The role of the internet

Interestingly, even as the web has gained traction, there is one major area where it still lags well behind—breaking news. Here, local television news (which includes local TV websites but is driven almost entirely by broadcasts) still well outpace online sources. Among all adults, 55% say they rely on local TV for breaking news, compared with 16% who say they rely on the internet and 14% who rely on newspapers.

The internet is a key source for peer-generated information

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In the past, reviews of restaurants and sometimes local businesses were provided by traditional news organizations – especially newspapers. At times, other companies provided guides that critiqued locale fare. Now, information services like Yelp, which offers citizen reviews and restaurant information, or Craigslist.com, which carries local classifieds, are mainstays of this information in many communities. Those services might have been developed by traditional news companies but were not and the audience has gravitated to the new platforms. The newer online services are also helped by the fact that their material is permanently searchable and therefore more comprehensively available to would-be patrons in ways that traditional newspapers and broadcasts are not.

Only small percentages of adults said they relied most on social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter for local information. Those sites are included in the internet category, but within this category run a distant third behind search engine and special topic sites.

The five topics for which the internet is the most relied upon source

Below is a detailed look at the local information topics where the internet is a primary source.

The websites of local newspapers and TV stations do not rank highly

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In none of our topics did more than 6% of respondents say they depended on the website of a legacy news organization. Some 6% said they relied on a TV station’s website for weather information and that was the high mark for any traditional news organization’s web operation. In addition 5% said they relied on a TV station website when there was breaking news in their community, and 3% relied on local TV websites for local political news. After that, TV news websites barely registered.

Some 5% said the website of their local newspaper was the platform they most relied upon to get crime news. On that topic the printed newspaper was considerably ahead of other platforms as the most relied-upon resource. Newspaper websites had a small foothold on some other subjects, as well. Four percent cited the newspaper site as their primary source for local political information, while 3% said it was their primary source for breaking news, local jobs, taxes, arts and cultural news, restaurants, and local taxes.

Footnotes

1. Pew Research Center, “Internet Gains on Television as Public’s Main News Source.” Available at: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1844/poll-main-source-national-international-news-internet-television-newspapers

2. The figures for those relying on the internet for particular topics do not include people who specified that they accessed the websites of local newspapers or television stations. For purposes of this report, these respondents are considered newspaper or television users, respectively. Those who cite the internet as their main source for a particular topic, then, are those who turn to the internet generally, use a search engine, or go to specialty websites for that topic. Social networking sites and mobile phone users were coded separately as well. Only very small percentages of adults said they turn to social networks for local news.

3. Social networking sites and mobile phone users were coded separately as well. Only very small percentages of adults said they turn to social networks for local news.

4. For more on these services, see “28% of American Adults Use Mobile and Social Location-Based Services,” available at http://pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/internet/Reports/2011/Location.aspx.

5. In the top roughly 200 news web sites, an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data found 67% were from legacy media and nearly half (48%) newspapers, many of them local papers. Project for Excellence in Journalism, Nielsen Study, March 14, 2010; http://stateofthemedia.org/2010/special-reports-economic-attitudes/nielsen-analysis/