Research shows differences between new and old media in coverage; not news but important

Fascinating and important new research released by Pew Research demonstrates the differences between new and old media in the sort of things they follow -- and they aren't what you might think they are.

Pew says it "has gathered a year of data on the top news stories discussed and linked to on blogs and social media pages and seven months’ worth on Twitter. We also have analyzed a year of the most viewed news-related videos on YouTube."

Top findings, Pew says, "Most broadly, the stories and issues that gain traction in social media differ substantially from those that lead in the mainstream press. But they also differ greatly from each other. Of the 29 weeks that we tracked all three social platforms, blogs, Twitter and YouTube shared the same top story just once. That was the week of June 15-19, when the protests that followed the Iranian elections led on all three."

Newspaper sites continue to grow

Want a tip on hot Internet sites? Try newspapers. Media Daily News is reporting a steady rise ("up 10% from March, 12% from February, and 15% from January") of unique visitors to newspaper sites this year. My take? It's trusted content, baby. The new media folks are always screaming about the latest "hot" site (which generally dies quickly), but newspaper sites offer trusted content, and that's worth a lot. It's a shame more newspaper managements can't see this.