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LexisNexis Survey Shows Today’s Consumers Trust Traditional Media Sources the Most
In the future, more than one out of three consumers expect they will rely on both emerging news and traditional news
DAYTON, OH, October 02, 2006 - LexisNexis U.S., a leading provider of information and services solutions, today announced the results of a nationwide survey that reveal the news sources that consumers trust the most.
The findings show that when consumers are faced with major events that significantly affect their lives, such as a pandemic or an ominous hurricane, their trust mostly remains with traditional media, such as professional journalists at mainstream newspapers, magazines, television and radio, versus emerging media sources created by citizen journalists including Internet-only publications, blogs and podcasts.
Half of those surveyed said that they would turn to network television for immediate news information in such situations, while the next most popular source was the radio (42%). Findings show that approximately a third of consumers (37%) would use daily local newspapers or cable news or business networks (33%), and a quarter of those interviewed would rely on Internet sites of print and broadcast media. In contrast, emerging media like Internet user groups, blogs and chat rooms would be used by (6%) surveyed.
LexisNexis asked consumers which news sources they are more likely to trust for information about the news that interests them the most. On average, consumers are four to six times more likely to feel that traditional media is more trustworthy than emerging news sources for news they feel is most interesting.
Top pick news topics of interest (each selected by approximately a third of consumers) included entertainment, hobbies, weather, and food/cooking. Following closely was sports, selected by roughly two-in-ten consumers.
For entertainment, consumers most often picked traditional lifestyle media as the most trusted source. However, Internet blogs, user groups and chat rooms were selected next most often, followed by weekly or monthly general interest and news magazines. Radio came next, with special interest or topic-specific Internet sites following to round out the top five.
In line with America’s concern about weight and health, the survey identified that food was selected as a topic of interest nearly twice as often as politics/elections (29% vs. 15%). Additionally, LexisNexis discovered that popular entertainment was selected as a topic of interest five times more often than personal finance, which received the lowest proportion of interest ratings among the 21 categories included in the survey.
In the future, more than half (52%) of the consumers surveyed anticipate they will continue to mostly trust and rely on traditional news sources. However, more than a third (35%) expect they will trust and rely on both emerging news and traditional news in the future, and more than one in ten (13%) anticipate they will trust and rely mostly on emerging media.
Survey Methodology
Traditional news is defined as professional journalists at well-established, popular and mainstream newspapers, magazines, television, radio, etc (and their Internet sites). Emerging or non-traditional news is defined as citizen journalists, pundits and organizations who create alternative or Internet-only publications, blogs and podcasts, often with a personal or particular point of view.
More than 1,500 Americans between the ages of 25-64 were surveyed. These respondents were separated in to two groups, business professionals and consumers. 333 of the 1,500 respondents were defined as business professionals in executive- or management-level jobs. The remaining 1,167 were defined as consumers. The accuracy rate of the survey is +/- 2.5 to 3.5 percent margin of error at 95 percent confidence for total sample of 1,167 completed consumer interviews. Among demographic, behavioral and attitudinal sub-groups, the accuracy rate is +/- 4 to 5 percent margin of error at 95 percent confidence.
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis® (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading provider of information and services solutions, including its flagship Web-based Lexis® and Nexis® research services, to a wide range of professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. A member of Reed Elsevier Group plc [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), LexisNexis serves customers in 100 countries with 13,000 employees worldwide.
LexisNexis has more than 30 years of experience in organizing enormous data stores and developing and delivering sophisticated search, integration, and analytic tools that can be tailored to a user’s workflow. LexisNexis works closely with its customers to help them find the answers they need to make informed business decisions that drive winning results.
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