Alternative News Sites Supplemented Mainstream Media During Katrina, Rita

Following Katrina and Rita, “approximately 72 million Americans used the internet to get news and information about the hurricanes,” a new Pew study finds. “Nearly three-quarters of online hurricane news consumers — or 73% — turned to the Web sites of major news organizations such as CNN.com or MSNBC.com for news about the hurricanes.”

But: “Even though major media outlets were the most popular places to go, other kinds of news sites played important roles in filling out online users’ newsgathering habits. One in seven (14%) went to an international news source for news about a U.S. domestic crisis and nearly one-third sought out hurricane information from non-profit organizations. All told, 54% of internet users who got Hurricane-related news online went to at least one out of five types of sites that aren’t associated with major U.S. news organizations (i.e., international news organizations, alternative news sources, blogs, non-profit organizations, or government Web sites).”