Only television surpassed the Net, with about 70 percent of Americans saying they get most of their national and international news from the ubiquitous box. About 40 percent say they get most of their news from the Net, an increase of 16 percent from September 2007. Newspapers are the main source for about 35 percent.

Shares of Wachovia Corp (WB.N) and National City Corp (NCC.N) tumbled on worries about heavy mortgage losses after talks on a $700 billion financial sector bailout bogged down and federal regulators seized Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N) in the largest bank failure in U.S. history.

News Corp Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said online subscription revenue at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones could rise by $300 million a year over the next two to three years.