Canadians still prefer traditional media, but online is gaining

A new study by for APEX PR, done by Leger Marketing among 1,517 adults across Canada, has found that Canadians still prefer traditional media sources.

The top five most credible information sources are: radio (67%), television (66%), national (66%) and regional (62%) newspapers and business magazines (52%).

"Contrary to popular doom and gloom scenarios that speak about the impending demise of newspaper and radio, Canadians were clear that these traditional media are in fact the most trusted and credible sources," said Dave Scholz, vice president of Leger Marketing.

"That said, a few years ago, podcasts and blogs would not have even been on the radar, so it is interesting to see that they have received as much attention and garnered as much credibility as they have, in such a short period of time," said Scholz.

Some of the things the study found:

• Younger Canadians are the most likely to trust news websites as their source of information.
• Women are more likely than men to trust national lifestyle magazines as a trusted source of information (34% to 25%).
• Nearly one in three Canadians are using some sort of social networking site, and one in five are visiting blogs.
  
• 20 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds believe a blog is a trustworthy source of information. Only 12 per cent of 25 to 34 year old and 2 per cent of 65 plus, trust social networking sites. However, Canadians as a whole are far less likely to trust information on a blog or podcast than traditional media, at 10 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

"It's no secret that there are more information options than ever before, but what we 've learned with this study is how and why consumers are making certain choices," said Pat McNamara, president of APEX Public Relations Inc."It's clear that if we want to communicate with the public we need to understand where they get their information and how they are making decisions. We can't abandon traditional media, but we also need to understand that it's becoming increasingly vital to talk to audiences through multiple channels."