Finding News Online

With printed newspapers losing subscribers every day, people are finding other options to stay up to date with their news. Newspaper sales reached their peak in 1970 when approximately 62 million newspapers were sold in the country every day. However, with the population in the U.S. on the rise, newspapers sales are not keeping up. It is estimated that approximately 55 million newspapers are sold every day.

In the 1920’s the average newspaper purchased per household peaked at 1.3. In the 1970’s that figure started to dip to below 1 paper per house. By the year 2000, the number dropped to .53 newspapers per household.

One reason is that people just don’t read as much as they used to. People seem to be busier then ever and just don’t take the time to read any more.

Many are switching their news habits by watching the big three network news and cable news programs in place of the newspaper. With so many options on TV news, it seems that there is a news station for every taste.

While many “older” adults still prefer newspapers, “young” adults have seemed to prefer to get their news from the internet. TV news still is the most accessed news source, but the internet is quickly becoming the favorite source of news, especially in the form of news blogs, news portals and online newspapers.

Online news is gaining popularity every day. Virtually every major newspaper has a version of an online newspaper. Pioneers like Mike Drudge have been leading the way in independent news providers. And there are countless news blogs across the web.

Part of what makes news blogs so popular is that they can be used as an RSS feed. This allows the news feed to be used on other blogs across the web and also allows the news feed to be read by many more viewers. People also love news blogs because you can leave comments and this creates a dialogue on the story which is a great way to feel like you are a part of the story.

Although newspapers may be on the decline, it does not mean that people have stopped reading the news, only where they read their news from. So it seems that if you are not getting your news online, you may soon be in the minority.