Until a few months ago I read the newspaper everyday, a regular subscriber since I was 18 years old. At first I read it for sports and entertainment. As I got older I enjoyed reading and learning more about hard news stories that were not being covered in depth on TV news. When the local paper (Raleigh News & Observer) shrank to a small size of coverage due to budget cuts, I had to say goodbye to my morning paper.
Since then I have been reading Newser to browse national and world news headlines. For local news I’ve been relying on Twitter for links to local news stories. I have to admit that this changes in news and information consumption has been happening over several years. As the web has grown we all have searched for specific news stories for research, curiosity or to get the information ASAP. Also the web has allowed us to read news in places where we don’t reside in but may want to keep abreast of regional news.
I have found that reading news on the web is OK for scanning articles to get a quick glimpse and basic understanding of the story. I have discovered that reading more in depth articles I find it more difficult to read longer stories online. I hate to say it but I’ve developed the terrible habit of scanning to get some quick information, then skipping to the next interesting story link on the page.
The other downside is that I find myself watching TV news more. I have been watching several of the networks as much as possible to gauge the quality of the news as well as personalities and branding of each network. But I have to admit the most interesting two networks are NBC and Fox News. I like NBC as the best of the big three networks for their evening news. Fox News I started watching to see if it was “Fair and Balanced,” as they claim. I have to admit that Fox News is more com temporary in terms of how it integrates new media. I don’t agree with their conservative slant but do understand how they have captured the cable news rankings.
How do you get your news? How has it changed with technology? Share your experience.
