newjerseynewsroom.com

Internet surpasses radio in providing who, what, when, and where

Where do New Jerseyans get most of their information on state politics and public affairs?

One in three New Jerseyans visit a news website nearly every day to obtain news, according to a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll made public Tuesday.

The poll reveals that news websites are closing the gap on television and newspapers and have passed radio when it comes to New Jerseyans seeking their daily dose of news.

• 43 percent watch a news broadcast from a New York City or Philadelphia television affiliate nearly every day, with 70 percent having done this in the past month;
• 42 percent read a newspaper nearly every day, with 80 percent having done this in the past month;
• 32 percent visit a news website nearly every day, with 61 percent having done this in the past month; and
• 22 percent listen to talk radio nearly every day, with 41 percent having done this in the past month.

Regular newspaper readers tend to be more interested in national or local happenings rather than state news. However, the poll also suggests that newspaper readers may be more familiar with state political figures than are those who rely on other media for New Jersey specific information.

Despite what they use to get most of their state-level news, Garden State residents get information from a variety of sources:

In general, television and print media are used about equally, but most New Jersey newspaper readers say they tend to look mainly for local community news, 42 percent, when they open a paper. Even national news, 30 percent, beats out state news, 15 percent, as the type of coverage New Jersey newspaper readers are most interested in from their print media.

"Like most Americans, New Jerseyans have become accustomed to turning on the television for news updates,'' said Patrick Murray, the poll's director. "However, the focus of TV coverage tends to be national or the city where those media outlets are located, while newspapers are favored for their local news coverage. Since we lack a home-grown broadcast media market, this leaves a gap for state-level news exposure in New Jersey."

New Jersey based outlets - regardless of medium — are seen as providing better coverage of the state than New York or Philadelphia news organizations. Specifically, 59 percent of New Jersey residents give state based newspapers a positive rating of excellent or good for the job they do covering Garden State news, while 27 percent give them a negative rating of only fair or poor. New Jersey based cable news channels and public television also get a 59 percent positive rating, with 23 pecent negative. New Jersey based news radio stations garner a 45 percent positive to 25 percent negative rating for how they cover the state.

Out-of-state media tend to earn lower ratings for how they cover New Jersey. New York and Philadelphia based newspapers garner 27 percent positive to 38 percent negative ratings, television affiliates in those cities get 34 percent positive to 45 percent negative ratings, and city-based radio stations earn 29 percent positive to 42 percent negative ratings for the job they do covering New Jersey.

Out-of-state media tend to be rated worse by newspaper-reliant residents than by those who get most of their New Jersey information from television. Those who rely more on newspapers for New Jersey information give lower ratings to out-of-state media, 26 percent positive to 43 percent negative for New York City-Philadelphia newspapers and 29 percent positive to 46 percent negative for New York-Philadelphia TV, when compared with television-dependent residents, 29 percent positive to 30 percent for New York-Philadelphia newspapers and 40 percent positive to 39 percent negative for New York-Philadelphia TV.

"Newspaper readers in New Jersey appear to be more demanding of New York and Philadelphia media outlets when it comes to coverage of their home state than are those who rely mainly on television for Garden State news," Murray said.

Overall, 64 percent of New Jerseyans report reading a state-based newspaper at least once in the past week. Newspaper readership is highest in the Jersey Shore counties, and these residents are most likely to turn to in-state news sources. Specifically, 75 percent of Northern Shore and 76 percent of Southern Shore residents have read a local newspaper in the past week. They are followed by 65 percent of Urban Core residents, 61 percent in Northeast Jersey, 58 percent in the Route 1 Corridor counties, and 55 percent in the Delaware Valley.

In terms of local television news viewership, Urban Core, 54 percent of residents in the New York media market and Delaware Valley, 54 percent of residents in the Philadelphia media market are most likely to report watching a local TV newscast nearly every night. Route 1 Corridor residents, 33 percent, are the least likely to tune into a network TV affiliate newscast.

On the other hand, Route 1 Corridor residents, 37 percent, along with those in the Western Hills, 37 percent, and Northern Shore, 34 percent, are the most likely to surf the Internet nearly every day for news on national and international issues. However, they are not any more likely than residents in other parts of the state to visit websites for news about New Jersey or their local communities. While 53 percent of New Jerseyans surf the web for national news at least monthly, including 29 percent who do so about daily, only 41 percent look for state or local news on the Internet monthly, including just 12 percent who do so nearly every day.

Also, 25 percent of New Jerseyans report that they have visited a political website in the past year, which is up slightly from the 19 percent who had done so in 2005.

In a test of basic topical knowledge, New Jersey residents were asked to name the current mayors of New York City, Philadelphia, and Newark.

The purpose was to examine whether media exposure in different markets has an impact on the ability to recall these names.

Overall, 69 percent of state residents can name New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, 13 percent can name Philly Mayor Michael Nutter, and 30 percent can name Newark Mayor Cory Booker. As may be expected, each mayor is better known in the regions nearest his own city.

The poll conducted by telephone with 903 New Jersey adults from Sept. 24 to 29. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM