1. NEWS AND TELEVISION SURVEY Becky Kamas EDTC 5103 Fall 2013

2. Hypotheses Hypothesis 1: Older generations will rely on traditional methods (i.e. television and newspapers) for their news whereas younger generations will rely on non-traditional methods (i.e. Internet and social media) for their news. Hypothesis 2: Older generations will watch television programs at regularly scheduled times through satellite or cable subscriptions whereas younger generations will utilize on- demand technologies and non-traditional delivery systems (i.e. YouTube or Netflix) for their programming.

3. Details Location: Dickinson City Hall Sister works there Access to workers and general public coming in for business Time required to complete 20 surveys: ~2 hours Had several people decline to participate Was looking for diversity in survey takers in both age and gender Survey consisted of 13 questions 3 biographical questions (age, gender, place of birth) 5 Likert Scale questions regarding news 5 Likert Scale questions regarding television

4. Participant Information Surveyed 20 individuals (10 male, 10 female) Ages ranged from 13 to 67 (average age 38.7) Represented 4 of 6 generations 1 5 7 7

5. News Item 1 Reponses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the less likely they are to watch the news on a regular basis.

6. News Item 2 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the less likely they are to believe a newspaper provides sufficient news. However, even older generations are hesitant to agree the newspaper provides sufficient news, leading me to believe people seek out a variety of sources for their news.

7. News Item 3 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the more likely they are to use the Internet for a majority of their news. However, the data denotes most people, regardless of age, do rely on the Internet for the majority of their news.

8. News Item 4 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: This is the only question where the data is not a “stair-step” and there is no straight correlation between age and whether or not they read virtual newspapers. However, the oldest generation is the most unlikely to read a virtual newspaper whereas the youngest generation is the most likely.

9. News Item 5 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the more likely they are to believe that social media can be a valid provider of news.

10. TV Item 1 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the more likely they are to prefer services outside of cable or satellite for their TV needs.

11. TV Item 2 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the less likely they are to watch TV shows at regularly scheduled times. This likely means they are employing tools such as DVR or on-demand replays to view shows.

12. TV Item 3 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the more likely they are to believe the Internet can provide for their TV watching needs.

13. TV Item 4 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the less likely they are to watch the news on a regular basis.

14. TV Item 6 Responses Likert Scale Ratings 5 – Strongly Disagree 4 – Disagree 3- Neither Agree Nor Disagree 2 – Agree 1 – Strongly Agree Quick Analysis: The younger a person is, the more likely they are to watch shows that do not appear on regular television.

15. Possible Data Validity Issues Selection bias The sampling was not random since I was purposely trying to get a wide range of ages and maintain gender equality. Underrepresentation and Unequal Representation Two generations are not represented in the survey The two generations represent the population ages 68 and above The four generations that are represented are not equally represented Generation Z is represented by only one individual whereas the Baby Boomers are represented by five individuals and the other two generations (Generations X and Y) are represented by seven. Question Bias Assumptions were made that people would know what all questions mean. I had to explain things like Netflix, Apple TV, and “on-demand” to several folks.

16. Conclusions The results of this very limited survey validate the original hypotheses: 1. Older generations do rely on traditional methods (i.e. television and newspapers) for their news whereas younger generations will rely on non-traditional methods (i.e. Internet and social media) for their news. 2. Older generations do watch television programs at regularly scheduled times through satellite or cable subscriptions whereas younger generations will utilize on-demand technologies and non- traditional delivery systems (i.e. YouTube or Netflix) for their programming. With the exception to News Item 4, all responses showed a direct correlation between age and either agreement or disagreement with a statement. Also, to truly validate the hypothesis, these results must be replicated and any potential data validity issues and/or biases removed.