The study, conducted through telephone interviews with 1,506 adults, also found that fewer young people are using traditional news sources such as local television news and relying more on the Internet, as compared to statistics from a similar poll by the Pew Research Center in 2000. Cable news replaced local news as the most often cited source, with 37 percent of young people listing cable as an important source for campaign news.
The trend for young people to rely on comedy shows and the Internet has left some who work in the media wondering how to attract the younger adult demographic back to traditional sources. "I think what needs to happen with broadcast networks is they need to take a lesson from some of the shows that attract young people today," said Robert Richards, professor of journalism and law. "They need to look at the styles of Comedy Central and MTV and VH1 and those types of networks, and perhaps come up with programming that uses some of the techniques that these shows use," he said.
The trend of comedy shows as a news source could also be attributed to the nature of the comedy, Richards said. "Usually the best comedy is based on things that are happening in reality."
Young people may learn something from comedy shows about presidential campaigns, but they must seek other sources to get the full story, he said.
"Comedians use material that is based on reality, but they spin it in such a fashion to invoke comedic timing and to provoke the best laugh, and that doesn't mean that everything that is said in jest on these shows is 100 percent accurate," he said.
The Daily Show, a Comedy Central program that mocks other television news programs, hit a record high for ratings during the two weeks of the Iowa caucus, New Hampshire primary and State of the Union address. Also, more male viewers aged 18 to 34 tuned in to the show than any other network evening show for the first time.
The trend away from traditional news sources is a concern for the industry but is not as much of a concern for WTAJ-TV, which covers Altoona, Johnstown and State College, said Tony DeGol, the station's executive producer.
WTAJ-TV has a broad audience with a mix of younger and older people. The station tries to present news in a fast-paced fashion that leaves people feeling like they've learned something, DeGol said. "Anything that affects [young people] and their lives, I think, is what interests them," DeGol said. "You don't often get the full story on comedy shows."
Hillary Johnston (sophomore-human development and family studies) said she follows campaign news fairly closely and gets the majority of her presidential campaign news from The Today Show or MTV, but she can understand why people may watch comedy shows for news. "There's the entertainment value. There's more to it than just facts," she said.
Chris Weigl (junior-accounting) said he primarily uses the Internet for campaign news, which he follows somewhat closely. "I just watch [Saturday Night Live] for the comical aspects of it, not really for news," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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