Blog tasks: The decline in print media
Part 1: Ofcom report into news consumption 2019
Read this Ofcom 2019 report on the consumption of news in the UK. Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom highlight and answer the following questions:
1) Look at the key findings from the report on pages 2-3. How do UK adults generally get their news?
Fewer UK adults use BBC TV channels for news compared to last year, while more are using social media platforms. As was the case in 2018, BBC One is the most-used news source among all adults (58%), followed by ITV (40%) and Facebook (35%). However, several BBC TV news sources (BBC One, BBC News Channel and BBC Two) have all seen a decrease in use for news compared to 2018. Use of several social media platforms for news have increased since last year (Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat).
2) Read the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What do you notice about the changing way adults are getting their news?
Social media is increasingly being used for news nowadays (increased from 44% of all adults in 2018 to 49% in 2019), and is used more than any other type of internet news source (remaining steady at 38%). When social media users were asked how they find out about news when they are online, 41% said they mostly get news from social media posts. In addition, an increasing proportion of social media users are actively consuming news across a range of different news posts, being more likely to do things such as make comments, share or retweet content.
3) Look at the summary of platforms used on page 13. What do you notice about newspapers and how has it changed since 2018?
When looking at figure 2.1 it is evident that the usage of newspapers has dropped by 2% showing audiences are more interested in gaining news from other sources such as TV and the internet which the graph reinforces. 4) Now look at the demographic summary for news platforms on page 15. What audience demographic groups (e.g. age, social class) are most and least likely to read newspapers?
The demographic group most likely to read newspapers are those aged 65+and the demographic which is least likely are those aged 16-24.5) Read Section 3 on cross-platform news consumption (page 20). What newspaper brands can you find in the list of most popular news sources across platforms?
6) Now turn to Section 6 focusing on newspapers (page 33). How has the circulation of national newspapers decreased between 2010 and 2018?
Circulation has dropped from almost 22 million in 2010 to a much smaller 10.4 million in 20187) What are the most-used newspaper titles?
8) What are the most popular titles when print and online figures are combined (look at page 38)?
The most-used title/site/app is the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday followed by The Guardian/Observer and The Sun/Sun on Sunday.
9) How does the i compare to the Daily Mail?
The Daily Mail has much more consumers than the 'I', pretty much a staggering 30% difference.
10) Now study the demographic details for our two CSP newspapers on page 39. What is the breakdown of the Daily Mail audience and the i audience? What differences do you notice?
Daily Mail/on Sunday - Male: 33% Female: 40%
‘i’ - Male: 6% Female: 5%
11) Read section 7 of the report: news consumption via social media (pages 40-52). Pick out three statistics from this section that you think are interesting and explain why.
Half (49%) of adults claim to consume news via social media nowadays. Of these, three quarters claim to use Facebook, with around one third using Twitter and WhatsApp. I find this interesting as it shows how even adults are engaged within the digital age and are no longer taking in news from traditional sources.
Facebook: BBC 56%
Twitter: BBC 54%
Instagram: BBC 43%
Snapchat: BBC 37%
I find these statistics interesting as I wouldn't of thought that BBC would be so dominant across all four platforms, this just shows how big of a company they are and how much people from a range of ages rely on them for news.
Facebook - 16-24: 65%
I imagined that Twitter would be more popular amongst this age demographic as I thought Facebook was more geared towards an older demographic.
12) Look at the summary of readers' attitudes for newspapers on page 76. What statements for Daily Mail readers tend to agree with?
The readers seem to agree that it is high quality and is highly effective in helping them understand what is occurring in the world.
Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 165: The death of print media. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:
1) What has happened to print media in the last 30 years?
Over the last 30 years there has been a steady decrease in sales for print media as audiences now prefer to consume media in different ways. Gone down from 30 million in 2003 to 12.4 million in 2017
2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media?
The Independent newspaper is such as good case study due to the fact that the newspaper has received an increase in profits despite the print side of the industry suffering by a huge amount. By moving online the company is now able to still sustain their place.
3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?
The Independent newspaper was famous because it had new and non-aligned perspectives. The Independents selling line used to be, "free from political bias, free from proprietorial influence". The Independent was also well known for its unorthodox and campaigning front pages.
4) What did the then-owner of the Independent, Evgeny Lebedev, say about the newspaper's digital-only future?
“The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They’re showing us that the future is digital. This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high-quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.” Evegeny Lebedev
5) How do online newspapers make money?
Online newspapers make their money primarily through advertising and clickbait. From this they receive a small amount of revenue per person as they visit the site.
6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital?
Kelner warned that that the 'originality in its design and the iconoclastic feel of the paper would be lost if the newspaper was to switch to a digital platform'.
7) What is the concern with fake news? What does 'post-truth' refer to?
The big concern is how these fake articles articles are now gaining more attention than the real high importance articles and now it's becoming tougher to regulate and monitor what is fake and whats real. 'Post-truth- refers to the fact that objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
8) What is your view on the decline in print media? Should news be free? Is it a concern that established media brands such as the Independent can no longer afford to exist as a printed newspaper?
I believe that is was clear that there would one day be a decline in print media due to the industry evolving into a more digital age, in which people prefer to recieve their news from their digital devices and their apps. I think some news should be free and some shouldn't, for instance journalists should definitely get paid for their work as they put in the work and effort to find out the information and provide it to companies.
Read this Ofcom 2019 report on the consumption of news in the UK. Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom highlight and answer the following questions:
1) Look at the key findings from the report on pages 2-3. How do UK adults generally get their news?
Fewer UK adults use BBC TV channels for news compared to last year, while more are using social media platforms. As was the case in 2018, BBC One is the most-used news source among all adults (58%), followed by ITV (40%) and Facebook (35%). However, several BBC TV news sources (BBC One, BBC News Channel and BBC Two) have all seen a decrease in use for news compared to 2018. Use of several social media platforms for news have increased since last year (Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat).
2) Read the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What do you notice about the changing way adults are getting their news?
Social media is increasingly being used for news nowadays (increased from 44% of all adults in 2018 to 49% in 2019), and is used more than any other type of internet news source (remaining steady at 38%). When social media users were asked how they find out about news when they are online, 41% said they mostly get news from social media posts. In addition, an increasing proportion of social media users are actively consuming news across a range of different news posts, being more likely to do things such as make comments, share or retweet content.
3) Look at the summary of platforms used on page 13. What do you notice about newspapers and how has it changed since 2018?
When looking at figure 2.1 it is evident that the usage of newspapers has dropped by 2% showing audiences are more interested in gaining news from other sources such as TV and the internet which the graph reinforces. 4) Now look at the demographic summary for news platforms on page 15. What audience demographic groups (e.g. age, social class) are most and least likely to read newspapers?
The demographic group most likely to read newspapers are those aged 65+and the demographic which is least likely are those aged 16-24.5) Read Section 3 on cross-platform news consumption (page 20). What newspaper brands can you find in the list of most popular news sources across platforms?
- Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday
- The Guardian/Observer
- The Sun/Sun on Sunday
- Metro
6) Now turn to Section 6 focusing on newspapers (page 33). How has the circulation of national newspapers decreased between 2010 and 2018?
Circulation has dropped from almost 22 million in 2010 to a much smaller 10.4 million in 20187) What are the most-used newspaper titles?
- The Mail on Sunday
- The Sun on Sunday
- The Sunday Times
8) What are the most popular titles when print and online figures are combined (look at page 38)?
The most-used title/site/app is the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday followed by The Guardian/Observer and The Sun/Sun on Sunday.
9) How does the i compare to the Daily Mail?
The Daily Mail has much more consumers than the 'I', pretty much a staggering 30% difference.
10) Now study the demographic details for our two CSP newspapers on page 39. What is the breakdown of the Daily Mail audience and the i audience? What differences do you notice?
Daily Mail/on Sunday - Male: 33% Female: 40%
‘i’ - Male: 6% Female: 5%
11) Read section 7 of the report: news consumption via social media (pages 40-52). Pick out three statistics from this section that you think are interesting and explain why.
Half (49%) of adults claim to consume news via social media nowadays. Of these, three quarters claim to use Facebook, with around one third using Twitter and WhatsApp. I find this interesting as it shows how even adults are engaged within the digital age and are no longer taking in news from traditional sources.
Facebook: BBC 56%
Twitter: BBC 54%
Instagram: BBC 43%
Snapchat: BBC 37%
I find these statistics interesting as I wouldn't of thought that BBC would be so dominant across all four platforms, this just shows how big of a company they are and how much people from a range of ages rely on them for news.
Facebook - 16-24: 65%
I imagined that Twitter would be more popular amongst this age demographic as I thought Facebook was more geared towards an older demographic.
12) Look at the summary of readers' attitudes for newspapers on page 76. What statements for Daily Mail readers tend to agree with?
The readers seem to agree that it is high quality and is highly effective in helping them understand what is occurring in the world.
Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 165: The death of print media. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:
1) What has happened to print media in the last 30 years?
Over the last 30 years there has been a steady decrease in sales for print media as audiences now prefer to consume media in different ways. Gone down from 30 million in 2003 to 12.4 million in 2017
2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media?
The Independent newspaper is such as good case study due to the fact that the newspaper has received an increase in profits despite the print side of the industry suffering by a huge amount. By moving online the company is now able to still sustain their place.
3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?
The Independent newspaper was famous because it had new and non-aligned perspectives. The Independents selling line used to be, "free from political bias, free from proprietorial influence". The Independent was also well known for its unorthodox and campaigning front pages.
4) What did the then-owner of the Independent, Evgeny Lebedev, say about the newspaper's digital-only future?
“The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers. They’re showing us that the future is digital. This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high-quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.” Evegeny Lebedev
5) How do online newspapers make money?
Online newspapers make their money primarily through advertising and clickbait. From this they receive a small amount of revenue per person as they visit the site.
6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital?
Kelner warned that that the 'originality in its design and the iconoclastic feel of the paper would be lost if the newspaper was to switch to a digital platform'.
7) What is the concern with fake news? What does 'post-truth' refer to?
The big concern is how these fake articles articles are now gaining more attention than the real high importance articles and now it's becoming tougher to regulate and monitor what is fake and whats real. 'Post-truth- refers to the fact that objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
8) What is your view on the decline in print media? Should news be free? Is it a concern that established media brands such as the Independent can no longer afford to exist as a printed newspaper?
I believe that is was clear that there would one day be a decline in print media due to the industry evolving into a more digital age, in which people prefer to recieve their news from their digital devices and their apps. I think some news should be free and some shouldn't, for instance journalists should definitely get paid for their work as they put in the work and effort to find out the information and provide it to companies.
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