. In fact, the turning point comes between 35-44 and 45-54. For people ages 18-44, live is second and regular news about the community is third. Starting with 45-54 (and continuing through 65+), news about community comes in second with a larger margin as age increases. There was no difference in the order, based on gender, and little difference in the number. There was absolutely no variation on the answers based on income and no meaningful variation based on education, ethnicity, party identification or political orientation. We also asked about specific content areas. In this case, again, the question wasn t whether something is news but how much people cared about the subject area, on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 meaning they don t really care about the subject and 5 meaning they really care about a lot. 15
Weather tops the interest scale, but it barely beats out national and international news. The top of the interest list was clear and close. In order: 1. Weather 4.2 2. Information on what s happening around the country 4.2 3. Information on what s happening around the world 4.1 4. Information about politics, education, health care and the environment 4.1 The second group was relatively close as well but far behind the first group: 5. Features about people in your community 3.5 6. Crime stories and accidents 3.4 7. Information about money and how to save it 3.3 8. Consumer information 3.2 And the third group was well behind that: 9. Sports 2.7 10. Information about entertainment 2.5 11. Restaurant, movie or entertainment reviews 2.4 News directors scored half the list accurately but missed substantially on five of the 11. News directors overestimated the score of weather and consumer information. Both groups ranked weather in first place; news directors expected weather to score much higher. News directors underestimated the interest in politics, education, health care and the environment and, especially, world and national news. How news directors thought the public would rank the list: 1. Weather 4.8 2. Information about politics, education, health care & the environment 3.6 3. Consumer information 3.5 4. Information about money and how to save it 3.4 5. Features about people in your community 3.3 6. Crime stories and accidents 3.3 7. Information on what s happening around the country 3.2 8. Information on what s happening around the world 3 9. Sports 2.4 10. Information about entertainment 2.3 11. Restaurant, movie or entertainment reviews 2 Among the general public, the top four were the top four, regardless of how the data is sliced. Weather, world news and U.S. news came in first, second or third based on gender and age, although the order varied. Weather came in first for men and those 18-34. It came in second to U.S. news for women and third for those 35+ behind national news and world news. Politics, education, health care and the environment came in fourth for all four groups. In only two other areas were there more than one ranking difference among those four groups (men, women, 18-34 and 35+). Sports came in eighth for men and dead last, at number 11, for women. Crime and accidents came in fifth for 18-34 year olds but eighth for those 35+. By individual age groups, the drop in ranking for crime and accidents starts with the 35-44 year olds and is lowest for those 55+. Consumer information scored a little lower for those 18-44 (3) than those 45+ (3.4). 16
Weather is number one for those with a high school degree or less, slips to number three with the some college group, and drops to number four for college grads and post grads. Some college and college grads made national news number one and world news number two. Those with post-graduate degrees selected world news first and national news second. Interest in crime and accidents tended to drop with education. The results were similar based on income. The two lowest income groups, up to $60,000, rated weather number one, but the two highest groups, making $60,000+, rated weather number 3, behind national and world news, in that order. Interest in crime and accidents fell as income rose, and the $100,000+ group rated consumer stories higher, at number 5, than all the other groups, which rated them at number 8. Sports came in at number 9 for all groups, followed by entertainment and reviews. There were no meaningful differences based on ethnicity. The general public distinguishes between news and information. With the advent of the Internet, questions have been asked about whether Internet users are distinguishing between seeking news and seeking information, so we asked some questions about that. Are people in search of news or information or are those just different words for the same thing? Is one a part of the other? If so, which? More than 80 percent of the general public drew some distinction between news and information, and while a plurality said they seek out both, there s quite a split. Overall, this is what the general public said it seeks: News 17.9% Information 25.2% Both 37.5% No difference 19.4% We then asked whether information is a part of news or the other way around. Nearly half said information is part of news, but, again, there were clearly differences of opinion: Information is part of news 48.1% News is part of information 28.9% News and information are different 4.7% News and information are basically the same 14.3% 3.9% News directors will be surprised at the distinctions the public sees. This is how the news directors thought the general public would answer the first question: News 4.4% Information 7.6% Both 47% No difference 41% The news directors were closer on the second question of whether news is part of information or reverse, 33.9 percent of news directors thought the general public would view news and information as the same versus the 14.3 percent of the general public who actually said that. 17
There was a significant difference in the answers based on age. Younger adults, ages 18-34 were more likely to be interested in news and almost twice as likely to be interested in information as 35+. Adults 35+ were 50 percent higher in seeking both news and information than 18-34 year olds. Those 18-34 were also more likely to draw a distinction between news and information. By specific age group, interest in just news generally drops by age and is noticeably lower for those 55+ (11.2 percent) versus those 18-54 (21.5 percent). Interest in both (news and information) goes up almost steadily with age as does the view that there s no difference between news and information. Men were more likely than women to seek out news and information separately; women were more likely to seek out both. 18
SECTION 5: Where do people want to get news from? Can we establish some guidelines, then, for where news is heading in the future? People want their news to be right up to the minute. Clearly, the general public thinks it s important for news to be right up to the minute, with 91.1 percent saying it s somewhat or very important: Very important 58.1% Somewhat important 33% Not too important 5.4% Not important at all 3.1% 0.4% TV news directors expected the public to say it was even more important than that, with 72.5 percent expecting very important and 25.1 percent expecting somewhat important. The only real difference based on age is that 18-24 year olds were more likely to say that it was very important that the news be up to the minute (68.2 percent versus 57.6 percent for the others). Men were a little more likely than women to say very important and a little less likely to say somewhat important. There was a relationship between how important it is to be right up to the minute and education. As education rose, the percentage saying it was very important to be right up to the minute fell steadily from 61.3 percent to 45.2 percent and the percentage saying that it s somewhat important rose steadily from 29 percent to 46.4 percent. The same pattern emerged based on income. As income rose, the percentage saying it s very important to be right up the minute fell from 64.4 percent to 44.3 percent and the percentage saying it s somewhat important rose from 28.9 percent to 49.2 percent. There were no major differences by ethnicity, although Native Americans were less concerned with the news being right up to the minute than other groups. People want to be able to get the news when they want. Perhaps fueled by the 24/7 availability of cable news and the Internet, almost threequarters of the general public (73.4 percent) say it s very or somewhat important to be able to watch TV news when they want: Very important 38.9% Somewhat important 34.5% Not too important 16.5% Not important at all 8.4% 1.7% Again, TV news directors expected those numbers to be even higher, with 55.8 percent expecting people to say very important and 40.2 percent expecting somewhat important. 19
The only real difference based on age is that 18-24 year olds were more likely to say that it was very important to them to be able to watch news when they wanted (48.6 percent versus 36.7 percent for all the others), and 18-24 year olds had the lowest percentage saying that it wasn t important at all. There were no meaningful distinctions based on gender. Those who did not finish high school were more likely to say that it s very important to be able to watch when they want (50 percent versus 38.7 percent for all the others) and lower on somewhat important (22.6 percent versus 34.1 percent for all the others). No such pattern exists based on income. More African Americans, Asian Americans and Mixed/Other said that this was very important to them (49.9 percent, versus a 36.3 percent average for Caucasians, Hispanics and Native Americans). Most of the difference was simply a shift from somewhat important to very important, as the combined total was almost the same for all groups. People seldom read blogs. In fact, over two-thirds say they never read blogs or don t know what they are. We asked people how often they read blogs: Never 52.3% Seldom 20.1% About once a week 4.5% Several times a week 4% Every day 3.1% Don t know what blogs are 16% That s much less than news directors were expecting: Never 4.8% Seldom 58.6% About once a week 21.9% Several times a week 12% Every day 0.8% Don t know what blogs are 2% We also asked news directors how often they, themselves, read blogs: Never 21.9% Seldom 34.7% About once a week 13.5% Several times a week 12% Every day 17.9% Don t know what blogs are 0% People ages 18-34 were more likely to read blogs than those 35+ and more likely to know what they are. Even so, 46.5 percent of those in the 18-34 range said they never read blogs, 26.1 percent said they seldom read them and 12 percent said they didn t know what they were. 20
The real dividing point on blogs came between the 35-44 age group and the 45-54 age group. Of the 18-44 year olds surveyed, 45.9 percent said they never read blogs, versus 60.3 percent of those 45+. The same pattern was true for those who seldom read blogs 28.9 percent for people ages 18-44 versus 11 percent for those 45+. Women were a little less likely to read blogs than men, and fewer women knew what they were. Familiarity with blogs increased with education level but that didn t affect the percentage of those who actually read blogs. Overall, there was little or no relationship between education and how often someone read a blog. There was no relationship at all based on income. Caucasians and Native Americans were the least familiar with blogs (16.2 percent versus 11.8 percent average for all others), and a higher percentage said they never read a blog (58.1 percent versus 42.3 percent average for all others). People are not connecting with small screen news. We asked the general public whether they had ever watched any news on a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable media player (MP3 or ipod) or mobile phone: PDA: Yes 1.5% No 97.8% 0.7% Portable media player: Yes 2.2% No 97.5% 0.3% Mobile phone: Yes 4.4% No 95.4% 0.2% TV news directors expected 36.3 to 44.6 percent of the general public to say yes for all three platforms. There were just two meaningful differences based on individual age groups. The 18-24 year olds were higher than any other group in having watched news on a mobile phone at 13.1 percent, and the 65+ group was consistently low in all the categories. There was no difference on small screen news based on gender. There was no relationship between whether people had watched news on a PDA, portable media player or mobile phone based on education. There was a single relationship based on income. Those who made $100,000+ were more likely to have watched news on all the handheld devices: 6.6 percent on a PDA versus 1.3 percent of all others 9.8 percent on a portable media player versus 1.8 percent of all others 8.2 percent on a mobile phone versus 4.1 percent for all others 21
SECTION 6: How do people want to get to that future? The general public is not ready to give up on current news delivery systems. Beyond that, the new technologies in which people appear most interested are not necessarily the ones receiving most attention now. Let s start with print. People want to read a newspaper printed on paper. We asked people whether they would prefer to read the newspaper printed on paper or online on a computer: Print on paper 77% Online on computer 17.6% Doesn t matter 2.9% Neither 1.6% 1% News directors thought the public would be more interested in technological advances than they really are. Print on paper 48.2% Online on computer 47.8% Doesn t matter 2.4% Neither 1.6% The numbers varied by group, but every demographic group overwhelmingly preferred to read the newspaper on paper. The 18-34 year olds preferred computer at a higher rate than those 35+ (20.2 percent versus 15 percent). But the groups were almost identical in preferring to read a newspaper on paper (76.5 percent for 18-34 versus 77.5 percent for those 35+). By individual age group, we see a general trend down in the percentage wanting to read a newspaper on a computer, from 24.3 percent of 18-24 year olds to 4 percent for those 65+. And we see a corresponding increase in the percentage of those wanting to read the newspaper in print, from 72 percent to 89.3 percent. But even the 18-24 year olds overwhelmingly preferred paper. There are no differences between men and women on a preference for paper versus computer. Generally, the higher the level of education, the less likely people were to say that it mattered to them whether they read a newspaper on paper or read it on a computer, but all groups preferred paper to computer. The higher the income, the more likely people want to read the news on a computer (10.6 percent for those making less than $30,000, rising steadily up to 26.2 percent for those making $100,000+). And the preference for reading the news in a traditional newspaper dropped with income (82.2 percent for those making $30,000 or less steadily down to 62.3 percent for those making $100,000+). 22
There were not large differences by ethnicity, but Caucasians were a little less likely to prefer the computer (15.7 percent versus 22.3 percent average for all others), and a little more likely to prefer print (79.1 percent versus 70.6 percent average for all other). Generally, people are not interested in paying for a newspaper or news online. Given the preference for getting the newspaper on paper, it s not surprising that even newspaper subscribers in every demographic group - were not much interested in paying the same amount for a subscription in order to receive the newspaper online: Yes, would pay the same 16.7% No, would not pay the same 78.5% 4.8% News directors thought 70.5 percent would say no. By age, we see a general downward trend in the percentage willing to pay for the same news online, from 24.2 percent of 18-24 year olds down to 6.2 percent for those 65+. And we see a corresponding increase in the percentage of those who just say no, from 69.7 percent to 87.6 percent. Based on education, this breaks down into two camps. For those with some college or less, 13 percent say they d pay the same amount for the information online, while 24.2 percent of those with a college degree or higher say they would pay. Of those with some college or less, 82.9 percent say they would not pay, while 68.8 percent of those with college degrees or more say they would not pay the same for an online paper. But the issue may be more monetary than anything else. Only 5.7 percent of those making less than $30,000 say they would pay, while 91.4 percent of those say they would not. Of those making $30,000 or more, 21.9 percent say they would pay, and 73.5 percent say they would not. The highest resistance to paying came from Caucasians and Native Americans, 81.7 percent of whom refuse, but resistance was generally high. News and information online is free. It s also clear that people view news online as a free service, and it s unlikely that s going to change. We asked people whether if they had to pay for information online they would they pay or seek out another site that didn t charge? Yes, would pay for information online 3.9% No, would try to find a site that didn t charge 79.4% Don t go online 7.9% Don t get information/news online 5.1% 3.6% For those who said no, we asked, if everyone charged, would they pay or seek information for free not online? Yes, would pay 6.3% No, would try to get the information free somewhere else 91.2% 23
2.5% On the initial question about paying for news online, news directors were pretty close to the general public, but news directors underestimated people s resistance on the followup. Almost a quarter of TV news directors (22.5 percent) thought that if all sites charged that people would pay for information online. Men and those in the18-34 age group were more likely to say they would try to find other sources that didn t charge than women or those 35+. Of the men surveyed, 82.8 percent said they d search for free alternatives versus 76 percent of women. Of those in the 18-34 age group, 89 percent said they d search for free offline information versus 69.8 percent for those 35+. The difference came primarily from those who said they don t get information online. There was little difference among those saying that if everyone charged, they d search for non-web alternatives that didn t cost money. Willingness to pay for news online Men Women 18-34 35+ Would pay for news online 4.1% 3.7% 3.1% 4.7% Try to find a site that didn t charge 82.8 76 89 69.8 Don t go online 8.3 7.5 4.1 11.7 Don t get info online 2.2 8.1 1.2 9.1 2.6 4.7 2.5 4.7 If all sites charged: Men Women 18-34 35+ Would pay 6.4% 6.2% 7.9% 4.2% Would look for free info offline 92.1 90.2 90.1 92.6 1.4 3.6 2 3.1 The only differences by age group for the first question was the general trend by age for don t go online and don t get news online. If everyone charged for news, the youngest group, 18-24, was a little more likely than others to agree to pay, but the difference was small, 9.4 percent for 18-24 versus 5 percent for all others. Based on education, there s little difference in whether any group would be willing to pay. The biggest difference is among those with less than a high school degree. They have a lower percentage saying they would seek free information elsewhere because fewer of them go online at all, and more of them who do go online, don t get news there. If everyone charged, generally, the higher the level of education, the more likely people were to be willing to pay, from 5 percent for those with less than a high school degree to 14.7 percent for those with post graduate degrees. Again, the relationship is really financial. Only 1.1 percent of those making less than $30,000 would be willing to pay for news online which goes up steadily to 8.2 percent for those making $100,000+. If everyone charged, only those making more than $100,000 moved meaningfully into the category willing to pay: 19.2 percent versus 5.7 percent for all others. Even then, however, the overwhelming percentage said they d seek free news off line (80.8 percent). If everyone charged, resistance to paying remained strong across all groups, particularly Native Americans and Hispanics. 24