This Reuters report doesn’t seem all that surprising, actually:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Internet surpassed radio as a source for political news in the United States last year as more people went online to keep up with the presidential election campaign, according to a new report released on Sunday.
Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults used the Internet to get political news last year, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That’s up from 4 percent in 1996 and 18 percent in 2000.
Television remained the dominant medium for most voters, but 18 percent said they got most of their political news from the Internet, compared with 17 percent who said they turned to the radio for their news.
For those with a broadband connection at home, the Internet rivaled newspapers in importance.
Most Internet users surveyed said they voted to re-elect Republican President Bush, but supporters of Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry were more likely to say the Internet helped them settle on a candidate.
Kind of ironic, since Howard Dean was the Internet’s darling, even though he didn’t win a single primary until after his YEAAAARGH!!!! meltdown sealed the deal for Kerry.
Here’s a quick flashback, for those who want to relive some of the “fun” of last year’s election and the role the Internet played in it.
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