Analysis of comScore data by the Pew Research Center throws up some interesting facts and figures about how social media is reshaping news in the US.

Firstly, Facebook is still social media’s most successful door into news. Pew’s numbers suggest that 30% of the adult population receive news through the site. Youtube is second with a figure of 10%, then Twitter (8%), followed by LinkedIn (3%).

Then there is the issue of sharing: the numbers suggest that 50% of users of social media have shared links to stories, and 46% have used social media to discuss events.

Significantly, the research highlights a lesson here about audiences… Dwell times on news sites were far reduced for those who follow a link on Facebook compared with those who visit directly.

As the analysis suggests:

…visitors who go to a news media website directly spend roughly three times as long as those who wind up there through search or Facebook, and they view roughly five times as many pages per month. This higher level of engagement from direct visitors is evident whether a site’s traffic is driven by search or social sharing and it has big implications for news organizations who are experimenting with digital subscriptions while endeavoring to build a loyal audience.