Survey shows appetite for news unabated

Interesting survey reported in the Asbury Park Press showing media habits of New Jersey residents. Lots of interesting tidbits, and one that I think is significant and something the newspaper industry should be touting. The key finding is that appetite for news continues strong.
Among the findings: Of those polled, 43 percent watch a TV news broadcast from New York or Philadelphia and 42 percent read a newspaper nearly every day. Thirty-two percent visit a news Web site and 22 percent listen to talk radio almost every day.

But the finding that I find most significant, though, is hidden in the data. "Of those who read newspapers every week, 36 percent could name Newark Mayor Booker as opposed to 20 percent of those who do not read local papers," the paper reported. I've long thought, along with educators, that reading fixes facts in our memories, and I believe that the vehicle matters. Our minds do a better job of selecting and sorting information in printed form, I believe, than in the new media.