Young People and the News is an interesting report by Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. The report speaks to a key challenge for newspapers:
… young Americans are estranged from the daily newspaper and rely more heavily on television than on the Internet for their news. A few decades ago, there were not large differences in the news habits and daily information levels of younger and older Americans. Today, unlike most older Americans, many young people find a bit of news here and there and do not make it a routine part of their day.
The report is further evidence of why newspaper executives and others speaking with newsagents about future trends ought to be more open about the data on which their corporations are making their plans for the future.
How can it be that there are so many esteemed commentators challenging the future of a key product category yet our suppliers say it is business as usual?
Australian newsagents ought to fear ignorance more than change.