A new survey by the firm Hitwise has found that news readers find Facebook a better trusted and reliable source than Google News.

The firm collected the data for the week ending March 6, 2010, and analyzed the unique viewers to these sites and where they were directed from. Then it determined how many users visited multiple times from the same source.

According to the data, 78 percent of Facebook’s loyal users revisited the site for more news as compared to only 67 percent of Google News users who came back.

Moreover, 77 percent Facebook users returned to broadcast news sites , versus only 64 percent Google News users who revisited.

"The launch of News Feed in 2006 was a pivotal moment in Facebook’s history and changed the way millions of people consumed and discovered information on the site," Facebook said.

"A few weeks ago when I posted my blog entry about Facebook being the largest news reader, I received a few comments and emails noting that visitors aren't as valuable if they don't come back," said Heather Hopkins, a senior online market analyst for Hitwise. "Advertisers and retailers need some assurance that visitors will return again and again."

Visitors from Facebook.com are found to be far more devoted towards news media sites than visitors from any other site, the Hitwise survey claimed.

Facebook helps media
Determing where to find faithful readers is getting more and more important for the media sources, with the ad revenue in the newspapers falling by almost 26 percent this year.

Thereby, given the Hitwise feedback on Facebook’s increasing traffic of news readers, the media might shift its focus on the social networking giant.

As the strength of social networking sites like Facebook is growing at a rapid pace, they can surely help sites like Citysearch, eBay, The Huffington Post, Meebo, MSNBC and The New York Times gain assess to millions of users.

Facebook not only a social networking site
Earlier used only for uploading photos or connecting with friends all over the world, Facebook has also emerged as the most trusted site for news reading.

"The launch of News Feed in 2006 was a pivotal moment in Facebook’s history and changed the way millions of people consumed and discovered information on the site," Facebook said.

Launched in 2004 in California, Facebook has also dethroned Google as the most frequently visited website with around 400 million users.

Facebook had also won the U.S. patent this year for the news feeds, which has made social-networking a hit with users.

There are rumors that it would soon win over Google in the pay-per-click marketing platform too.