Contrary to the common perception, young people do pay attention to the news. They just do so in different ways than their parents. While many of them prefer TV news or newspapers to get the news, teens are increasingly using the internet, according to a new survey of 15,000 high school students by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. A majority said they go to the internet at least once a week specifically to read the news, and much of that news comes from news aggregating sites. Sixty-six percent of high school students use the news pages of portals such as Yahoo or Google, compared with 45 percent who use national TV news web sites, 34 percent who frequent local TV or newspaper web sites, 32 percent who troll blogs and 21 percent who visit national newspaper sites. Of course even though teens visit blogs, they don’t always believe them: just 10 percent say they offer the most accurate news, compared with 45 percent for TV news and 23 percent for newspapers. As expected, those TV news sources also include satirical entertainment like Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report” and most surprisingly, “South Park.” Forty-six percent say they watch one of those shows at least once a week to gain news and information. Eric Newton, director of the Knight Foundation’s Journalism Initiatives, talks with Media Life about the differences between parents and teens in the tastes in news, why portals are popular, and how “The Daily Show” is educational.
 

What did you find most interesting or most surprising about this report?
 
Teens are better connected to the news than most adults think. The digital media revolution is giving them more ways to keep up with the news. They prefer the what-I-want, when-I-want-it convenience of the internet to traditional media.

People who say they are not connected to news are using old measurements to show that teen interest in traditional media is declining. It is. But teen interest in the web is increasing. And that’s how they get their news, digitally.
 

In general, what are the big differences between teens and adults when it comes to their news sources?
 
The big difference is that teens prefer to get news online. That difference is so big that you don’t need any other differences. Other than that, teen news consumption tends to follow patterns set by the adults in the family.
 

What type of news are teens most likely to seek out online -- national, sports, entertainment, etc? How does that vary from what adults are looking for?
 
We didn’t survey news tastes but will do more on that in coming years.
 

Why are teens so likely to use portals to get news information? Is it a case of them already being there and picking up the information that way, or do they actually seek out the news that way?
 
Teens use portals to seek out information because it’s easy. If you don’t know something, you just go to Google or Yahoo! news pages. They link to traditional news sources, so the quality is there. Someone says something about spinach being dangerous, and you do a news search for spinach and find out what you need to know.
 

Why aren't blogs more trusted by teens?
 
Educated teens can tell the difference between raving opinion on a commentary blog and an actual factual news report from a traditional news source. This is an important skill and we should help the schools teach news literacy, so that every teen can make the distinction.
 

Why do national newspaper sites lag far behind local sites? Does it have anything to do with the sort of news teens are seeking?
 
Not necessarily. It might just be brand awareness. Teens may be getting news through the Yahoo! and Google news pages, and then clicking on national newspaper sites, but not being aware of those brands. They may be more aware of the local brands because those newspapers are more likely to come to the house.
 

You found that 31 percent of teens post comments online about the news through boards or blogs. Is that more or less than you expected? Why?
 
We thought it would be higher because of all the hype over MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube. But apparently it’s easier for kids to text-message each other on their cell phones than it is for them to have a computer with them 24/7.
 

The survey found that nearly half of teens get news through entertainment shows like "Daily Show" or " South Park ." How well do teens funnel what's real and what's made up from those shows?
 
Well-educated young people can tell the difference between an entertainment show and a news show.  The day after Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called American president George Bush “the devil” at the United Nations, I was with a 16-year-old who knew all about it.

How did he know? He saw them make fun of it on “The Daily Show,” and he looked it up to find out more.
 
A generation ago, teenagers were introduced to current affairs by the comedy of “Saturday Night Live.” Before that, it was the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” There’s the “Tonight Show” and the “Late Show.”

I don’t see why it’s wrong or worrisome for today’s young Americans to learn to see the humor in some of the bizarre things adults are doing these days. They are going to need a good sense of humor, with the world we are leaving them.