Anthropologists study young people’s news habits for AP

Sparking young people’s interest in the news is a daunting challenge. In an effort to learn more about how young adults
interact with the news, Associated Press commissioned a team of anthropologists
to study the digital news habits of 18 young people (aged 18-34) in
the United States, Britain and India. According to a preview of their report posted
on the Editors Weblog, their subjects considered news
to be an important source of “social currency” – and wanted to know more about events – but they encountered news reports haphazardly,
mostly through e-mail sources and social networks. The full study is scheduled
to be released in early June at the World Editors Forum in Sweden.

Sparking young people’s interest in the news is a daunting challenge. In an effort to learn more about how young adults
interact with the news, Associated Press commissioned a team of anthropologists
to study the digital news habits of 18 young people (aged 18-34) in
the United States, Britain and India. According to a preview of their report posted
on the Editors Weblog, their subjects considered news
to be an important source of “social currency” – and wanted to know more about events – but they encountered news reports haphazardly,
mostly through e-mail sources and social networks. The full study is scheduled
to be released in early June at the World Editors Forum in Sweden.

Alan Bass