A recent poll conducted by second-year Ryerson University journalism students, indicates about two-thirds of undergraduate students are getting their news primarily from online sources.
The poll found that 40.5 per cent of students go to online news sources first, followed by 35.7 per cent who go to social media. The poll showed only 12 per cent of undergraduates get their news from television. About seven per cent said they don’t consume news and around five per cent say they rely on friends to fill them in on the news.
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A study from PewResearch.org listed Facebook as the most popular social media website used for news consumption in the U.S. In their study, they found that entertainment topped the list as the most popular news shared on Facebook.
“Seven in ten (70 per cent) indicating they regularly consume news media, either online, newspaper or TV seems pretty high to me. That tells me this is a highly informed sample,” said Keren Gottfried, a Master of Arts candidate in public policy and administration at Ryerson University.
As Gottfried suggests, the students polled represent a highly informed sample; however the poll doesn’t indicate what kind of news that undergraduates are consuming.
News gathering online can be more selective because students can choose who and what they follow. The poll results would be more accurate if students listed what news organizations they follow and what news topics interest them.
We can speculate that social media is re-shaping news because posts are gauged by their popularity—being consumed from shares by friends on social media or globally trending topics.
Of the poll data collected by the sample size, 76 per cent of undergraduate students find their news online first. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.0 with a confidence level of 99 per cent of the sample size polled—1155 students from January 25, 2015 to January 29, 2015—from the 112,000 undergraduate population in Toronto. The undergraduate population was calculated from the campuses polled— Ryerson University, George Brown, University of Toronto and The Ontario College of Art and Design University. The confidence level for students that regularly consume news, (70 per cent) has a plus or minus 3.8 margin of error.