Digital News: Research

To help prepare myself for the digital news production, and for the report, I carried out some research into the use of digital media. To do this I read the key findings of a digital news report survey carried out in 2013. The survey was carried out by the Reuters Institute, and summarised by Nic Newman. The survey was carried across multiple countries including the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Denmark, the US, Brazil and Japan.

This report reveals that "audiences increasingly want news on any device, in any format, and at any time". The report also found that traditional brands still attract large online audiences, and trust in news brands is still valued by all ages.

MOBILE AND TABLET USE

It can be seen that across all countries the use of mobile devices to access news has increased, with most accessing the news online at least once a week.

Although computers are still the primary device for accessing digital news, there is a clear trend of people using multiple devices as well as their computer.

And it is clear that a high percentage of mobile and tablet users still watch Television news, as well as accessing digital news.

In terms of age, it is clear that a higher percentage of younger audiences access news online, whilst a higher percentage of older audiences access news on TV:

It is also clear that in the UK, more people use mobile devices when on public transport to access news, however, print isn't far behind.

Another item of research shows that a higher percentage of younger audiences use social media to find news.

Overall it can be said that this survey shows that the results vary across different countries and this could be a cultural thing. It can also be said that not everyone wants digital news only, as a large majority of online news users still watch tv for news, and a large majority of public transport users still read printed news. We are becoming a "multi-platform world". Most international news brands need to consider their many culturally different audiences, and so they need to be available across multiple platforms. For example, in Germany and France, the use of digital news amongst older audiences is not as popular as in the UK or the US. This is something major international news brands need to take into consideration to ensure they cater for everybody.

This research has informed some of our decisions for the digital news unit. It is clear that our target audience use online news more than anything else, and they do so across multiple platforms. This is why our website is mobile friendly, and why we have multiple social media accounts that we will share news through. We will also produce video content as it is clear all age ranges still like to watch the news. I found this research really helpful, and although it is out of date, it is clear that by now, these statistics will be even higher, and so even more true.

Source:

Reuters. (2013) Digital News Report 2013: Executive Summary and Key Findings of the 2013 Report [online] At: http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2013/executive-summary-and-key-findings-2013/ (Accessed on 10.10.16)