The Internet and Campaign 2000 Percent of Americans Getting Campaign News Online
On a day-to-day basis, interest in online campaign news peaked around Election Day. Fully 12% of Americans went online for political news on November 7, and 18% went online the day after the election — a more than fourfold increase in the normal traffic for political news. The continuing drama of the post-election story and its fast-moving pace kept people online for election news in the week following November 7. Between 11% and 15% of all Americans followed the story online on any given day during this period.
The current poll was conducted as part of a larger effort to track Internet use over time. The Pew Internet & American Life Project has been conducting a daily tracking poll almost continually since March 1, 2000, measuring online usage. The level of campaign news consumption remained remarkably stable from March through October; during this period, roughly 3% to 5% of Americans got campaign news online on a typical day. This pattern was not influenced dramatically by important primary contests in March, nor by the conventions or the fall debates.
The Internet and Campaign 2000  | Percent of Americans Getting Campaign News Online  | 15  | 30-July 22 