Survey: Localized News Going Mobile

A new report indicates more people are using mobile devices to get access to their news marking a continued generational shift.

According to a recent study from Pew Internet Research, 47 percent of all American adults report that they get at least some local news and information on their cellphone or tablet computer. The most popular news updates on mobile devices for consumers is local information such as weather, nearby restaurants and businesses.

The report says the consumers who consume news on mobile devices are younger, live in higher income households, just moved to their communities and tend to be parents of minor children. Seventy percent are between the ages of 18-29 and 63 percent are between 30-49. After that, it's a huge drop off, as 33 percent are ages 50-64 and only 8 percent are 65 and older.

Still, mobile apps have a long way to go before becoming the consumers' preferred method of getting local news. For one, such apps have yet to catch on. Only 13 percent of all mobile device owners report having an app that helps them get local information or news. This app gap is highlighted by the fact that while almost half of adults get local news on mobile devices, just 1 in 10 use apps to do so.

Of the few who do have mobile apps for local news, only 10 percent actually pay for them. While 36 percent of adults pay for some kind of local news, most still do it through local print newspaper subscriptions.

Many news organizations are looking to mobile platforms, in particular mobile apps, to provide new ways to generate subscriber and advertising revenues in local markets, Lee Rainie, director of The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, said in a statement. The survey suggests there is a long way to go before that happens.

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