Study: Websites of traditional media enjoy trust

According to a study by the US Pew Research Center, the internet is becoming a more important source of information than television among broadband users. Every day, 23 percent of Americans visit information sites on the Internet, and among broadband users the figure is as high as 43 percent. Conclusion: The Internet is increasingly catching up with television as the primary source of information, although 60% of respondents still cite television as their primary source of information. Surfers prefer the websites of the traditional media: 46% inform themselves on the sites of CNN and MSNBC, 32% read their local newspaper online and 20% visit the national newspapers online. Weblogs have not yet been able to establish themselves as a news source. Only 9 percent of all Internet users (12 percent of users with broadband) stated that they take weblogs into account when searching for information. Paid content is also not yet suitable for mass use. Only 6 percent stated that they use them. Users are more tolerant when it comes to free registration. Here, 54 percent of users have already registered on at least one site. The Pew study is based on a telephone survey of 3,011 adults conducted between November 29 and December 31, 2005.