06/ 03/ 2008
When it comes to naming important sources of news and information about current events and public affairs, three forms of mass media rise to the top, according to the new NFIB National Small Business Poll: Media as an Information Source.
Twenty-seven percent of small business owners named TV as their most important source of news about current events and public affairs, while 25 percent favored the Internet and 24 percent said newspapers. Radio was named by 14 percent of respondents.
"In a sense, identifying any one media source as the 'most important' is misleading," says William "Denny" Dennis, head of NFIB's Research Foundation and the poll series editor. "It leaves the impression that small business people use one source to the virtual exclusion of others, which simply is not true.
"While the Internet appears to be emerging as a small employer's single most important source of information, each of the media forms explored in this poll has a substantial following," Dennis adds.
Almost half of small business owners (46 percent) check the Internet regularly for public affairs news, though 34 percent report that they rarely or never use the Internet as a source for news or information.
On the other hand, 72 percent of respondents read newspapers regularly, and 83 percent considered newspapers to be "very important" or "important" sources for current events and public affairs news. Local daily newspapers are favored by about the same percentage of regular readers.
About 87 percent of respondents watched television either "every day" or "a few times a week," and about 79 percent considered it to be a "very important" or "important" source for current events and public affairs news. About 77 percent watch their local news regularly, while 67 percent consider themselves regular viewers of national network news. Cable talk shows are watched regularly by about 47 percent of respondents, while 39 percent said they regularly watch business cable news.
About 68 percent of small business owners listen to the radio every day, typically while driving. Nearly 25 percent listen to the radio at work; of those respondents, almost 75 percent listen to music at work, while 25 percent listened to news or talk radio.
Talk radio was the format favored by 22 percent of respondents, while about 12 percent said country radio was their favorite, followed by an all-news format (11 percent) and National Public Radio (nearly 11 percent).
More information about NFIB's small business polls can be found at www.411SBFacts.com.
