ProPublica readers: 68% primary source of news is online

By Robin J Phillips on Dec 16, 2011 in Media | Advertising

According to 2,583 people who follow ProPublica.org, print newspapers continue to decline as a primary source for news.

Results of ProPublica’s 2011 Reader Survey

According to the participants, their primary source of news is:

Online – 68%, compared to 605 in May 2010 survey and 53% in December 2008.
Print newspapers – 13%, down from 19% last year and 25% in 2008.

ProPublica readers use social media: 74% regularly use Facebook, 38% Twitter, 37% Google+ and 34% LinkedIn.

Richard Tofel, who wrote up the survey for ProPublica, said, “The results aren’t scientific, but the large sample does likely indicate that they’re meaningful.”

About the Author

I am digital director at the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism, which I joined in 2009. Before that I was Online Community Manager for azcentral, the online site for The Arizona Republic. Before arriving in Arizona, I worked at Newsday where I was Deputy Business Editor. I was the small business editor at BusinessWeek Online. I teach journalists to use Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to expand and manage their networks. And I am a cofounder of #wjchat, a weekly Twitter chat about web journalism. You can reach me at Email: Robin.Phillips@BusinessJournalism.org OR RobinJPhillips.com OR @RobinJP