Young Adults Overwhelmed By Election News Online, Study Says

Young adults often click away from 2008 election news online because they feel news sites bombard them with too much information and too many choices, according to a new study released by Northwestern University's Media Management Center. "To serve and attract this important group, news organizations need to develop online election resources that are specifically designed to minimize this "too much" sensation," said Michael P. Smith, executive director of the Media Management Center. The report found that while millennials are interested in the elections and want information about the candidates and issues, they don't want to spend much time following day-to-day developments. However, they do appreciate news sites that help them—and other new voters—understand the basics about the candidates, issues and election process. Among other research findings and recommendations: 1) Millennials prefer to get election news from and trust sites that are in the primary business of news. 2) They don't particularly like commenting about the news online or reading comments. 3) Attempts to infuse the news with social networking features, amateur content, humor and youth oriented content can backfire if they diminish the seriousness and professionalism young people expect from news Web sites.