Press Release Professionals: TV Dominance of Local News to Become Next Great Media Battleground

January 25, 2012

As newspaper readership plummets and online sources increasingly dominate news distribution, Press Release Professionals explains why local TV news continues to be the number one source of local news and how that is all about to change.

While statistics clearly show that Americans are increasingly turning to online sources and mobile devices to get their news, one powerful throwback continues to dominate – local TV.

According to a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, three-quarters of Americans say they learn about news via email and social media sites, while only half claim they read a national or local print newspaper. In addition, more people rely on news from the Internet than from newspapers — and more ad dollars are directed towards online outlets than all newspapers combined.

That said, the single most popular source for local information remains local television. According to Pew, nearly three-fourths of Americans watch local TV newscasts or visit their local television station website at least once per week and typically for one of three specific topics: the weather (89%), breaking news (80%) and traffic. It's a stranglehold that major media players hope to break – and demographics are clearly on their side.

According to Press Release Professionals, because younger consumers under the age of 40 are comfortable turning to the Internet for a broad range of topics -- including politics, local government, crime reports, cultural happenings and job listings -- as those individuals age, the legacy of local print and TV news will likely fade as well. Filling the void in the near term will likely be a host of nimble, locally oriented news and social media outlets.

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Media Contact:*: David Field

Contact Email: *: Press@PressReleaseProfessionals.com

Address: *: Annapolis Pl

City:*: Annapolis

State/Province:*: MD

Zip:*: 21401

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