Online news a complement to 'old' media

Unlike previously feared, online news hasn't rendered irrelevant traditional outlets like television and print newspapers, a new study has found.

Online news sites have become a complementary and convenient tool, but are not used by their slowly growing audience to read in-depth articles, The Pew Research Center For The People and The Press said in a report released Sunday.

Currently, 31 percent of U.S. residents check the Web for news at least three days per week, up from 29 percent in 2004 and from 23 percent in 2000, a modest growth rate after explosive adoption in the late 1990s.

Americans generally turn to news sites for quick, convenient scanning of articles, not for detailed, in-depth information, according to the 125-page study, titled "Maturing Internet News Audience: Broader Than Deep."

"The Web serves mostly as a supplement to other sources rather than a primary source of news," reads the report, which the organization conducts every two years.

People spend an average of 32 minutes getting news online one any particular day, less than they devote to news on television (53 minutes), radio (43 minutes) and print newspapers (40 minutes).

"Those who use the Web for news still spend more time getting news from other sources than they do getting news online. In addition, Web news consumers emphasize speed and convenience over detail," reads the report.

Contrary to earlier predictions, the convenience of getting news online hasn't increased overall news consumption among U.S. residents. "The percentage of Americans who skip the news entirely on a typical day has not declined since the 1990s. Nor are Americans spending any more time with the news than they did a decade ago," reads the report.

Regarding blogs, a medium which has attracted much attention among news outlets in recent years, only 4 percent of U.S. residents regularly read those devoted to discussing news events.