New Orleans Residents Now Turn To TV For Local News

Where do people go for local news when there’s no newspaper (or less newspaper than before)? TV and the Internet are the big winners, judging by a survey of New Orleans residents by Louisiana State University’s Public Policy Research Lab.
 
TV won by a considerable margin, with 76% of New Orleans residents saying local TV news will be their first choice now that the New Orleans Times-Picayune is moving from a daily publication schedule to three days a week, followed by 44% who said they’ll turn to the Internet, according to the survey, which allowed multiple responses.

Just 40% said they will continue reading the Times-Picayune for local news. Asked to choose their favorite local news source overall (exclusive of other choices) 44.5% said TV, 22.9% said newspapers, and 18.8% chose the Internet.
 
Asked their favorite source of national news, 38.9% chose TV and 24.7% chose the Internet, while just 7% said local newspapers, and 4.1% said national newspapers. TV also led in terms of trustworthiness, with 46.1% saying local TV news is the most trustworthy, compared to just 26.9% for newspapers.
 
Most New Orleans residents (82%) are aware that the Times-Picayune is moving from daily publication to three days a week, although the proportion varies by educational attainment, with 95% of respondents with a college degree expressing awareness of that fact, compared to 75% of those with only a high school degree.

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Awareness of the schedule change also varied by age, with just 41% of the 18-24 cohort expressing awareness, compared to 74% of the 25-34 cohort, and over 90% for respondents 35+.

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