• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 9 hours ago

There are many theories about what it takes to be a reliable news publisher. But what about the other side of the issue – what does it take to be a “good news consumer?”  

Pew Research examined this in a recent study. Here are the traits mentioned by consumers themselves:

• Being discerning or skeptical—20% 
• Following the news or staying informed—17% 
• Getting news from quality sources—13% 
• Researching or fact-checking the news—12% 
• Getting news from a variety of sources—10% 
• Getting news from a variety of perspectives—7% 
• Not sharing inaccurate information—4%
• Using the news to make decisions—3%
• Other—10%

Mind you, 32% of the respondents didn’t answer this question.

And these are not large percentages. Still, 82% sometimes do their own research to check the accuracy of news being presented.  

In a focus group conducted with this survey, one woman said that “double-checking, verifying, gathering news from multiple types of media and from multiple sources, and then drawing your own conclusion about what is correct or what is not correct” are all important when engaging with news. 

So they are. But the study didn’t mention the most critical attribute of a good news consumer.

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