Tuesday, October 25, 2011

USAT | Study: Tablets tap new source of readers

The new Pew Research Center study found that 33% of tablet news users say they are turning to new sources for news on their tablet, sources they had not turned to on other platforms such as television or their desktop computer.

And of those, USA Today ranked No. 1 among newspaper apps for tablets such as the iPad.

The 894 users were surveyed by telephone July 15-30, according to Pew's report today.

The question was: "What news source or sources do you get news from on your [iPad/tablet/tablets] that you did not get news from before?"

Among newspapers, here was the breakdown of the top five:
  • USAT: 10% 
  • The New York Times: 9% 
  • The Wall Street Journal: 7% 
  • Local newspapers: 5% 
  • The Washington Post: 3%

7 comments:

  1. As much as I love the NYTimes, I have to say USAToday has a superior tablet app.

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  2. I can't believe anyone would love the USAT tablet app. It looks amateurish.

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  3. Just run your breaking-news Twitter feed and your favorite news-site RSS feeds through Flipboard on your iPad. The result looks better, offers more variety and gives faster updating.

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  4. Regardless of looks or functionality on a tablet, USAT just isn't as credible a news source as it should or used to be.

    If the general public knew how amateurish this news-gathering brand has become, I doubt USAT would be No. 1.

    USAT is late on posting big news. There are major holes in stories and misleading headlines and teasers. Cutlines and graphics are littered with errors. In general, this is a product that pays more attention to looks and marketing than it does to substance. It's always been that way at USAT, but it's reached an absurd level in recent years.

    If your the kind of person who likes a lot of bells and whistles in your car, but don't care about performance or reliability, you'll love reading USAT on any platform.

    Don't get me wrong. There is a huge market out there that doesn't give a damn about the credibility of the news. That's how FOX has done so well, by catering to morons. From a business standpoint, USAT has a right to pursue that market. But please don't attribute any success USAT might have on it being some model of great journalism. USAT is fast food that is finding even more ways to cut corners and strip out quality control measures that it deems as too costly. It's the flagship of a corporation that treats its employees like garbage and feeds the public anything it thinks will increase executive bonuses.

    If you're lucky enough to be one of the employees in good standing, just wait ... your time is coming when you'll be shown the door. It's happened time and time again, at all levels, and for reasons that are unjust and destructive to the overall karma in this place.

    USAT may win a few digital battles, but I have to believe it will eventually lose the war operating the way it does, treating people with such disregard.

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  5. 7:55, have to agree with you.there is a laziness and pass the buck attitude pervasive to the operation that festers from upper management. Couple that with inexperienced hires running the website, and you get c level quality. Stories are missed or underplayed. Mistakes are rampant. Ideas are lacking or founder because few reporters know how to execute. Look no further than the competition and you get my drift. The only dept. That gets it on a consistent basis is sports. Money? A major league joke. Life? Your Life has destroyed a once promising franchise. News? Filled with wire copy and poorly written drivel.

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  6. At my site, and we print all three: AZ Republic, USA Today and NY Times, I breeze through the Republic, rarely landing on anything interesting (A section sucks!) USA Today is more of the same (which shows you how far the Republic has sunk!) What I really get into is the Times. It has so much to read on a daily basis, news, features... it has it all and lots of it. That's the key... Lots of it.

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