Given the whole debate over the role of local in journalism, a recent Canadian study offers some surprising data.
The study (PDF) into Canadian news habits for the Canadian Media Research Consortium found that TV is the most used source, with the internet and newspapers coming joint second.
What is more interesting is the reasons behind the choice of medium. Television was attractive as it was visual and live, whereas the internet was searchable and offered a choice of sources.
The main reason for choosing newspapers was out of habit. People were either daily readers or subscribers.
But only 8% said they choose newspapers because they were a source of local news. And even less said it was because they like holding a physical paper.
So while journalists and commentators may argue over the importance of local news, it seems like regular newspaper readers, at least in Canada, don’t really care.
PDF
Maybe it’s a self-fulfilling thing. Availabiltity rather than interest.
As local newspapers move away from local to concentrate on brand and niche the local news just isn’t there to see anymore. So they don’t buy it for that.
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[...] But only 8% said they choose newspapers because they were a source of local news. And even less said it was because they like holding a physical paper. So while journalists and commentators may argue over the importance of local news, it seems like regular newspaper readers, at least in Canada, don’t really care." More [...]