Technologies have always been the disrupters and the internet may be proving to be one of the biggest of all time. For more than 300 years newspapers have been a mainstay of information for Americans. Dating back to when postmaster John Campbell first published the Boston News-Letter in 1704.

Since then radio, television, online and wireless have been feeding Americans’ insatiable appetites for local and national news. In fact, news out this week from the Pew Research Center reports an overwhelming majority of Americans, 92%, are using multiple platforms to get their daily dose of news, weather and sports. Half of that number uses at least four to six platforms a day.

Here is where Pew says we stack up:

Only local and national TV news, the latter if you combine cable and network, are more popular platforms than the internet for news. And most Americans use a combination of both online and offline sources.

On a typical day:

• 78% of Americans say they get news from a local TV station.
• 73% say they get news from a national network such as CBS or cable TV station such as CNN or Fox News.
• 61% say they get some kind of news online.
• 54% say they listen to a radio news program at home or in the car.
• 50% say they read news in a local newspaper.
• 17% say they read news in a national newspaper such as the New York Times or USA Today.

Now you understand why newspapers got into the internet game early. Adapt or die. That same strategy will pay off in the personal portable device space, of smartbook devices like Kindle, Nook and Ipad. Just this week an internal memo at Conde Nast reportedly announced plans to offer Ipad versions of some of their most popular magazines: Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair The New Yorker and Glamour. It is estimated that by 2015 there will be 163 million smartbooks in users hands.

The Associated Press released plans this week to provide a new portable strategy called AP Gateway that will sell news content directly to the smartbook user, in particular Ipad. The content will be a blend of the news cooperatives print and broadcast partners and the AP’s staff journalists.

The Pew study also paints similarities among television and online users. With most online users, 57%, saying they limit their use of news website to just two to five websites. We are getting more portable and social too, with a third of the people using mobile phones to access news and 37% say they contributed, commented or posted news items on social sites, like Facebook and Twitter.

There is no question, news consumers expect multiple platforms, will seek out those that provide them, will connect with the news organizations through social networks and once there become loyal followers and participants in the news process.

Stations and newspapers that still have a limited reach in distribution channels will find themselves falling further behind and those that have chosen to wait for a more clear business model, may not recover. The shift is taking place now, time to get in the game!

And if you’re going to get into the game, how you do it matters a great deal. Read Terry’s piece next to learn about one TV station that’s doing it right for the Web.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 7:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.