Most Still Use Newspapers for Local News

Posted on March 1, 2006

The Baltimore Sun reports that most consumers still turn to local print newspapers for local news according to a new survey from Outsell Inc.

A survey by the market research business Outsell Inc., which echoes other recent studies, determined that 61 percent of consumers look to their newspapers as an essential source for local news, events and sports, followed by television (58 percent) and radio (35 percent). About 6 percent turn to the major Internet search engines for local news and information.

The survey of 2,800 consumers' news habits found that television is consumers' top choice for national news. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they rely on network, cable and satellite TV as primary or secondary sources of national news. Thirty-three percent choose their local newspapers first or second for coverage of national events, followed by 28 percent who access sites such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL News. Eleven percent of consumers are relying regularly on their daily newspapers' Web sites, the survey said.

That means newspapers still have a little time to convert their print readers to online readers. They better hurry because many web companies, including search engines and merchants, are providing more and more local tools, classifieds and localized search features. There are also many blogs and citizen journalism websites that are local in nature. The survey also said that in categories like health, personal finance and travel people already prefer the Internet.

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