Jon Stewart’s comments are not the same as the local and network news that is reported to TV viewers each night. That is one of the preliminary findings that Bob Papper, professor of telecommunications at Ball State University, discussed at an AEJMC session Thursday.

“Latest Industry Research” featured presentations by Cristal Williams, project director of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, which showcased research compiled by other organizations. Michael P. Smith, executive director of the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, also presented at the session that was sponsored by the AEJMC Council of Affiliates and the Radio-Television Journalism Division.

The presentations covered a variety of topics including observational studies on media use, online readership, newspaper ethics and consumer experiences with varied mediums. It was the research that had not fully been released, however, that some would call astounding.

The Future of News was a project funded by the Ford Foundation and the Radio-Television News Directors’ Foundation. It looked into the definition of news, what users of news care about and how they want to receive their news.

Although the results of the project have not been released, Papper presented some of the findings earlier this year after the Radio-Television News Directors’ Association requested a report. Papper complied and then mentioned the same previously discussed figures at the session. He pointed out that there would not be a dramatic difference from the final numbers.

The 1,016 people surveyed were asked to define news on a one-to-five scale. A five would represent what they considered, without a doubt, “news,” and one would be what they considered definitely “not news.” Using this rating system, researchers provided a clear distinction that many worry does not accurately reflect society today.

Local and network TV news programs were given a 4.4 rating. “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” was given at 2.1 rating.

Younger respondents did not give Stewart a higher rating than older respondents, Papper said. They just happened to be more familiar with who he is.

Another question asked by the researchers was whether people consider “news” and “information” to be the same. Over two-thirds of those surveyed said the two are different.

When it came to what people chose as their source for news, local TV news came in first, followed by newspapers, then network TV and the Internet in fourth place.

Additionally, when people were asked if they could get their news the same way whenever they wanted, almost 61 percent said they would want to receive news through TV.

After providing the findings, Papper offered this thought to the audience. The switch to the Internet as the dominant source for news is going to be slow – perhaps not even as fast as everyone is suggesting, he said.

The complete findings of the Future of News will be released next month.