TV Network News Top Source of News and Information Today

Gathering news and information used to be easy – there was the network news and the daily newspaper. Then cable news stations entered the picture, forever changing the news landscape. And the impact of the Internet has changed it even further. With all of these 24-hour news sources at our fingertips, will there still be a place for newspapers in the new information age?

The answer is "yes", according to a recent Harris Poll. In a survey of adults in five European countries, Australia and the United States, readership of major daily newspapers today ranges from a low of six percent of adults in Great Britain and Italy to a high of 13 percent in Spain and Germany. The number one source for each country is TV network news.

But, looking five years in to the future, the number for major daily newspapers drops just slightly. The lowest percentage of adults who indicate that major daily newspapers will be their source for news and information is in Great Britain and Italy (4% each) while the highest percentage is among German adults (12%). The big difference is that online news and information sites become the number one source of news and information for the United States, France, Italy, and Spain and are tied for first for Australian adults. TV network news will still be first for adults in Great Britain and Germany.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll which was conducted online by Harris Interactive^® among a total of 8,749 adults within France (1,134); Germany (1,133); Great Britain (1,006); Italy (1,122); Spain (995); Australia (976); and the United States (2,383), between May 2 and 14, 2007. In Italy and the United States, these adults were 18 and older; in all other countries, they were 16 and older. Data from this survey was also presented at the World Association of Newspapers Annual Congress on June 6, 2007.

Across the countries, frequency of newspaper readership varies greatly. Almost half (48%) of Spanish adults and 46 percent of Germans are regular readers (5 or more days a week). Two out of five US adults (39%) are regular readers as are one-third of British adults (35%), Italian adults (34%) and Australian adults (33%). On the low end, just one-quarter (26%) of French adults regularly read the paper while 44 percent of them are infrequent readers, only one day a week or less.

There have been a lot of reasons given for not reading the newspaper. The number one reason for U.S. (58%), French (57%), German (56%) and Australian (66%) adults is simply lack of time. For British and Spanish adults, the top reason for not reading the newspaper is that it is biased or too narrow of a viewpoint in its reporting (54% for each country). For over half of Italian adults (52%) the top reason is that it is easier to go online for news and information. As this is also a reason for over half of U.S. and French adults (55% each) and half of Australian adults (49%), it is definitely something newspapers should be concerned with in moving towards the future.

Ultimately, it seems that a good deal of information gathering is occurring online. Half of adults in Germany and Australia as well as more than half of French (54%), US (56%) and Spanish adults (58%) access online news and information sites at least once a day. In Italy, this number jumps as three-quarters of adults (74%) access online news sites at least once a day. Great Britain seems slower to go online. One-third (31%) of British adults do not access online news sites with any regularity and an additional 28 percent of them only access them about once a week.

Newspapers may have a small credibility issue. While adults in these seven countries do not believe that newspapers have absolutely no credibility, they do not believe they have complete credibility either. On a scale of 0 to 100 where "0" means they have absolutely no credibility and "100" means complete credibility, adults in great Britain rate newspapers a score of 50 – which is the lowest of all the countries -- closely followed by Italy (mean of 52) and the United States (mean of 57). Adults in France, Spain and Australia all are close in their attitudes towards newspapers’ credibility as they give mean scores of 58, 59 and 60, respectively. Adults in Germany, however, have the strongest concept of newspapers’ credibility as they give them a score of 67.

While people may not be reading newspapers as much as they once were, they still do see the importance of them. Four out of five or more adults in all seven countries say it is important for newspapers to have roles such as providing news and information about evens in their region, country and the world. Three-quarters or more in each of the countries surveyed believe an important role of newspapers is to provide news they can use in their daily life and that is interesting to know. One area where the United States varies from the other countries is in providing information that is needed to know how to vote. Eight in ten U.S. adults (79%) say this is an important role of newspapers and this is by far the highest of all the countries. Just six in ten Italian and British adults (60% and 61% respectively) feel the same way.

Looking more specifically to the future, the top thing newspapers and their associated online news sites could do to better represent the issues in their communities would be to ensure all points of views are represented. Another important item for the future is providing more research and findings on key issues. Two in five (44%) U.S. adults, half of Spanish adults and 57 percent of Australian adults all say this is something newspapers could do to better represent issues in their communities. More than half of German adults (52%) and 48 percent of Australian adults believe raising the quality of writing and analysis would help newspapers in the future.

"What are your sources for news and information today?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, US adults and Australian adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Note: Respondents were presented with choices and their total of sources used needed to add up to 100%

"What do you think your sources for news and information will be five years from now?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, US adults and Australian adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Note: Respondents were presented with choices and their total of sources used needed to add up to 100%

"How would you assess the credibility of newspapers today (think of those that you familiar with) on an index of 0 to 100 where a ‘0’ means they have absolutely no credibility and a ‘100’ means complete credibility at all times?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, Australia and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

"Please indicate how important, in your life and/or community, you feel each of the following roles are for a newspaper and its associated online news sites as well as any specialty publications it may have?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, Australia and US adults

"What do you think causes some people not to want to read a newspaper on a regular basis?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, Australia and US adults

Note: Multiple Responses Allowed

"What can newspapers and their associated online news sites and specialty publications do to better represent the issues in their communities in the future?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, Australia and US adults

Note: Multiple Responses Allowed

"Please indicate your frequency of newspaper readership"

Base: All EU adults in five countries, US adults and Australian adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

"Please indicate your frequency of accessing online news and information sites. Please choose the statement which best describes you."

Base: All EU adults in five countries, US adults and Australian adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

This Harris Poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive within France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain (aged 16 and older) and adults in the United States, Australia, and Italy (aged 18 and over) between 2^nd and 14th May 2007. By country, the totals are: France 1,134; Germany 1,133; Great Britain 1,006; Italy 1,122; Spain 995. Australia 976; and the United States 2,383. Figures for age, sex, education, region and Internet usage were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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