February 22, 2007 | posted by Michael Baxter in IABN |

Meanwhile, talking of the internet, maybe it’s time to spare a thought for traditional media.

Or maybe we don’t need to.

It may seem hard for you to believe, sitting there reading this literary gem, but, according to research from KPMG, only 13 percent of people surveyed said they use the internet as their primary source of news.

On the other hand, 44 percent of respondents cited television, followed by newspapers with 28 percent; 14 percent of respondents indicated the radio.

Perhaps it’s not surprising. After all, the research was looking at primary sources of news. So, while, no doubt, you look forward to each day’s installment of IABN with bated breath, there’s a good chance your daily fix of news comes from other sources too.

KPMG surveyed 3,000 people aged 18 to 65#43;, from the UK, the US, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

But we are not all Luddites when it comes to our news. Only 37 percent of respondents from within the category that KPMG calls generation Y - that’s the under 25’s - chose TV as their main source of news. Meanwhile, 30 percent of these generation Y people opt for the internet first.

KPMG also found that, on average, 32 percent of respondents, who are 35 and over, use newspapers as their primary news source, with only seven percent preferring the internet.

Strangely, in the US only five percent of Generation Y use the internet as their preferred news source, but the same group has the highest usage of social networking sites and metaverses, such as MySpace and Second Life, with 52 percent participating.

But, the over 65s are not complete technophobes. KPMG found that one in four of the over 65’s now own either a blackberry, a digital music player, a digital video player, or a handheld games console.

Sean Collins, global head of Media and Telecoms practice, said: “The way in which Generation Y interacts with technology and media will be the driver for continued change and consolidation within these industries. Traditional attitudes to copyright and intellectual property will be challenged and new business models like MySpace, Flickr and YouTube will continue to emerge.”