The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism put out its 7th State of the News Media report back on March 15. (Sorry, I have been busy and missed posting about this report earlier.)
And, as usual, the PEJ has some insightful and distrubing results.
For the third consecutive year, only digital and cable news saw audiences grow among the key sectors that deliver news.
In cable in 2009, those gains were largely captured by one network, Fox, though during the day, a breaking-news time, CNN also gained viewers.
What’s more, the data continue to suggest a clear pattern in how Americans gravitate for news: people are increasingly “on demand” consumers, seeking platforms where they can get the news they want when they want it from a variety of sources rather than have to come at appointed times and to one news organization.
And
Local television news is now seeing rapid audience declines beyond those in network, and those numbers appeared to accelerate in 2009. According to PEJ analysis of Nielsen data, viewership of the late news fell an average of 6.5% in 2009, four times the rate of a year earlier. Early evening news, at the dinner hour, fell 5.5% (similar to 2008). And early morning news, the programs that air prior to network morning shows that have been an island of relative stability for audiences, fell by 6.1% on average.
Newspapers saw print circulation losses accelerate in 2009. In the latest period, September, industry-wide circulation fell 10.6% from a year earlier. That comes on top of losses of 4.6% in 2008. The industry has lost 25.6% in daily circulation since 2000. Those declines, however, pale by comparison to the loss in revenues, which represent a more significant problem.
All in all a must read for anyone interested in the future of journalism.