Courtesy of Poynter’s Romenesko, the Baltimore Sun has a story today that shows the importance of local media: ” 61 percent of consumers look to their newspapers as an essential source for local news, events and sports.”
Next came television with 58 percent, then radio with 35 percent, followed by approximiately 6 percent for major Internet search engines as sources for local news and information.
For national news, 71 percent of those surveyed relied on network, cable and satellite TV as primary or secondary sources. Newspapers (33 percent) were next, followed by Internet sources like Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL News (28 percent).
Not surprisingly, the availability of Internet news sources has eroded newspapers’ readership:
“[T]he ‘interactivity and personalization afforded by the Internet’ has not only cut into newspaper readership but has weakened the link between reading and shopping, which ultimately costs publishers money.”
For those of us in public and media relations, we need to be aware of where those we want to reach get their information. If you are working with a local or regional client, the traditional outlets are still best.
Now, how you reach those outlets (mail vs. e-mail, etc.), is another post for another day.
– Mike
Technorati tags: newspapers, surveys, public relations, PR
