The author of this article conducted a survey of 42 Mines students regarding their consumption of news media. While the survey was not rigorously scientific, the author did his best to conduct the survey in an impartial manner randomly selecting participants in the Ben Parker Student Center and asking each participant the same questions in the same way. Participants were asked about what sources of news they access, how often they do so, in what way they do so. Data was also recorded on the grade level and sex of participants. All but one participant were undergraduates with 50% being freshmen and the male to female ratio being roughly equivalent to the overall ratio of students at Mines.
Results yielded that the most accessed news sources was The New York Times with roughly 46% of students stating they had accessed it within the past three months followed by The Denver Post, then CNN, then BBC News, then The Washington Post tied with The Oredigger. When participants were asked to select only the three news sources they had used the most in the last 3 months, the results also showed that the New York Times tied with CNN for most popular, followed by The Denver Post tied with BBC, followed by Buzzfeed News.
The author did not anticipate the frequency at which Mines students access news. More than half of students surveyed consume news at least once per day. Additionally, it surprised the author that social media is one of the most popular ways to access news. It is the author’s opinion that this survey shows that Mines students are most likely well informed given the frequency and variety of news which they consume. While some are more popular than others, no one source dominates the attention of students. For more information regarding the survey and any questions you may contact the author at ajlewis@mymail.mines.edu.