When Teresha McGriff gets up in the morning, one of the first tasks on her agenda is to check the weather report. How does she do this? "Sometimes by TV, but most of the time by the internet. I have my Yahoo! home page set to Columbia's weather report."
But the internet as a first stop for her wasn't always her first choice for a weather report. "I would always watch television for anything, whether it be to see how I was going to dress for the day, or just to see what was happening around Columbia. But now, I mostly rely on the internet and any newspapers that I pick up when I'm on campus."
Like many, McGriff, who is a senior biology major at USC, feels as though the internet is the most convienent way of accessing news. "It's easier because I spend most of my time doing school work on the computer, so in-between breaks, I just check out the latest news. I take short "news breaks" while I look up things for homework assignments."
An on-campus survey performed suggested that out of 105 students, only 20 percent tend to watch news on television; 44 percent tune in on the latest news through internet websites (whether it be local news websites or Yahoo! or AOL news); and 36 percent grab a newspaper first. Many of these students say that TV news is mostly a secondary source during the evening. "If I'm relaxing in my room, I'll turn to CNN to see what's going on around the world, but after that, the only other news I'll watch is E! televison!" says Rosalind Stephenson, who is a business major student at USC.
Many of these same students surveyed also explained their reasonings for getting information from the internet or the newspaper. Similar to McGriff's response, many said that the internet and newspapers are far more convienient than televison news. "When I come to school in the mornings, I pick up a newspaper, go to class, and if I have a break, I'll sit down and read the newspaper," said McGriff. Dena Palmer, a 4th-year sociology student, also expressed her reasons for picking up a newspaper compared to turning on the television. "I'm so bogged down with work now that I don't have time to watch the news like I used to when I first came to school."
For McGriff and many other students, the media empires that now dominate are newspapers and the fast-action internet. For some professors at the university, these two outlets are primary access for news as well. "Oh, I am always in a rush in the morning, so I never really have time to watch the news at home. So, I come to school, grab a paper, or if not that, I'm sure that I will look for some type of news online at least twice out of the day," says Lisa Sisk, a public relations teacher at the university.
Teresha McGriff feels that as time progresses, she might grab a newspaper more often then she normally has been doing, not only for the stories, but for other reasons. "I like reading the comics! This way, I'm able to get a chuckle in before and after I go to class."