The rapid growth of smartphones and electronic tablets is making the internet favourite for people seeking news, a report released today said. The rapid growth of smartphones and electronic tablets is making the internet favourite for people seeking news, a report released today said. News consumption online increased 17 per cent last year from the year before, the project said in its eighth annual State of the News Media survey. Meanwhile, US local, network and cable television news, newspapers, radio and magazines all lost audience last year, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a research organisation that evaluates and studies the performance of the press. The percentage of people who say they get news online at least three times a week surpassed newspapers for the first time. It was second only to local TV news as the most popular news platform and seems poised topass that medium, too, project director Tom Rosenstiel said. Local TV news has been the most popular format since the 1960s, when its growth was largely responsible for the death of afternoon newspapers, he said. 'It was a milestone year,' he said. People are just becoming accustomed to having the internet available in their pockets on phones or small tablets, he said. In December, 41 per cent of Americans said they got most of their news about national and international issues on the internet, more than double the 17 per cent who said that a year earlier, the report said. In January, 7 per cent of Americans owned electronic tablets, nearly double what it was three months earlier. Mr Rosenstiel said it was the fastest-growing new digital technology, ahead of mobile phones when they were introduced. From a business standpoint, however, the growth in internet news consumption has not been harnessedby news companies. The project did not have numbers available but said online ad revenue was expected to surpass print newspaper ad revenue for the first time in 2010. 'The news business used to be the intermediary,' Mr Rosenstiel said. 'You needed newspapers and TV stations to reach your customers. In this age, it's the device makers and software developers.' A long-term viewership decline continues for network news, although the evening news programmes continue to have significantly more viewers than cable news networks. Cable news viewership was down 14 per cent last year and, for the first time since the project has been tracking it, dropped for each of the three networks - CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. 有报道称,智能手机和平板电脑的飞速发展使网络逐渐成为最受欢迎的获取新闻的途径。 第八次年度新闻媒体动态调查结果称,去年网上新闻消费量比前年增加了17%。 与此同时,根据“新闻业杰出表现”项目的调查,去年观看和收听美国地方新闻、无线电视和有线电视新闻、报纸、广播和杂志的人数都减少了。“新闻业杰出表现”项目是一个评估和研究媒体表现的研究机构。 那些自称上网看新闻至少一周三次的人群比例首次超过了通过看报纸获知新闻的人。项目主管汤姆 罗森斯蒂尔说,最受欢迎的新闻平台是本地电视新闻,网络仅次于这一平台而且大有赶超之势。 他说,自从20世纪60年代以来,本地电视新闻一直是最受欢迎的新闻形式,它的兴起在很大程度上导致了午后报纸的消亡。 他说:“这是具有里程碑意义的一年。” 罗森斯蒂尔说,人们正渐渐习惯通过口袋里的手机或小型平板电脑上网。 报道称,去年12月,41%的美国人称自己通过网络获知大多数国内和国际新闻,这一比例比前年(17%)翻了一番还多。 今年1月份,7%的美国人拥有了平板电脑,比三个月前增加了近两倍。罗森斯蒂尔先生说,平板电脑是发展最迅速的新数码科技,比手机推出时发展得还要快。 不过,从商业的角度来看,网络新闻消费的增长并非依靠新闻机构的运作。该项目称,尽管没有获得具体数据,但预计网络广告收入在2010年首次超过了纸媒广告收入。 罗森斯蒂尔先生说,“过去新闻机构是中介。你需要报纸和电视台才能将信息传达给客户。但是,在这个年代,中介成了设备制造商和软件开发商。” 无线电视新闻的长期收看人数继续下滑,不过晚间新闻节目的观众还是比有线电视新闻的观众要多得多。 去年有线电视新闻的观看人数比前年减少了14%。此外,自该项目开始追踪调查以来,美国有线电视新闻网、福克斯新闻频道和微软全国广播公司三大电视网的收看人数首次出现下滑。 |