This information is from the latest Pew Research Center survey on the media -- done between July 17th and 21st of 1,480 nationwide adults -- with a margin of error of 3 points.It has been said that the internet is killing off newspapers. And looking at these survey numbers, a person could certainly make that case. While 54% of those 65 and over still read a newspaper to get much of their news, that percentage has dropped rapidly for younger age groups -- only 29% of those 50 to 64 read newspapers and a smaller yet 18% of those 30 to 49 do so. Those are some horrid numbers.
But note that there is a small ray of hope. Look at the 18 to 29 age group. About 22% of them get much of their news from newspapers -- that's 4% higher than the age group just above them (and slightly more than the margin of error). Is that an outlier number (and a future survey will show it to be wrong)? Are newspapers starting to make a comeback? Or have newspapers just bottomed out, and a readership of just over 20% will be the new reality for a while?
I don't have the answer. It could be any of those three possibilities. I just thought it was interesting that the youngest adults showed a slight increase in readership, instead of a continuing decrease. Maybe there is hope after all for one of the oldest of our news media.
