The Poynter Institute in Florida has done some interesting research on the way people consume media. The study Eyetrack 07, is a large scale research which investigated possible differences in reading news in print versus online.

From an e-learning point of view, the Eyetrack research gives us some intruiging new insights:

• The people that read online are reading the articles they choose more in depth then readers of printed boradsheets or tabloids.

This is an absolutely surprising result. It appears that most readers of both online and printed news are scanning the news and if something interesting is found, online readers were reading more in depth.

• Website visitors first see navigations menu's
• Readers are more interested in advertising then in interactive elements such as video, blogs, discussion boards.
• Alternatve story forms help readers remember facts.
• Readers of printed versions tend to remember more facts then online readers.

For more information:

http://eyetrack.poynter.org/

http://www.nrc.nl/media/article811194.ece/Kranten_lezen_is_als_snorkelen (Dutch newspaper article on this research)