About a third (34%) of the public say they went online for news yesterday – on par with radio, and slightly higher than daily. And when cell phones, email, social networks and podcasts are added, 44% of Americans say they got news yesterday through one or more internet or mobile digital sources. As was the case in 2000, people now say they spend an average of 57 minutes getting the news from TV, radio or newspapers on a given day.
Overall, cable news continues to play a significant role in people's news habits - 39% say they regularly get news from a cable channel. Large majorities of those who say they regularly watch The Colbert Report (80%) and The Daily Show (74%) are younger than 50;. A substantial majority (64%) of regular CNN viewers say they turn to the network for the latest news and headlines; say much less.
By contrast, about as many conservative Republicans say they enjoy following the news today as they did two years ago (57% now, 56% then).
WATCHING, READING AND LISTENING TO THE NEWS
The percentage of Americans who get news on mobile devices or through online social networks on any given day is significant, although many more people continue to get their news from traditional news sources. Instead, it's people in their 30s (30 to 39) who are most likely to use digital technologies to get news. Overall, half of men (50%) get news through some sort of online or digital platform on any given day, compared to 39% of women.
Even among very young adults ages 18-24, as many get their news from television, print, or radio (53%) as from a digital platform (48%) on any given day. Those younger than 30 spend just 45 minutes on the news on any given day. The relative stability in the number of adults who report receiving television news on any given day is consistent with the trend in how many say they "regularly" receive news from different types of television news programs.
Democrats (23%) regularly get news from NPR, compared to 10% of conservative and moderate Democrats, 8% of moderate and liberal Republicans, and 6% of conservative Republicans.
ONLINE AND DIGITAL NEWS
Non-Hispanic whites (49%) are also more likely than non-Hispanic blacks (31%) to get news online at least three days a week. Far less regularly get news through a customizable website or RSS reader than search for news. About one in five (19%) regularly (7%) or sometimes (12%) get news or headlines through social networking sites.
Twitter, Americans under 30 are most likely to get news through these sites at least sometimes (36%). Women are slightly more likely than men to get news through social networking sites or. Twitter – 22% of women often or sometimes get news through social networking sites or Twitter, compared to 18% of men.
Around one in five (19%) young men get news or news headlines on their mobile, compared to only 7% of women under 30.
NEWS ATTITUDES AND HABITS
The percentage of those with a high school diploma or less who say they enjoy keeping up with the news a lot dropped from 49% in 2008 to 39%; there was also a slight decrease among those with some university experience (from 51% to 45%). Majorities among both those with some college experience (59%) and those with a college degree (54%) say they look for news from time to time. About four-in-ten (39%) say they see all the news media as "pretty much the same".
Those with a college degree or more education are more likely than those with less education to say they trust certain sources more than others. Three-quarters (75%) of those with at least a college degree say they trust certain sources more, up from 69% in 2008. About six-in-ten (62%) say they prefer to get political news from sources that not have a particular point of view.
About eight in ten Americans (82%) say they see at least some bias in news coverage - 52%. Republicans, especially conservative Republicans, are more likely than other political groups to say they see a lot of press bias. Fewer of those with a high school diploma or less say they see at least some bias than those with some college experience or a college degree or more education.
About four-in-ten (39%) of those with a high school education or less say they see a lot of bias, compared to 58% of those with some college experience and 64% of those with a college degree or more . Fully 70% of those with a college degree or more say they go online regularly at work. Similarly, two-thirds (67%) of those with a family income of $75,000 or more say they regularly go online at work.
Almost everyone who says they've read a book in the last day says they've read a print book (95%). Those with at least a college degree (28%) are more likely to say they read a magazine the previous day than those with some college experience (19%) or a high school education or less (14%).
WHO IS LISTENING, WATCHING, READING – AND WHY
More than half of the audience for Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly and about six in ten of those who regularly watch Sean Hannity or listen to Rush Limbaugh say yes. Looking at New York Times regular readers, 9% say they are Republicans, much less than the 25% of the American public who say they are Republicans. Fewer say they are Tea Party supporters (25%) or libertarian (18%).
Support for the NRA, the National Rifle Association, ranges from 76% of Limbaugh's audience to 13% of regular readers of the New York Times. At the other end of the spectrum, about seven-in-ten Maddow viewers (69%) and six-in-ten Olbermann viewers (61%) say so. This is also the case for readers of the New York Times (85%) and the Wall Street Journal (84%).
At the other end of the spectrum, at least seven-in-ten NPR listeners, Colbert Report and Daily Show viewers and USA Today readers say they want news without a point of view. Two-thirds of the Wall Street Journal's regular readership is male (67%), while one-third is female (33%). The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have the most highly educated – and the highest income – audiences of the media sources measured.
Readers of each of the three national newspapers are more likely to be male than general readers of all dailies. Regular readers of the Wall Street Journal (71%) and the New York Times (65%) are much more likely to have graduated from college than. Democrats (49%) - especially liberal Democrats (26%) - are a much larger part of the New York Times' readership than the other newspapers.
New York Times readers are much more likely to say they are gay rights supporters and progressives than readers of the Wall Street Journal or USA Today. Journal readers are more likely to say they are pro-business than readers of the other newspapers, although a clear majority of all three audiences say they are pro-business.
NEWS MEDIA CREDIBILITY
Only two in ten (20%) of those who rate the New York Times say they can believe all or most of what it says, and only 17% say the same about USA Today. Local daily news papers are viewed in much the same way (21% get the highest credibility rating). Majorities give each of the news organizations included in the survey a credibility rating of three or four on the four-point scale.
Republicans have long viewed the mainstream media more skeptically than Democrats, and this continues to be reflected in the credibility ratings of individual news outlets. Fox News stands out as the only news organization that more Republicans than Democrats find very credible. Democrats are at least twice as likely as Republicans to give CNN, NPR, MSNBC and the New York Times the highest credibility ratings.
About four in ten (41%) Republicans say they believe all or most of what Fox News Channel says, by far the highest credibility rating offered by Republicans. Local TV news, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today receive about the same ratings from Republicans and Democrats. For example, 28% of Republicans and 33% of Democrats say they believe all or most of what the Wall Street Journal says.
In recent years, divisions between Democrats and Republicans have grown in judging the credibility of cable news outlets. In 2000, about equal percentages of each said they could believe all or most of what Fox News said (26% Republicans, 27% Democrats). Republican trust ratings for MSNBC have fallen over the past decade, from 24% in 2000 to 13% today.
As a result, partisan differences about MSNBC's credibility (21 points) are as large as those about Fox News. Similarly, there is considerable partisan division in perceptions of CNN's credibility; 19% of Republicans say they believe all or most of what they see or hear on CNN, compared to 40% of Democrats.
A NEW PHASE IN OUR DIGITAL LIVES
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