(ARA) – Even if you weren’t a “news junkie” before the economy took a turn for the worse, worries over the country’s financial health may have you craving news. In fact, poll after poll in the recent presidential race showed that the economy is top of mind right now for the majority of Americans.

But with so much information out there, how do you determine what’s news and what’s just noise? Where do you turn for credible information? “With all the sources of ‘news’ available, it’s easy to feel information overload,” says Scott Severson, president of ARAnet, a company that provides content to newspapers and Web sites. “Fortunately, Americans do seem to have a clear idea of where they can go to find credible, useful information.”

Americans, it seems, turn to television and daily newspapers for their news, and consider both media to be the most credible sources of information, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 adults. Respondents said they get nearly 35 percent of their news from TV and 23.5 percent from daily newspapers.

What’s more, they’re turning to these media because they view them as highly credible, the survey indicates. Asked to score each medium’s credibility on a scale of one to 10, consumers gave television a 6.6 and daily newspapers a 6.3, according to the survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation’s CARAVAN Services on behalf of ARAnet.

Radio, online sources and weekly community newspapers ranked in the middle of the list for credibility, with free weekly shoppers at the bottom scoring just 3.5.

The credibility scores corresponded with the amount of news and information people say they receive from each media source each month, with television and daily newspapers ranking as the top two sources. People reported getting just 1.6 percent of their monthly news and information from magazines, the survey showed.

“The types of media people view as most credible are the ones that they turn to the most often for news and information,” says Severson. “TV and daily newspapers continue to be important sources of information for Americans, and the growth of the Internet is making online media another significant source of important news.”

For more information on the ARAnet and Opinion Research Corporation’s CARAVAN Services survey, visit www.aranetonline.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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