2010-09-11-皮尤-Americans_Spending_More_Time_Following_the_News_145页_1mb

Summary of "Ideological News Sources: Who Watches and Why" (Pew Research Center, 2010)

Key Findings

Time Spent on News and Media Consumption

• Americans spend an average of 70 minutes per day on news (combining traditional and digital sources).
• Television remains the dominant platform, with 58% of Americans consuming news on TV daily. However, the time spent has plateaued since the mid-1990s.
• Digital news consumption has grown steadily, but does not fully compensate for declining readership of traditional print media, though it extends the total time spent with news.

Media Integration Across Ages

• Young adults (18-29) increasingly "graze" for news—spending less time and often not at "regular times"—together with older adults (65+) maintaining traditional, scheduled news habits.
• Those in their 30s (30-39) are most likely to integrate both digital and traditional sources, spending nearly two hours on news per day.

Shifting Sources and Political Alignment

• Fox News boasts the largest conservative audience (44% overall), especially among Republicans (48% conservative Republicans). Its viewership is more partisan and politically skewed than other cable news outlets.
• Conservative news audiences (e.g., Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh) show higher political homogeneity. As many as 75% of conservative Republicans tune into Glenn Beck’s show, while only 3% of Democrats watch MSNBC, reflecting stark ideological divides.
• Fox News, Fox News Channel (FNC), Fox News has grown three times faster than other cable news sources since 2002, cementing its role as a key conservative driver of viewership and polarization.

Political Bias and Trust

• Majority (82%) of Americans perceive some news bias. News outlets with the highest trust ratings among Republicans (Fox News) are least trusted by Democrats (e.g., MSNBC and CNN are deemed most liberal by 8% to 42% of Republicans, but most trusted by Democrats (41-87% give highest rating)).
• Fewer people believe the news is about the same (from 64% in 1998 to 39% in 2010), pointing to increasing skepticism over media credibility.

College Education, Gender, and Income as Determinants

• College graduates are more likely than non-graduates to consume news from multiple sources and spend more time online. The educational divide is linked to media trust and source reliance.
• Men outpace women in digital news engagement (50% vs 39% use digital sources), and non-Hispanic whites remain overrepresented in news consumption compared to minorities.

Platform-Specific Trends

• Growth has been seen in podcasts, mobile news use, and social media (around 9% of adults get news via social networking sites or Twitter). However, Twitter use specifically is low in influencing news consumption, while email is a common secondary route for news.
• Use of RSS/custom web pages or blogs grows among the highly educated and politically active, but less so among those without recent schooling or higher incomes.

Ideological Identification and Media Audiences

• Heavy identification with labels like Tea Party supporter or Christian conservative is widespread among conservative media consumers. Conversely, progressive and environmentalist leanings are most common among liberal audiences.
• Audiences for liberal-leaning news (e.g., The Colbert Report, Rachel Maddow) show strong ideological alignment in their demographic profiles and reasons for consuming media—expressing a dislike for partisan bias.

Impact of the Digital Revolution

• Digital technologies have moved Americans to integrate newer forms of news consumption without fully replacing traditional media; television, however, remains the most consuming medium.

Conclusion

The report captures a bifurcated news ecosystem: traditional media still holds sway for certain demographics and interests, while digital platforms accelerate political polarization. Credibility remains low across the board, and partisan divides continue to grow. As new technologies evolve, understanding media consumption requires acknowledging the role of age, education, income, and politics in shaping news choices and perception.