Dear colleagues Today, the Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC) releases its latest report, showing how the rise and popularity of social media are affecting how Canadians get their news - and from whom. The third in the CMRC's series of reports on Canadian news habits, Social Networks Transforming How Canadians Get the News shows that many people now expect the news to come to them, filtered by family, friends and acquaintances, rather than only by professional journalists. While Canadians still consider traditional print and broadcast media as an important source for news, the study found that 36 per cent of adults consider social media as an equally important source of news, with that figure jumping significantly to 61 per cent for younger adults. More than 18 million Canadians are now on Facebook alone. More than two-thirds of those surveyed who use social networks such as Facebook value them as a way of staying informed, with the majority saying social media exposes them to a broader range of news and information than traditional media. The findings help to illustrate the dramatic impact that Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are having on news production and consumption in Canada. The report is particularly timely, given concerns that Canadians might share election results online this coming Monday before polls close, flouting a 1938 ban on the early broadcasting of results. To read more of the CMRC report, visit: http://mediaresearch.ca/ Best, Alfred Alfred Hermida: Assistant Professor The School of Journalism | University of British Columbia 6388 Crescent Road | Vancouver | BC | V6T 1Z2 Contact: alfred.hermida@ubc.ca Web: http://www.journalism.ubc.ca | Blog: http://www.reportr.net