News To Go…And Lots Of It

Half of all U.S. adults now have a mobile connection to the web through either a smartphone or tablet, significantly more than a year ago, which has major implications for how news will be consumed and paid for, according to a detailed new survey of news use on mobile devices by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) in collaboration with The Economist Group.

So how do you prefer to consume your news on your mobile device?

A new study from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism indicates that half of all U.S. adults now have a mobile connection to the web through either a smartphone or tablet, which is much higher than even a year ago.

Pew alleges this has “major implications for how news will be consumed and paid for.”

Agreed.

But we’re also seeing that users are moving from “snacking” on news via their mobile devices, to reading much longer form content.

And moreover, more people are moving towards using a browser and away from using an app for their tablet news consumption.

I found this one to be quite interesting, as it’s somewhat opposite from my own behavior.

For example, I’ve been a long-time New York Times reader, mainly via their Website (on my Mac), and sometimes via my iPad or iPhone 4.

I finally decided to give them some of my hard-earned money, recently signing up for an all-digital subscription. I don’t want no dead tree showing up on my doorstep!

I strongly prefer the New York Times app, particularly on the iPad. Call me old-fashioned, but being someone with a journalism background myself, I place great value on design, layout, and yes, usability.

So, I save the browser version for the desktop, but much prefer the app on my mobile devices.

Going against the trend, as always!

Some other highlights from the study:

• Lower cost tablets in late 2011 brought in a new group of tablet owners.
• There’s growing evidence mobile devices are adding to how much news people get.
• People who get news throughout the day on their mobile devices are more engaged news consumers.
• People notice ads on mobile devices and may be even more likely to click on them than they are to click on other digital ads.

From their lips to Mark Zuckerberg’s ears!

You can read more about new Pew report on mobile news usage here.

Blogger’s Note: If you’re a tried and true news junkie, then you have to check out the Magnolia Pictures documentary release “Page One: Inside the New York Times.”  The filmmakers take you inside the Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk, just as the Internet started to surpass print as our main news source and as newspapers all over the U.S. started  going bankrupt.  Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. The best part: It features lots of coverage of media columnist and technology curmudgeon, David Carr.