Nine years ago, a sizable majority of the public routinely sat down with one of three network evening news broadcasts. By the end of the decade, that regular audience had been cut in half, from 60% to 30%. The current survey shows that network news viewership has finally stabilized, although at a relatively modest level ­ 32% now regularly watch the national nightly network news. The audience for each show is comparable; about one-in-five say they regularly tune in to the national evening news on CBS, ABC or NBC.

The total cable news audience is virtually the same size as the networks', with one-in-three regularly getting their news from cable. Of the major cable news outlets, only CNBC has not seen an increase since 2000. After years of steady declines, CNN's regular audience has rebounded from 21% to 25%, a gain mirrored by Fox News' rise of 17% to 22%. MSNBC's viewership has increased from 11% to 15%.

The trend in local news viewership mirrors that of the networks ­ in decline from 1993 to 2000, but holding steady over the past two years. Today, 57% regularly watch local news, which marks no change since 2000 (56%) but a significant deterioration since 1993 (77%).

The audience for other types of TV news programming ­ the networks' morning news programs, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and C-SPAN ­ has remained fairly steady. But network news magazines, such as 60 minutes, 20/20 and Dateline, are a notable exception. In the past two years alone, the regular audience for these shows has fallen from 31% to 24%. Women in particular have moved away from network news magazines over the past two years (36% in 2000, 26% currently).

Newspapers Down, Internet News Flat

While the network news audience has held steady from 2000 to 2002, newspaper readership has continued to slide. Asked if they had a chance to read a newspaper yesterday, just 41% of Americans said yes, down from 47% in 2000 and 50% as recently as 1997.

Regular readership of the weekly news magazines ­ such as Time, Newsweek and U.S. News ­ is unchanged at 13%, but the time people spend reading magazines continues to drop. One-in-five say they spent at least 15 minutes reading magazines yesterday, compared with 33% in 1994.

And the use of the Internet for news, which expanded tenfold from 1996 to 2000, has leveled off. Though the number of people who go online continues to grow, the number who go online for news regularly has not. Today, one-in-four Americans goes online for news at least three times a week, up from 23% two years ago.

Fewer Have Daily News Habit

Despite long-term declines in news attentiveness, getting the news is a staple part of the daily routine for most Americans. Asked about their activities for the previous day, fully eight-in-ten say they got at least some news from television, radio or newspapers. Still, that number was even higher a few years ago (90% in 1994).

In this context, more people get the news each day than engage in many other common activities. For example, just under two-thirds (63%) had a family meal together on the previous day, and the same proportion called a friend or relative just to talk. And more people get news in one form or another on a typical day than watch non-news television programming.

One growing source of competition for people's time is exercise and athletics. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) say they got some kind of vigorous exercise such as jogging, working out at a gym, or playing a racquet sport on the previous day, up from 26% eight years ago. This increase has occurred among people of all ages, both men and women, and across all educational and income backgrounds.

Reading also is a popular daily activity, despite the drop in newspapers and magazine consumption. One-in-three (34%) say they read a book yesterday, not including school or work-related reading, with most saying they read for an hour or more. Twice at many Americans (18%) spent an hour reading yesterday as spent an hour with a newspaper (8%). And non-fiction outpolled fiction by a slight 19% to 13% margin.

More people also are spending time at their computers, especially at home. The number who went online from home on the previous day doubled from 17% to 34% since 1998. But according to a January 2002 survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, only about one-in-six Americans (16%) say they went online for news yesterday, up modestly from 12% in 2000. By comparison, more than a quarter (27%) of Americans sent an email to a friend or relative.

The audience for entertainment television has leveled off, after sharp declines in the 1990s. In the current survey, 59% say they watched something on television besides news yesterday. That is comparable to 2000 (57%), though down from 69% in 1994. People also devote less time to non-news programs; 37% say they watched two or more hours of such programming the previous day, compared with 45% eight years ago. This may reflect the new ways Americans are using television for entertainment. Nearly one-in-four (23%) watched a movie at home on video, DVD or pay-per-view on the previous day.

TV News Time Declines

Today, the average American dedicates just under an hour a day to newspaper, television and radio news, which is virtually identical to 2000, but down from previous estimates of 65 minutes in 1998 and 73 minutes in 1994. In part, this reflects an increasing number of people who skip the news entirely. The proportion of Americans who received no news from television, newspapers or radio on the previous day has doubled from 10% to 20% since 1994.

In general, the decline in the amount of time people spend on the news has been most notable among the young. Those under age 25 spend roughly a half hour a day on the news, down from 51 minutes eight years ago. And the proportion of those in that age group who got no news from newspapers, television or radio on the previous day more than doubled from 14% in 1994 to 37% today. By comparison, people age 65 and older spend an average of 81 minutes on the news, and only 12% got no news on the previous day.

Since 1994, the greatest decline in time spent with the news has come among the television news audience. Eight years ago, Americans averaged roughly 38 minutes of TV news time ­ this fell to 28 minutes by 2000 and remains at that level today. The falloff in television news viewership has occurred across all age ranges except the very oldest. Yet even with this decline, TV news still represents roughly half of the time people spend on the news.

Aging TV News Audience

The gap between younger and older Americans is apparent for all types of television news, but is most noticeable when it comes to network news broadcasts.

In terms of what they watched yesterday, people age 65 and older are nearly twice as likely as those under age 30 to have seen any news on television (74% to 39%). This gap exists for all types of news programming. For example, people of retirement age are nearly three times as likely as those under age 30 to have watched the network evening news or morning news programs yesterday.

This applies to people's regular viewing habits as well. Fully 53% of senior citizens regularly watch the nightly network news, compared to just 19% of those under age 30. And as Generation X continues to age, there is little evidence that its members are changing their news habits. Just 23% of people age 30-49 regularly watch the nightly network news broadcasts. This is only marginally more than among those under age 30.

Overall, roughly one-in-five Americans watch any of the three nightly network news programs regularly, but the audience for all three is skewed heavily toward older age groups. Only around 10%-12% of those age 35 and under watch the NBC Nightly News, the ABC World News Tonight and the CBS Evening News regularly.

The median age of regular viewers of each program is approximately 50, though the CBS Evening News audience skews a bit older. Three-in-ten (31%) of Dan Rather's audience is age 65 and over, compared with 24% of Tom Brokaw's and 20% of Peter Jennings' audience.

The audience for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is significantly smaller than any of the evening news programs ­ just one-in-twenty consider themselves a regular viewer of the program. But it has a similar age profile to its network counterparts, with significantly higher interest among older people. The median age of NewsHour regulars is 54, and 29% are age 65 and over.

Cable Crosses Generations

By contrast, cable news outlets have a similar appeal across all age groups. CNN's advantage over the Fox News Channel is clearly among middle-aged respondents. Fully 28% of those age 40 to 65 watch CNN regularly, compared with 21% who are regular viewers of Fox.

Fox is competitive with CNN among those in the younger and older age groups ­ 21% of those under age 40 watch Fox regularly and the same number watch CNN regularly. CNN leads Fox among seniors by only 27% to 24%. As a result, the median age of regular Fox viewers is slightly lower than that of CNN regulars (44 vs. 46), and both are significantly lower than the network evening news broadcasts.

Young and old seek out different kinds of news when they turn on the television, as can be seen in the audiences for two popular cable channels ­ ESPN and the Weather Channel. A quarter (25%) of people under age 25 are regular viewers of ESPN programming, compared with 14% of those age 50 and over. By contrast, the Weather Channel's audience is significantly older. The median age of a regular Weather Channel viewer is 47, while the median age of ESPN's audience is 39. Entertainment news programs, such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, are watched less regularly, but have similar appeal across all age groups.

Radio News Audience Younger

Younger Americans tend to focus more on radio, magazines, and the Internet for their news. The radio is a particularly important source of news for those who work full-time. Overall, half of those with full-time jobs listened to news on the radio yesterday, and more than a quarter (28%) listened for a half-hour or more. Among those who are not employed, only three-in-ten tuned in to radio news, 18% for 30 minutes or more.

As a result, the audience for radio news is greatest among those of working age, particularly between the ages of 30 and 55, roughly three-quarters of whom work full time. This pattern holds true for both National Public Radio and call-in radio shows. Overall, the median age of regular NPR listeners and regular talk-radio listeners is 42.

Gen X Abandons Newspapers

Only one-quarter (26%) of those under age 30 report having read a newspaper yesterday. That is less than half the number of those age 65 and over who report reading a newspaper the previous day (59%). College graduates and those with annual family incomes of $50,000 and above are among the most likely to have read a newspaper.

People in their twenties today (born between 1972 and 1981) have never been avid newspaper readers, and there is little evidence they are getting the newspaper habit. Just 22% read a newspaper the previous day in 1996, and 25% say the same today. Equally problematic, there has been a decline in readership among those in their 30s. Today, only 30% of those born between 1962 and 1971 (age 31-40) read the newspaper yesterday. A decade ago, 53% of those in their 30s said they had read the paper on the previous day. And if we track today's thirty-somethings back to 1991, when they were in their twenties, we find that a greater number then (48%) typically read a paper.

Newspapers have seen far less falloff among older generations. Among those in their forties and fifties today (born between 1942 and 1961) readership has decreased, but only modestly. And newspaper readership among those born prior to 1942 has remained relatively steady over the past 11 years, with significant declines only among those over age 70.

While younger generations are turning away from newspapers, this does not mean that they are not reading. Younger Americans are just as likely as their elders to read both books and magazines. In fact, Americans under age 35 are more likely to have read a book on any given day than to have picked up a newspaper. Young people read non-fiction slightly more than fiction, and they are just as likely as older people to be regular readers of news magazines, business magazines, and literary magazines.

Most Get News in AM

People get the news at various points throughout the day, but morning is the most popular time for news. Two-thirds of Americans typically start their day with some kind of news. This audience is heavily oriented toward television: 43% of Americans watch television news in the morning, 18% turn on the radio, 14% read a newspaper.

Roughly six-in-ten (61%) typically read, watch or listen to the news during the middle part of the day. The audience here is somewhat fragmented, with 35% saying they mainly get news from television at this time, 17% from newspapers, and 15% from radio. Just over half (55%) say they typically get news around dinnertime, down from 63% in 1998.

During evenings and nighttime, those seeking news overwhelmingly turn to television. Fully 92% of those who say they typically read, watch or listen to news around the dinner hour say they mainly get news at this time from television, and the proportion is about the same (91%) later at night.

Youthful Grazers

With a wider range of news sources to choose from, and increasingly busy schedules, many Americans no longer set aside a regular part of their day for news consumption. In fact, roughly half (48%) say they check in on the news from time to time, while the other half (49%) watch or listen to the news at regular times.

This less structured approach is most popular among younger people and those less interested in hard news (local, national, international and business news). Seven-in-ten of those under age 25 say they check the news from time to time, a figure that declines successively among older age groups (to 29% of those age 65 and over). Those who have strong interest in the news are more regular in their news consumption; those with weak interest tend to graze.

Even when they consume a lot of news, grazers have different habits and attitudes from the more regular audience. They focus their attention on only a handful of media sources. Among those who typically get an hour or more of news a day, news grazers are about half as likely to watch network news programs regularly as those who get their news at set times. Grazers also are less likely to be regular viewers of local news, morning news, and TV news magazines. The only television news sources as popular among grazers and non-grazers who consume a lot of news are cable news channels.

Being predominantly young, news grazers are also frequent Internet news consumers. Among grazers who typically get a lot of news in a given day, 34% regularly check the Internet for news, compared with 27% of those who get news at set times. Radio news is also a frequent source for news grazers.

Aside from their consumption patterns, news grazers are notable for their low level of involvement with the news. Even among grazers who typically spend an hour or more on the news, less than half (49%) say they enjoy keeping up with the news. This compares with nearly three-quarters of people who get an hour or more of news on a more regular schedule.

News grazers also tend to follow stories only when something interesting or important is going on. Fully 61% of grazers who typically get a lot of news say they only follow international news when important events are happening, compared with 44% of those who get news on a more regular basis. News grazers express significantly less interest in community, national, and international news. Yet grazers' interest is comparable to non-grazers when it comes to sports, business, religion, science and entertainment news.

In a sort of Catch-22, the fact that news grazers follow the news intermittently has prevented them from developing a base of knowledge that would help them to more easily follow stories. News grazers ­ even those who typically get a lot of news ­ are more likely than those on a set schedule to say they lose interest in stories because they don't have enough background information (46% vs. 34%).

Ideological Profiles of News Audiences

For all the controversy over Fox News Channel's supposed ideological leanings, its audience is only slightly more conservative than the national average. Nearly half (46%) of regular viewers of Fox describe themselves as conservatives, while 18% describe themselves as liberal. By comparison, CNN's regular audience is 40% conservative and 16% liberal.

The ideological gaps are more significant when it comes to particular programming on these and other news sources. In the regular audience for the O'Reilly Factor conservatives outnumber liberals by 56%-5%. The ideological profile of those who regularly listen to Rush Limbaugh and religious programming on the radio is even more heavily conservative.

Largely because the television news audience is dominated by older people (who tend to be more conservative), the profile of nearly every television news source is slightly more conservative than the national average. Fox News and the more business-oriented CNBC have the most conservative audiences, while the audience for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is, if anything, slightly more liberal than the national average.

The only news-oriented media that has a decidedly liberal profile is the readership of literary magazines such as the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Magazine. Fully 45% of people who regularly read these magazines identify themselves as liberal, two-and-a-half times the national average. Weekly news magazines like Time and Newsweek appeal to readers across the ideological spectrum, while business magazines have a more conservative appeal. Political magazines like the Weekly Standard and the New Republic, not surprisingly, appeal to people at both ends of the ideological spectrum, but are less popular among political moderates.