Study: Web users limit themselves to just a few news sites
The majority of web users read only five or fewer news sites to stay informed. Although very few users stick to just a single source of information online, the selection of different websites is still quite limited.
This is according to a recent study by Pew Research. Only 35 percent of users who obtain information online have a favorite site and 21 percent are more or less "monogamous" and only trust a single news source on the web, reports the New York Times. 57 percent use two to five websites. This is similar to studies that show that people who have hundreds of TV channels generally only watch a few of them frequently.
While other surveys have already indicated that users are more willing to pay, according to the Pew study, only seven percent of users want to pay for access to any website. Even among those who classify themselves as fairly loyal to a single site, the willingness to pay is only 19 percent. From the point of view of many news sites, however, it would already be a success if five to ten percent of users paid for the content. Overall, only 199 different news sites account for 80 percent of traffic in the USA, while there are thousands of platforms on offer, as the Pew report also shows.
Online readers not only limit themselves to a few sources, but also often seem to be satisfied with a few snippets of information. As an Outsell survey at the end of January showed, Google News users are happy to do without the original sources. Only half continue reading on the websites of the originators.
While other surveys have already indicated that users are more willing to pay, according to the Pew study, only seven percent of users want to pay for access to any website. Even among those who classify themselves as fairly loyal to a single site, the willingness to pay is only 19 percent. From the point of view of many news sites, however, it would already be a success if five to ten percent of users paid for the content. Overall, only 199 different news sites account for 80 percent of traffic in the USA, while there are thousands of platforms on offer, as the Pew report also shows.
Online readers not only limit themselves to a few sources, but also often seem to be satisfied with a few snippets of information. As an Outsell survey at the end of January showed, Google News users are happy to do without the original sources. Only half continue reading on the websites of the originators.
