From Inside Radio-
A new study from Pew Research Center explores the formats and platforms Americans prefer to get their news. While TV remains a dominant force in news consumption in the U.S., radio is the go-to medium for Americans who want to hear the latest news. The percentage of respondents who say their preferred mode of news consumption is “listening to it” has increased year-over-year.
Watching is still the most-preferred format for getting news with 47% of Americans saying they prefer watching the news over listening to it or reading it. That number is relatively unchanged from 2016. In good news for radio, those who prefer to listen to the news saw an increase. Pew Research Center revealed that 19% prefer listening as the format for consuming news, up from 17% two years ago. Those who say they prefer reading the news is down from 35% in 2016 to 34% this year.
When asked the preferred platform for either listening, watching or reading the news, 14% prefer to get their news from radio. Again, radio saw a 2% increase year-over-year. TV (local, network or cable channels) is still the dominant platform with 44% viewing their news on the flat screen. The internet (websites, apps or social media) is preferred by 34%, while only 7% say they prefer print.
When posing the two questions together, the preferred format for getting news (reading, watching or listening) and the preferred platform to access it (print, television, online or radio), of those who prefer the listening format, 52% named radio as their preferred platform. Those who prefer the listening format also cited TV (21%) and the web (20%) as other platforms for listening.
Adults younger than 50 are more likely than those ages 50 and older to prefer the internet as their platform for getting the news, regardless of which format – reading, watching or listening. However, a similar percentage in both demo cells, 18-49 (53%) and 50+ (52%), who prefer listening to the news do so via radio. Of those 18-49, 27% listen to the news on the internet and only 13% listen to the news on TV. Interestingly enough, 34% of respondents over the age of 50 listen to news on their TV and only 9% listen to the news online.
Pew Research Center conducted the survey July 30-Aug. 12, 2018, among 3,425 U.S. adults who are members of the Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel.
