Using Technology to Deepen Democracy, Using Democracy to Ensure Technology Benefits Us All

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Village of the Damned: People Abandoning Broadcast News Media in Droves

[via Reuters]

It would be foolish to make too much of a single study, but I do think this one bodes well in more ways than one for those of us who have high hopes for ongoing p2p democratization.
Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey…. 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities….

Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago. Less than one third use television to get their news, while 11 percent turn to radio and 10 percent to newspapers.

More than half of those who grew up with the Internet, those 18 to 29, get most of their news and information online, compared to 35 percent of people 65 and older. Older adults are the only group that favors a primary news source other than the Internet, with 38 percent selecting television.

While the article goes on to point out that many online news stories ultimately derive from more mainstream corporate-broadcast sources, it remains true that even these stories are typically transformed in crucial ways by the comments, searchability, linking practices, and readily available fact checking and critique that characterize p2p networked texts.

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