Study: Fewer people following campaign news than in 2008

Fewer people are following presidential campaign news than four years ago, according to a study released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.

The percent of people who follow campaign news on local TV, network TV and local newspapers all dropped off dramatically.

But cable news and the Internet stayed mostly level. Cable TV was the most popular news source, with 36 percent of respondents saying they regularly watch it. One in four said they regularly get news online.

The fact that both parties' primaries were contested in 2008 contributed to the heightened interest that year, and the excitement hid the long-term decline for newspapers, local TV and network TV.

The percent of people using the Internet for news grew rapidly between 2000 and 2008; however, the figure leveled off between 2008 and 2012.

Pew researchers attributed the lack of growth in online news to the fact that young Americans are less interested in the Republican primary than other groups.

On the weekend that Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary, young people were as interested in the battle over online piracy legislation as they were in the presidential campaign.

Young people are also more likely to turn to late-night comedy shows for news. Among people under 30, 15 percent said they regularly get news from "The Daily Show" and other late-night comedy programs.

Social networking sites are not yet a leading source of campaign news. Only 6 percent of people said they regularly get news from Facebook, and only 2 percent cited Twitter as a regular news source.

More Americans also say there is a great deal of political bias in news coverage. Researchers found 37 percent of Americans and 74 percent of Tea Party Republicans believe news coverage is biased.

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