Media Convergence
As the ways people consume news grow more complex, Americans are becoming less likely to view their news sources in terms of how they get news -- radio, television, print or internet -- and more in terms of who specifically provides it. Forty-eight percent of U.S. adults still identify a type of media as their main news source, but that is down from 58% just three years ago. Meanwhile, the percentage naming a specific media organization is up from 30% to 42%.
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The shift in thinking on the subject is partly powered by Americans' increasing ability to gather news from a single organization on multiple platforms. Every major television and print news organization has a presence on the internet, and internet sites produce videos that, through streaming devices, can be viewed on a television screen.
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Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have had a major influence as primary news sources within the past three years. The overall percentage of mentions has grown only from 2% to 6% during that time, but this disguises the explosion in growth among younger Americans. This year, 15% of those aged 18 to 34 list a social media site as their main news source -- up from 3% in 2013. Four percent of those aged 35 to 54 now list it as their main source, up from 1% in 2013. Among those aged 55 and older, 1% listed it as their main source three years ago, and 1% list it as their main source today.
Those younger than 35 are also more likely to list specific internet sites that are not part of social media, with 7% naming one as their main news source, compared with 3% of those 35 to 54 and 1% of those 55 or older.
