MyMediaFeed

A recent study conducted by Northwestern’s Media Management Center (MMC) asked participants, 14 to 18 years old, to report on their time spent online. When asked about their online news experiences, most teens reported that they were unlikely to follow serious news online, but that they’d read stories that appeal to them if the links are provided on their favorite websites. Most teens reported that they only purposely go to a news website if they need specific information for some sort of an assignment, if they live in a house where this is the norm, or – as only a few suggested – if they are personally interested in following the news. The full report may be found here.

Discussion Questions:

1. How are teens using online news, according to the study?

2. Are the results surprising? Why, or why not?

3. The report makes several suggestions regarding how the newsmedia may better target teens. What were some of these suggestions? Would they work?