Internet Surpasses Radio and Newspapers for News Content: Implications for Mormons Online

In a recent telephone poll of over 2500 adults, the Pew Forum indicates that the new social media platforms have once again re-shaped our conversations about what’s hot in the news: The Internet is now the third-highest platform for receiving news coverage by the majority of adults involved in the study.  It now ranks over local and national TV and radio news programs. This is significant as a sociological trend in general, but also significant to us as Mormons specifically, in light of our desire to be, as Elder Ballard suggested, more “influencers” of our culture than “influenced by” it.  If this is where the people are going for information and news about us, this is where we need to be pro-actively creating content, and responding to news stories’ about us in civil and thoughtful, deliberate ways.

While TV and radio provide one-way coverage of the news to millions of people, the Internet offers a chance to respond to, noodle with, evaluate nuances of, and therefore, shape the content of TV or radio.  As indicated in the Pew Study:

The rise of the internet as a news platform has been an integral part of these changes. This report discusses two significant technological trends that have influences news consumption behavior: First, the advent of social media like social networking sites and blogs has helped the news become a social experience in fresh ways for consumers. People use their social networks and social networking technology to filter, assess, and react to news. Second, the ascent of mobile connectivity via smart phones has turned news gathering and news awareness into an anytime, anywhere affair for a segment of avid news watchers.

There’s now a much more participatory consumer of the media–and that is us.  We collaborate, we create and co-create conversations about ourselves, our faith, our nation, our politics, that can influence one, or thousands. The addition of the mobile phone and technologies have made the online news platform even that much more ‘handy.’

As the Pew reviewers stated aptly,  “In this new multi-platform media environment, people’s relationship to news is becoming portable, personalized, and participatory.”  Stats so indicating follow:

• Portable: 33% of cell phone owners now access news on their cell phones.
• Personalized: 28% of internet users have customized their home page to include news from sources and on topics that particularly interest them.
• Participatory: 37% of internet users have contributed to the creation of news, commented about it, or disseminated it via postings on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. (Stats from Pew Study)

It’s also interesting that the majority of online news consumers have a preferred few (2-5) websites that they regularly visit for updates. 21% visit only one news site for the same.

Helping Mormons Engage

So what can Mormons do who want to influence the public perceptions, conversations, and media-talk news about us online?

• Bookmark your local and national online news media outlets.  Search Religion Content, and comment on those articles about us in positive ways.
• Send us links to stories of the news in your area, or stories you find online about Mormons serving worldwide or any newsworthy event,  so we can respond, and respond yourself to misinformation, and affirm positive sites. Share links with your friends.
• Let us know when you or someone you know makes the news–new mission call, Mormon concert pianist performs in China, etc. or of something you think noteworthy enough to put on our sites as content. All content is news about us in another sense.
• Check the LDS Newsroom and The Deseret News for the Church’s position on key news issues before responding to articles on sensitive issues, and link to their content.
• Get the feed to this blog so we can keep you updated on ways to contribute to the conversation.
• Join the MGF Facebook Group for additional updates as well.
• Create your own news blog, or adopt-a-site from The More Good Foundation, where you can comment on the news.
• Place links to positive news stories on Facebook and tweet about them.

To learn more about More Good Foundation, please visit our homepage at www.moregoodfoundation.org.