The Pew Research Center produced a lengthy "How People Learn About Their Local Community" report today. It's kind of a vague topic, but digging deeper into the results produced some interesting facts.

Instead of the perceived dependence on online media, the report illustrated Americans' interest in relatively diverse news platforms. In the survey of more than 2,000 adult Americans, newspapers ranked first or tied for first in the majority of topics (weather, sports, local news, etc.). But 69 percent of those participants said that the death of their local newspaper would have little impact on their ability to access local news.

Apparently, these local news hounds relay on the web, as 79 percent of participants who use the internet say it's their number one source for specifically local news. So, while local newspapers may not be pulling their weight on the street, their online counterparts are racking in the views. I'm going to go out on a limb and say commenting is probably a top draw.

Also, check out this infographic on demographic groups and their favorite newsy themes:

Figure4a_DemographicGroups-01.jpg
  • Pew Research Center

The Poynter Institute found another interesting trend in the report's results. "While Americans are following news more closely, they’re also more distrustful of the media than ever, with 75 percent saying journalists can’t get their facts straight and 60 percent saying they’re biased." Yikes.

So to wrap up this post: Newspapers are still more than cheap wrapping paper and I may be lying about this entire report. Go figure.