Internet vs. TV vs. Radio vs. Newspaper

It’s interesting to consider what the best mediums are for entertainment and news. Obviously it depends on what type of entertainment or news is being referred to, so here’s a basic rundown.

Local News

1st place: Newspaper

2nd place: Internet

3rd place: TV

Last place: Radio

Your best source of local news is still the tried-and-true newspaper. This is because the paper above all other mediums knows its local market best.

Internet is 2nd place because they don’t have as much of an understanding of the local market. Informative, yes, but not like the paper is.

Television isn’t really that informative for local news because they have to squeeze everything into 44 minutes in a 1-hour broadcast (for every 30 minutes of television there is 8 minutes of commercials), so there’s a lot of skipping around.

People get their radio news usually from AM talk shows. This news there is usually biased beyond belief because of the host(s), and that’s why it places dead last.

World News

1st place: Internet

2nd place: TV

3rd place: Newspaper

Last place: Radio

When it comes to world news, the internet rules supreme in this department because they’ve been doing it for so long. Here’s a good example. While other news mediums stuck to their local markets, the internet capitalized on bringing world news to the forefront. You can’t do any better than internet for that type of right-now information.

Television holds second place because the national broadcasts are by and large a respected source of world news information. This medium previously held the top spot until internet took the center seat.

Newspapers by nature cater to local news more than world. This is why they’re third.

World news on radio is dead last because it’s essentially just a repeat of what’s already on the internet, one day late.

Traffic (Road Conditions)

1st place: Radio

2nd place: Internet

3rd place: TV

Last place: Newspaper

Radio is and always will be the best way to get informed as to what local road conditions are. This is because everybody has a radio in their car. And even if you have a GPS with a traffic reporting feature, it’s still not as good as radio because radio is faster on the draw.

Internet holds second place because it’s not as right-now as radio is, and becomes useless once you get in your car and start driving. The only exception to that are smartphones with traffic reporting features, but they suffer from the same "too little, too late" reporting style GPSes with traffic features do as they both use the same reporting systems.

Television ranks in third because they only concentrate on major areas. It’s local, but not local enough.

Newspaper is last because it was printed before the day started and obviously doesn’t dynamically update, so it’s worthless to get local traffic conditions information from it.

Entertainment

1st place: TV

2nd place: Internet

3rd place: Radio

Last place: Newspaper

As much as people say that internet is more entertaining than TV, it really isn’t. With TV all you have to do is tune in to a station, sit and do absolutely nothing. You "veg" and are happy to do it. This is why it holds the #1 spot.

Internet ranks #2 simply because you actually have to do something to enjoy it, i.e. typing and using your mouse. And you actually have to think to get things done on it as well.

Radio is third because most people would choose TV or internet over radio as the best means of being entertained.

Newspaper is last because people would rather watch, listen or have active participation in something rather than sit and read a paper.

Am I right? Am I wrong?

Do you think my list above is accurate or not? Weigh in your opinion by posting a comment.

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12 thoughts on “Internet vs. TV vs. Radio vs. Newspaper”

Sarah Smith says:

January 22, 2019 at 1:49 pm

It’s really interesting that the best source of local news is a newspaper or online. This makes sense because newspapers tend to be published in the same area they are selling to. With this in mind, I will start looking into local newspapers.

raj kashyap says:

July 21, 2013 at 9:05 am

news paper is so better than tv

Robert Plumer says:

December 11, 2009 at 12:33 pm

I agree that with Local News newspapers are #1 The number two spot I believe is a little more debatable. What’s the source of the majority of local news come from on the Internet? I’ve found that ironically they come from the newspapers or local TV station websites. They have the resources and the the ability to put someone on the spot with a camera and or notepad. I would put the Internet as #3 because it’s dependent on local newspapers and TV stations as sources for news.

Portsquadsergeant says:

December 9, 2009 at 2:47 pm

I live in Houston, Texas where we have only 1 local paper, the Houston Chronicle. It is so far left and liberal that it would need a traffic cop to direct it back to near center. The local tv news stations are almost as bad. S I am left with AM radio or the internet. The internet wins hands down over the other media sources for news I can use.

Scop says:

December 9, 2009 at 9:43 am

Internet and tv is good when your in the office or at home.

Radio and newspaper is preferable when your out or on the move.

I guess it’s down to the individual. But we still need all medium.

OweEng2 says:

December 7, 2009 at 2:19 am

Like Ziggy, I all get my info from the internet. Even watching TV shows, I always get all from the internet. I guess it depends on the people, nonetheless your article is great.

tomkirkham says:

December 6, 2009 at 1:44 pm

Since all of the media already is or soon will be delivered via Internet, what’s the purpose? Shouldn’t it be the delivery mechanism that is compared, such as website, printed paper, analog broadcasting?

Ziggy says:

December 5, 2009 at 2:29 am

I get all my news from either the tv or the internet. I can’t remember the last time I bought a newspaper. I listen to the radio for some news but it’s not as updated as they should be.

lewis says:

December 4, 2009 at 2:58 pm

The priority depends on the place where you are using the technology.
But Radio is more mobile then any other source

David M says:

December 4, 2009 at 2:58 pm

My local newspapers have websites where I can read the news online for free. So in my case, the internet edges out the newspapers because a subscription for a physical paper at my door each morning costs money.

Rich Menga says:

December 5, 2009 at 1:48 am

I wish all newspapers would follow suit and have the content both in print and online. At least your paper has some forward thinking to it.

Eli says:

December 4, 2009 at 10:17 am

I think, depending on where you are, that radio should be higher in the Local News category.

Steve Stone says:

December 4, 2009 at 8:03 am

I’d like to say that a local newspaper is the best place to access local news but I can’t. It used to be true. Local newspapers are dumbing themselves down, filling in the voids with days old AP press releases , articles from non professional journalists (they won’t pay the pros a living wage), and in the worst cases articles written in remote third world countries based on best guesses about a local area from internet data mining, in an attempt to wring as much profit as possible from the medium. What you end up with is a daily paper with 30 or 40 pages, one or two pages of real news, the rest of the pages filled with single one or two paragraph filler stories surrounded by advertising. Local radio is the same way. The local station gets bought out by a large conglomerate, everyone local is fired. The station goes lights out, fed by studios 50, 100 or more miles away, or even worse fed by a national satellite feed. Spin the dial and you hear 5 or more stations broadcasting the same exact junk.

Rich Menga says:

December 5, 2009 at 1:50 am

Per the radio bit I think you can thank ClearChannel for that mess. :)