US: Traditional media trumps Internet for information on the financial crisis

Posted by Liz Webber on July 16, 2009 at 2:43 PM

More Americans turned to traditional media than to the Internet to find information about the financial crisis in the past year, with broadcast sources leading the pack, according to the latest Pew Internet survey. The report on the findings, "Internet and the Recession," nevertheless found that 69 percent of Americans used the Internet to better understand what was happening to the economy.

For general economic information, 84 percent of all Americans admitted to watching TV or listening to the radio. A further 64 percent read a newspaper, magazine or book, while 48 percent went online.

When considering those Americans who have broadband access at home, however, the Internet gained in importance. Broadcast media still led the field, with 85 percent of those surveyed acknowledging relying on the TV or radio. For this demographic, though, the Internet tied with print media with 67 percent of responders. Responses were similar for Americans with other types of home Internet access.

Americans also responded very differently when asked where they looked for information on their own financial situation. Among the general population, about 45 percent each used TV/radio and a newspaper/magazine/book, while 38 percent went online. Those with home broadband access were far more likely to search for personal finance information on the Internet - a total of 52 percent, versus 46 percent using print media and 43 percent using broadcast media.

However, it is not terribly surprising that Americans find the traditional media provide an informed view of the overall economic situation while preferring other sources for more specialized information. A newspaper probably won't write articles that pertain to the financial situation of every single one of its readers.

One shortcoming to Pew's methodology is that it lumped all broadcast media and all print media into the same categories. People likely search for very different information in a book than they would in a newspaper. Also, though not always the case, TV and radio could have very different audiences. Traditional media organizations would benefit from knowing the breakdown for each specific type of source.

The findings of the Pew report contrast to a recent survey by Zogby International in which Americans named the Internet as the most important source for news. However, Zogby asked responders to pick just one source, while the Pew survey allowed for multiple responses. In fact, 43 percent of those surveyed by Pew claimed to have used two or three of the sources, and 16 percent said they used four or five. Moreover, those that checked the Internet at least once a day were just as likely as other responders to use non-Internet sources.

There is also a seeming conflict with the findings of a worldwide Nielsen survey, in which 51 percent of those in North America complained that media coverage leading up to the crisis was "inadequate." On the other hand, half of that same group also said that the media had helped them to understand government response to the economic downturn. Perhaps once the crisis started Americans still felt that the best source for information was the traditional media, an optimistic indicator for the nation's newspapers and news channels.

Source: Pew Internet, "Internet and the Recession"