Forget Demographics, News Consumption Is Dictated by Topic

CNN has long been known to do well with breaking news events, particularly ones like the recent disappearance of Malaysian airliner Flight 370.

The continuing mystery surrounding the missing plane has led to a ratings boost for the 24-hour news channel and its competitors.

A new survey has shown why — the topic and speed of news stories are the biggest drivers in how people consume media, outshining demographics or ideology.

The study highlights what has been seen as a long-standing problem for companies like CNN — strong performance during news cycles that favor its format, but weakness on topics that are more evergreen. Read more...