Pew: Web Users Still Unlikely to Pay for News

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002234825

Published: March 22, 2006 8:45 PM ET

NEW YORK -- Americans with high-speed Internet connections at home are far more likely than dial-up users to go online for news, a new study finds.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project says 43 percent of broadband users turn to the Internet to get news, compared with 26 percent for dial-up users. Broadband users are also more likely to read a national newspaper, but less likely to turn to local television.

< snip >

Still, local television is the leading source of news, used by 65 percent of dial-up users and 57 percent of broadband users. National television and radio are also popular sources across the board.

Among dial-up users, the local paper is the next leading source, but among broadband users, the Internet has a slight edge 43 percent vs. 38 percent. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for questions asked only of broadband users.

The study also finds Americans largely unwilling to pay for news. Only 6 percent of Internet users have bought video clips, articles or other news items online but more than half have registered at free news sites by providing information about themselves.

The beauty of the web is the free exchange of information and ideas! Or maybe I'm just old school.

if they did as good a job of assembling ALL the news and presenting it as I can do for myself. The reason I don't bother with newspapers is that they are not trustworthy, they print lies and drivel and leave out important things I want to know about. You cannot simultaneously be a state propaganda organ and a reliable news source. DU is a far better news source than the NYT, which is why I spend my money here instead of there.