News Wars

It's first time Internet has caught up; average is 13 hours a week

(NEWSER) - The Internet is officially as popular as TV: In a first, Americans spent the same amount of time online (an average of 13 hours a week) as they did watching television this year, says a new report on consumer habits. Email remains the most popular online activity, with 92% of Internet users holding an active account. Other findings: 60% of users shop online, about double the percentage of three years ago, and 35% log on to visit a social networking site, up from 17%, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

But television news remains most popular according to Pew study

(NEWSER) - More Americans get their news today from Internet sources than from local or national print newspapers or from the radio. More than 60% of respondents in a Pew survey get their news online, and most use a variety of sources. The most popular information is weather, at 81%, followed by national news at 73%. Only 54% go to the radio for updates, and just 50% pick up a paper, though 92% say they use more than one medium. More»

Newspaper lays groundwork for reinstituting paywall

(NEWSER) - Two-plus years after making its entire website free, the New York Times is about to roll out a plan that will charge readers for online access. The announcement may come within 2 weeks, but the pay wall won't be in force for several months, New York magazine reports. Rather than charging for everything or for predetermined categories of content, the paper will use a "metered" system similar to the one the Financial Times employs, allowing free access to a certain number of articles before requiring payment. More»

Obama must start following through on campaign promises

(NEWSER) - Risking his wife's wrath, Clarence Page has to admit he agrees with Sean Hannity. The Fox News host has correctly called President Obama on the disconnect between campaign rhetoric and the attempted boycott of Hannity's employer. "It is disingenuous for right-wing pundits to accuse Obama of dividing the country, considering the five-star job they have done in turning us against each other," Page writes. "But if Obama is being judged by a different standard of civility, it is a standard he set for himself." More»

(NEWSER) - Cookie and Modern Bride are getting the ax, but it's Conde Nast's shuttering of Gourmet that has floored and disappointed readers and non-readers alike. That includes Fast Company's Kate Rockwood, who shares a few ideas for keeping America's oldest food magazine alive—in some form.

• Move to television: One show (Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie) already airs on PBS, and another (Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth) is in the works.