Younger adults prefer text, not broadcast, for news

Here's a somewhat encouraging bit of research for newspapers and other media that rely on text stories, not necessarily on paper: "When asked whether one prefers to read, watch or listen to their news, younger adults are far more likely than older ones to opt for text, and most of that reading takes place on the web," reports Amy Mitchell of the Pew Research Center.

Overall, more Americans (46%) prefer to watch their news than to read it (35%) or listen to it (17%), a Pew survey found this year. "But that varies dramatically by age," Mitchell reports. The younger the reader, the more likely he or she is to get news online. "About eight in ten (81%) of 18- to 29-year-olds who prefer to read their news also prefer to get their news online; just 10% choose a print newspaper. The breakdown among 30- to 49-year-olds is similar. News readers who are ages 50-64, on the other hand, are more evenly split between a preference for the web (41%) and print paper (40%), while those 65 and older mostly still turn to the print paper (63%)."

"There is also evidence that younger adults who prefer to watch their news are beginning to make the transition to doing so on a computer rather than a television," Mitchell writes. "While 57% of 18- to 29-year-old news watchers prefer to get their news via TV, 37% cite the web as their platform of choice. That is far more than any other age group, including double the percentage of 30- to 49-year-old news watchers."