According to Pew Research audiences for most traditional news sources have steadily declined, as the number of people getting news online has surged.
Recent figures from Nielsen show that in 2008 the number of people getting news online passed those reading newspapers and it’s headed for an intersection with TV in the future.
Since the early 1990s, the proportion of Americans saying they read a newspaper on a typical day has declined by about 40%; the proportion that regularly watches nightly network news has fallen by half.
Younger audiences are more accustomed to watching the news on the Internet than on television.
These ‘Net-Newsers’ are the youngest of the news user segments (median age: 35). They’re are affluent and well educated: More than eight-in-ten have at least attended college. Net-Newsers not only rely primarily on the internet for news, they are leading the way in using new web features and other technologies. Nearly twice as many regularly watch news clips on the internet as regularly watch nightly network news broadcasts (30% vs. 18%).
To reach this audience , CBS News announced that it has partnered with UStream, a live video Web site, to simulcast its newscasts and special reports. (via New York Times)
Ustream will feature breaking news coverage several times everyday– presidential press conferences, Congressional hearings, and online-only content and on-air programs such as the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
This is not CBS’ first foray into social media -Katie Couric already has a YouTube channel and a Twitter feed with 28,486 followers.
Although CBSNews.com already shows many of those live streams, UStream makes the video more interactive – users can comment and chat beside the live coverage and embed the video player on other sites.
PR Lesson: More and more people get their news online. The younger, well educated and affluent segment get their news almost exclusively online. (92%) They are social media savvy. The use feeds (RSS) to access news.
Put all your news content online, optimize it for search and syndicate it with feeds.
