VANCOUVER - A new Nanos Research poll finds that Canadians prefer TV as their major news source, and trust it more. Newspapers are much less popular, and less trusted. Online news is dead last on both counts, behind radio.

In a news release, pollster Nik Nanos said:

The research suggests that traditional media still have a significant credibility advantage over the Internet as a conduit for news information but that newspaper content providers have been comparatively hit harder than TV news providers.

The Nanos poll found 48% of Canadians consider TV their primary news source. Newspapers are the primary news source for 21%. Radio (15%) and the internet (14%) are well behind.

Canadians also consider TV the most trustworthy news source, by 42% to 23% for newspapers. Only 16% trust radio news, and 11% trust news obtained on the internet.

The Nanos poll found 51.8% of women prefer TV as a news source, compared to 44% of men. Only 10.8% of women prefer the internet, notably fewer than men (17.2%).

TV dominates all age demographics, even the 18-to-29 group (46%). Only 22.6% of that group prefers the internet as a news source.

The Nanos poll finds Canadian preferences similar to those in a 2008 American poll. But a survey reported by e.marketer.com found both Americans and Canadians trust online news about the same as newspapers and TV

That survey also found just 9% of Americans, and 7% of Canadians, trust what they read on private blogs.

Meanwhile, an Australian government survey this spring found 25% of Aussies trust the internet as a source of reliable information, compared to 20% who trust newspapers and 17% who trust TV.

Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.