While “old media” rarely gets good press anywhere these days, traditional and local media still carry a great deal of influence with consumers, according to a survey by the University of Southern California's Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center.

According to the survey, nearly 74 percent of consumers get their information from local TV news, while approximately 69 percent read the local newspaper.

The survey, “Media Myths & Realities,” compared the media habits of 1,490 Americans with the practices of 500 corporate communications professionals. The survey’s key finding is that traditional media still has an essential part to play in most marketing initiatives. The results also dismiss the notion that young adults do not read newspapers. The survey found that 52 percent of 18-24 year olds – and nearly 64 percent of 25-34 year olds – read their local newspaper.

So while blogs and other online outlets are popular among young adults, by no means has the Internet completely displaced old media.

And even though much is often made of companies bypassing third-party outlets altogether in favor of fostering a direct conversation with consumers, the survey indicates that such a dialogue is not occurring. In terms of consumers accessing corporate websites, 60 percent of industry professionals said they will use the company site to post a corporate announcement, but barely 7 percent of consumers look to corporate Web sites for that information. According to the math, 93 percent are getting their information via “traditional” public relations placements in the press.