NDM case study: How has news changed?

1) Read this Ofcom 2016 report on the consumption of news in the UK. Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom document.

• The Sun and the Daily Mail are the most-read UK-wide newspapers. 
• Three in ten (29%) now use a mobile for news
• 19% have used only TV for news

• One in twenty (6%) use all four main platforms for news
• Those aged 65+ are more likely than those aged 16-24 to use TV, newspapers and radio for news consumption, while the opposite is true for the internet/ apps. 

2) What are the most popular platforms for audiences to access news and how has this changed in recent years?

TV is the most-used platform for news, with 69% of adults using it for the news. However this is continuing to decrease. In 2014 75% of adults used their TV to watch news.

3) How do different age demographics access news in the UK?

There are huge differences in each age group. Those categorised as 65+ are more likely to be using newspapers and the radio for their news compared to those aged 16-24. This younger group tend to use the internet for their news.

4) What percentage of 16-24 year olds use the internet to access their news?

63% for 16-34 year olds access the news via the internet.

5) Does socio-economic status change attitudes to news? If so, how?

As you can see, socio-economic status has a huge impact on peoples attitudes to news. It appears that the higher ranking you have, the more likely you are to watch television to get your news.

6) How many different sources of news are used on average? How does differ between different groups?

We can see that there are around 4 main sources of news that are used. They differ between each group depending on age, race, socio-economic status etc.

7) How has news consumption through television changed in recent years?
It is clear that the average consumption of television has drastically decreased. This is mainly due to the huge advancements made in technology. People no longer need to turn on a large device and wait to watch something; now, they can access everything at the touch of their fingertips.

8) How much has newspaper circulation declined since 2010? Why do you think this is?
going downwards from 9.2 on January 2010 to December 2016 to 6.0 for national daily titles and 5.4 for national Sunday titles. Again, this is mainly due to the rise in internet users.

9) Which are the most popular newspapers and websites in the UK? What do you know about those newspapers' political viewpoints?

• The Daily Mail is a very popular, conservative British newspaper. 
• Similarly, The Times is another right-wing paper
• The Guardian is a more left-wing newspaper.

10) How does online news consumption differ for age, gender and socio-economic status?

• 17% use search engines 
• 15% use newspaper sites/apps
• 23% of all adults for news
• 20% use social media sites
• adults between the ages of 16-24 consume media digitally 

11) What percentage of people use social media to access news? How does this differ by age and socio-economic status?

12) What percentage of users only use social media sites for their news?

13) What are the most popular online sites for news?
The top three most popular sites for online news consumption are Breaking News, Local News and UK News.

14) What percentage of 16-24 year olds access news mostly from social media?

94% of users use social media to keep track of the news.

15) How do audiences find stories online? Do you follow links or go to the homepage of the news provider?

Most internet users already use apps for social interaction and whilst doing this, they receive news within those apps.