Millennials, News, and Social Media—Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past?

Why doesn’t the Millennial Generation embrace news as its grandparents’ generation did? Who or what is responsible for the rejection of news by this generation born between the early 1980s and late 1990s? Is Millennial enthusiasm for social media related to a lack of affection for news? Is it too late to transform Millennials into consumers of news? Using never-before-published survey data on attitudes toward news and social media use as well as scholarly reports, public opinion polls, news stories, and observations from journalists, academics, and professionals, Millennials, News, and Social Media: Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past? answers these questions and much more – from the rarely expressed Millennial point of view.
Millennials, News, and Social Media helps us understand the generation that came of age as the importance of news waned and social media emerged. It offers insight into which factors will determine whether we will be a society of news consumers who believe being informed is important or a nation in which news illiteracy is the norm. Devastating consequences await the news media, journalism schools, our democracy, and the everyday lives of individuals if we become a nation in which news consumers are extinct and being informed of news is no longer valued.
As the first book to explore these important issues, it will appeal to students, scholars, and journalists as well as others who care about developing young people into informed and civically engaged citizens.

Paula M. Poindexter received her PhD from Syracuse University and is Journalism Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently vice president of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (AEJMC) and in 2013 will take over as president. She previously worked at the Los Angeles Times as a manager and executive, and at KPRC-TV, the NBC-affiliate TV station in Houston, as a reporter and producer.