2004 Annual Report - Online Public Attitudes

When asked to rank the importance of the Internet as a source for information from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important), more than a third, almost 38 percent, of online news users gave it a 5, indicating how essential the medium has come to be seen. Another third gave it a 4 ranking. Less than 1 percent said it was not important at all. Among heavy Internet news users, the importance was even higher, with 42 percent ranking it as extremely important.

Expectations of Internet, Users vs. Non-Users

Survey qu.: ’’If you need reliable, up-to-date news, would you expect to be able to find this online?’’

Design Your Own Chart

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project, “Counting on the Internet,” December 29, 2002

From what we have seen above, attitudes about the Web indicate a growing reliance on the medium as an intrinsic source of news and information. People are drawn to the ability to get updated news around the clock from a seemingly endless array of sources. Yet, how much they trust these sources varies. Even if overall there is some doubt about the veracity of what appears online, people tend to gravitate toward sites they come to believe in. As trust in certain sites' accuracy grows, it is likely that the Web will become an even more important source of news.