By: Scott Stein, VP of Client Services, Leonard & Finco Public Relations
There’s been a lot said about Millennials and their appetite
for news. Or should I say their lack of interest in keeping up with news
events.
But a new study sheds a little different light on the subject.
The comprehensive study was conducted by the Media InsightProject – a collaboration of the American Press Institute and the Associate
Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Some of the findings…
- 85 percent of Millennials say that keeping up with the news is at least somewhat important to them
- 69 percent say they get news daily
- 45 percent say they regularly follow five or more “hard news” topics
- 40 percent say they pay for at least one news-specific service, app or digital subscription
The study shows that Millennials are a group that really
doesn’t consume news in discrete sessions or by going directly to news
providers. Instead, they tend to get news through the sources that they
interact with on a regular basis. So it should come as no surprise that 88
percent of this generation gets news from Facebook regularly and more than half
of them get news from Facebook on a daily basis.
The study finds that “news and information are woven into an
often continuous but mindful way that Millennials connect the world generally,
which mixes news with social connection, problem solving, social action and
entertainment.”
So for those of us in PR or the news business, it’s a
challenge to try to reach a broad audience that includes Millennials. It’s crucial
to use the tools available through “new media” to reach these younger news and
information consumers, yet we can’t toss aside traditional avenues that still
reach many “seasoned” viewers, listeners and readers.
What do you think? How do you stay on top of the news? Have
your news consumption habits changed over the years?
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