A new report out today suggests that the Internet is changing the way Americans access, consume and share news in the digital age.

Once considered the “big three” — television, newspapers and radio — traditional news platforms are undergoing internal restructuring as they seek to remain competitive against the explosion of online media sources.

According to a March 2010 Pew Internet & American Life Project report, “Understanding the Participatory News Consumer”, Americans want their news when they want it, from where they want it, and in a way they can react to it.

“Almost all American adults (99%) say that on a typical day, they get their news from at least one news platform,” the Pew report finds, “including 92% who follow the news on multiple platforms.”

The Pew report is based on telephone interviews with 2,259 adult Americans conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International between December 28, 2009 and January 19, 2010.

Here’s how the numbers break down:

• 78% of Americans get news from a local TV station
• 73% get news from a national television network or cable TV station
• 61% get some kind of news online
• 54% listen to a radio news program at home or in the car
• 50% read news in the print version of a local newspaper
• 17% read news in the print version of a national newspaper

The Pew report also explores the changing nature of news presentation and distribution, and how news is becoming a social experience.

“In this new multi-platform media environment, people’s relationship to news is becoming portable, personalized, and participatory,” the 69-page report indicates.

Reflecting these new metrics, the data reveals that 33% of cell phone owners access news through portable devices, 28% of internet users have customized home pages to deliver news content of interest to them, and 37% of internet users have participated in the creation, commenting or dissimination of news.

“The advent of social media like social networking sites and blogs has helped the news become a social experience in fresh ways for consumers,” researchers conclude. “People use their social networks and social networking technology to filter, assess, and react to news.”

Particularly striking are the reasons survey participants gave for following the news.

While some do so for work-related reasons or for purely personal enjoyment, an overwhelming majority of Americans — 72% — say they consume news as a social exercise whereby they discuss it with family, friends and colleagues.

Additionally, 69% of Americans who follow news say they do so because they have a “social or civic obligation” to stay informed.

Among the news topics sought after online, a full 81% of respondents seek information about the weather, 73% about national events, 66% about health or medicine, 64% about finance or the economy, 62% about international events and 60% about science and technology.

When asked, “Is there enough coverage of this topic?” Americans’ responses about coverage of the following topics were clear: they have access to sufficient sports, business and arts news, and want more access to science, religion, and state/local government content.

Here’s how the numbers break down:

• Sports – 87% say enough, 6% say not enough
• Business & Finance – 75% say enough, 18% not enough
• International News – 63% say enough, 32% say not enough
• Music & Arts – 63% say enough, 29% say not enough
• Technology – 62% say enough, 33% say not enough
• Health & Medicine – 59% say enough, 39% say not enough
• U.S. Domestic Policy – 59% say enough, 34% say not enough
• Local Community – 57% say enough, 38% say not enough
• State Government – 55% say enough, 39% say not enough
• Religion & Spirituality – 51% say enough, 41% say not enough
• Scientific News & Discoveries – 50% say enough, 44% say not enough

Read the full Pew Report

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