The Internet and Political News

We are always interested in the online universe and so read with interest the analysis by the Pew Research Center on the source of campaign information.  Turns out that the percentage of those describing the Internet as the "principal source" of campaign news has grown from 10% in 2004 to 33% in 2008, second only to television.  There is a clear generational divide in the data.

• Not surprisingly, the internet is a considerably more popular source for campaign news among younger Americans than among older ones. Nearly three times as many people ages 18 to 29 mention the internet as mention newspapers as a main source of election news (49% vs. 17%). Nearly the opposite is true among those over age 50: some 22% rely on the internet for election news while 39% look to newspapers. Compared with 2004, use of the internet for election news has increased across all age groups. Among the youngest cohort (age 18-29), TV has lost significant ground to the internet.

As we have noted, the Internet is a paradigm shift and is gradually affecting the staid world of law scholarship.  This is discussed in Of Empires, Independents, and Captives: Law Blogging, Law Scholarship, and Law School Rankings.