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The media becomes an activist for democracy
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Oct. 11, 2012, 12:23 p.m.

Eleven percent of people who watched the presidential debate live last week were “dual screeners,” tracking the action both on TV and on a mobile device. That’s according to new research by the Pew Research Center for People & the Press.

Among viewers younger than 40, one in 10 said they ditched TV altogether and watched only on a computer or mobile device. From the report:

Overall, 32% of those younger than 40 say they followed the debate live online, including 22% who followed it both on television and online, and 10% who followed exclusively on a computer or mobile device. Those 40-to-64 are less likely to have followed live online (11%); just 1% followed only online, while 10% followed online as well as on television. Very few Americans 65 and older followed the debate live online (2%) and none followed live coverage exclusively on a computer or mobile device.

Only a tiny share of Americans who watched the debate reported reacting on platforms like Twitter and Facebook — about five percent of the overall debate audience, according to Pew.

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The media becomes an activist for democracy
“We cannot be neutral about this, by definition. A free press that doesn’t agitate for democracy is an oxymoron.”
Embracing influencers as allies
“News organizations will increasingly rely on digital creators not just as amplifiers but as integral partners in storytelling.”
Action over analysis
“We’ve overindexed on problem articulation, to the point of problem admiring. The risk is that we are analyzing ourselves into inaction and irrelevance.”