Where do you go on a daily basis to get your news?
Sixty-two percent of the 52 respondents to our InstaPoll question favored online/Internet as their primary source of news information. Television was second at 21 percent, followed by newspapers at 10 percent and radio at eight percent.
The numbers speak for themselves and are a testament to 21st-century technology. Of course, as more people find their way to the digital age -- not just on computers, but cell phones, i-pods and other devices that carry Internet, news is often just a click away. Not only can you find news online, these days, but the news can find you. Yes, that's right: In your e-mail with media alerts.
This is something we have embraced and our goal is to bring the important news to you when it happens. The technology is so awesome, news can be delivered in a matter of seconds, once it is written. And it's not just words, but audio/visual as well in the form of pictures and graphics.
As our poll shos, newspapers have lost their dominance and many are on their death-knell.
Tribune Company, owner of the Orlando Sentinel, the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other large metros, filed for Chapter 11 a few months back. The Daytona Beach News-Journal was supposedly to b sold in November, but remains on the open market with more than 300 let go and its bureaus closed. Just last week, the Rocky Mountsin News of Denver, Colorado's second largest newspaper, was shut down.
Everywhere you go, newspapers are stacked high in grocery, pharmacy an drug stores. The free weeklies sit in sidewalk boxes and litter people's driveways. And with the Internet, we're all about saving the trees and not filling up the garbage can with newsprint.
Local residents want news that is relevant and timely. For example, our to-the-point coverage of the New Smyrna Beach man who threatened to shoot himself with a rifle while asking cops to do the same. While the news was unpleasant, it was an unfortunate event happening here. And we were the only ones to report it.
Our videos of the City Commission meetings have also drawn a lot of interest because residents can be entertained by the gadflies that try and make the elected officials squirm. It's unfiltered and real.
We look forward to continue our efforts to provide daily news coverage for Southeast Volusia as we get closer to the anniversary of our April 11 launch. As always, your feedback is welcomed.