According to initial data from The Harris Poll conducted by Harris Interactive on September 12, 2001, television was the primary source of information for 78% of Americans with online access in the 24 hours immediately following the attacks, followed by radio at 15% and the Internet at 3%.
However, the same poll conducted three weeks later shows that the Internet has achieved significant gains, with 8% of the population now using the Net as their primary source of news, while both television (76%) and radio (8%) experienced declines.
"There can no longer be any doubt that, for Americans who have online access, the Internet is second only to television as the medium of choice for news and information," said Michael Zimbalist, acting executive director of the Online Publishers Association. "And unlike any other medium, the Internet audience continues to experience rapid worldwide growth."
According to Harris, the percentage of people using the Internet as one of their information sources, if not their primary source, jumped from 64% to 80% in the two weeks since the attacks, overtaking radio (72%) and second only to television, with 98%.
The top reasons given for using the Internet as a news and information source were 1) that it provides information users want when they want it (63%), 2) that it delivers more detailed information (43%), 3) that it delivers more up to date information (42%), and 4) that the information is accessible at work (42%).
Harris reports that 35% of the people interviewed said their number of visits to news websites had increased and that 47% said the amount of time they spent on news websites had increased.
These new results are from a nationwide follow up survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the OPA among 989 adults who have access to the Internet. The survey data were weighted using demographic weights to be a representative sample of all adults who are online.