Mobile devices increasingly impacting information environment in US: Pew Study

According to a report released by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, local news in US is going mobile, with nearly 47 per cent of all American adults reporting that they get at least some local news and information on their cellphone or tablet computer.
 
They turn to the mobile platform to mainly get information that is practical and in real time with 42 per cent of mobile device owners reporting getting weather updates on their phones or tablets while 37 per cent favour it for getting information about restaurants or other local businesses.
 
Mobile devices seem to be less than likely to be used for news about local traffic, public transportation, general news alerts or to access retail coupons or
discounts by these consumers.
 
Meanwhile, mobile applications that are the newest forms of on-the-go local news consumption are just starting to take hold among mobile device owners.
 
The report says that the cosmuers of mobile local news are younger than other adults. They come from households that boast higher incomes, are new residents of their communities and live in non-rural areas and mostly have minor children.
 
Mobile device local news consumers are more likely than others to feel they can have an impact on their communities and are more likely to use a variety of media platforms. They tend to feel more involved with the media environment than they did a few years ago, and tend towards being users of social media.

According to the report:

• 35 per cent of mobile local news consumers feel they are capable of making a big impact on their community (vs 27 per cent of other adults)
• 65 per cent feel it is easier today as against five years ago to keep abreast with information about their community (vs 47 per cent of nonmobile connectors)
• 51 per cent use six or more different sources or platforms monthly to get local news and information (vs 21 per cent)
• 75 per cent use social network sites (vs 42 per cent)
• 15 per cent use Twitter (vs 4 per cent) 

 According to the report, tablets and smartphones have also brought with them news applications or "apps" with around a quarter (24 per cent) of mobile local news consumers reporting having an app to help them access information or news about their local community.
 
This works out to 13 per cent of  of all device owners and 11 per cent of the total American adult population. Thus even as 5 in 10 use mobile devices to get local news only 1 in 10 use apps to do so.
 
The report goes on to say that many news organisations are looking at mobile platforms for generation of revenue in local markets in novel ways, but the survey reveals this not likely to happen soon. Currently, only 10 per cent of adults are using mobile apps to connect to local news and information pay for those apps which amounts to merely 1 per cent of all adults.
 
One question which the news industry is pondering is whether the prospect of their local media not able to survive otherwise would drive more people to pay for online content.
 
Of the respondents 23 per cent put a value of $5 a month to get full access to local newspaper content online while 18 per cent said they would pay $10 per month.
 
According to the report both figures are substantially higher than the percentage of adults (5 pay ) who currently pay for online local news content.
 
However, around three-quarters said they would not pay anything.
 
Regarding the  value of their local newspaper, respondents were divided with 28 per cent saying the loss of the local newspaper would significantly impact on their ability to keep up with local information while around 30 per cent said it would have a minor impact.
 
However, 39 per cent said the loss of the newspaper would have no impact.
 
With around 84 per cent of American adults owning a cellphone, cell phone usage has already penetrated deep into American society. The survey found that tablets are now spreading quickly with tablet computers such as the iPad that have an existence of less than a year having become one of the most quickly adopted consumer goods of the recent era.
 
Tablet penetration almost doubled in only four months from 4 per cent to 7 per cent. Given that virtually all iPad owners are also cellphone user, the total population of mobile device owners (cellphone and/or tablet users) stands at 84 per cent.

The surey found that two-thirds of cellphone users also use other features including texting, e-mailing, web browsing and ''apps'' (software applications that allow them to play games, access web content and access media or data). Only a third of Americans now use their cellphones just for making phone calls, the survey found.

For news organisations, its potential to offer new revenue opportunities remains one of the most significant elements of mobile technology.
 
News producers have had to struggle hard to generate revenue in the digital space to support local news due to a variety of factors. These range from the fact that  small local businesses may not be as quick to adapt to online advertising to the inability of news organisations to charge users for content online.
 
News and information business professionals are increasingly looking to to mobile devices to change that.
 
The report says, "Mobile offers news firms the chance to offer advertisers geo-targeted ads based on a user's immediate location. Some media executives also believe that tablets may improve the consumer's interface with advertising by making it work more seamlessly with other content – as opposed to the way that display advertising on websites often annoys news consumers. The apps available on mobile devices also offer news companies what the browser environment has not - a chance to charge subscription fees for content."
 
"In addition, local news is a largely untapped and undeveloped market for news companies. Many local advertisers such as restaurant owners or small-business people are not yet online. At the same time, technology companies like Google and Facebook are moving more heavily into soliciting and enabling local advertising."
 
The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and Internet & American Life Project in partnership with the Knight Foundation. The survey was conducted over both landline and cellphones from 2 January to 25January, 2011.
 
It was conducted in both English and Spanish and  involved 2,251 adults aged 18 and older.

The survey was aimed at exploring the role that cellphones and tablet computers play in people's patterns of consuming and contributing to community information.
 
A major share of the funding for the survey was provided by the John S and James L Knight Foundation. The foundation's senior leaders participated in constructing the survey and assessing the data.