digital news report 2016

2

LICENSING AND TERMS OF USE• You are welcome to use the data and slides in this report for any purpose

(commercial or non-commercial) in return for simple attribution under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

• Please attribute to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2015. If relevant, add a link to: www.digitalnewsreport.org

• We welcome feedback and questions at info@digitalnewsreport.org

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY

• One of the largest news surveys in the world

• Explores the online news habits of more than 50,000 people in 26 countries.

• Research conducted online in January/early February 2016.

• Focus on tracking top-level global trends over time.

KEY FINDINGS

Majority of people now use social media for news, with one in ten saying it is their main source.

Rapid move to mobile news consumption showing no signs of slowing, with some countries now smartphone first.

Traditional news brands struggle to remain noticed in a social and mobile news environment – but they remain important to news users.

Most are still reluctant to pay for online news. Around a quarter use ad blockers, but less than

one in ten block ads on their smartphones. Strong concerns about the drawbacks of more

personalised news – but the young are more comfortable with algorithms.

4

THE RISE OF SOCIAL AND

AGGREGATED NEWS

SOURCES OF NEWS FROM 2012-2016UNITED STATESSocial media news use has nearly doubled in the USA since 2013. Print has declined.

PROPORTION THAT USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Across Europe and the rest of the world, the proportion using social media for news is even higher.

GROWTH IN SOCIAL MEDIA AS MAIN SOURCE OF NEWS BETWEEN 2015 AND 2016SELECTED COUNTRIES

Significant growth in social media as main source of news since 2015 in many countries

GENDER BASED DIFFERENCES IN HOW PEOPLE ARRIVE AT ONLINE NEWSALL COUNTRIES

Women more likely to discover news via social media than to directly access it from a news website or app.

MAIN SOURCE OF NEWS BY AGEALL COUNTRIESFor 18-24s, social media is now preferred to TV as a source of news for the first time. But, TV is still the most popular source for the over 45s.

TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR NEWS (AND FOR ANY PURPOSE)ALL COUNTRIES

13/06/2014 RISJ Digital News Report 2014 11

Facebook the most popular social network for news in every country surveyed other than Japan.

YouTube is in second place, and Twitter often in third.

Twitter remains particular popular with journalists.

WEEKLY USE OF SNAPCHAT DISCOVER FOR NEWSUSA AND UK

Snapchat discover not widely used for news outside of the 18-24 age group in the USA.

USE OF SELECTED NEWS AGGREGATORSUK, USA, AUSTRALIA

New mobile aggregators like AppleNews, Smartnews and Flipboard are far behind Facebook in terms of reach and importance.

WHY PEOPLE USE SOCIAL AND AGGREGATED NEWSUSA, UK, GERMANY COMBINED

Speed and variety are the key motivations for using social media and aggregators as news sources

I AGREE THAT EACH IS A GOOD WAY TO GET THE NEWSALL COUNTRIES

More people say that personalised algorithmic news is a good way to get the news compared to editors and journalists.

Algorithms based on friends’ consumption least preferred.

People think *they* are the best judge of what’s important to them.

16

I WORRY THAT MORE PERSONALISED NEWS MEANS…SELECTED COUNTRIES

Strong concerns over the impact of personalisation on missing information, missing challenging viewpoints, and privacy

17

NEWS BRAND VISIBILITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWS AGGREGATORSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Finland most likely to notice the news brand on social media sites – twice as likely as the Irish sample. Least likely to notice the brand in Korea where there is a strong aggregator tradition

THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF

MOBILE NEWS ACCESS

19

GROWTH OF SMARTPHONE NEWS USESELECTED COUNTRIES

Year-on-year smartphone for news growth shows no signs of slowing down. Smartphone news access higher than computer access in Switzerland, Sweden, and Korea.

UK REACHES TIPPING POINT FOR MOBILE NEWS

20

Combined preference for smartphone and tablet news now higher than desktop/laptop in the UK.

21

MAIN DIGITAL NEWS DEVICE BY AGE UKYounger users prefer smartphone news access, older users prefer either tablets or the computer.

PROPORTION WHO ACCESS NEWS SEVERAL TIMES A DAY BY DEVICEALL COUNTRIES

The more devices people use, the they more likely they are to access the news several times a day.

MAIN PATHWAYS TO NEWS BY DEVICEALL COUNTRIES

Stronger preference for social media as a news gateway among smartphone users than among tablet or computer users.

PROPORTION USING A NEWS APP ON A SMARTPHONE OR TABLETSELECTED COUNTRIESUse of news apps has grown in many countries since 2014.

25

Mobile news alerts have seen the biggest growth in Austria where they have doubled in use. Increases also in Ireland, Japan, Denmark, Turkey and Brazil

PROPORTION WHO ARRIVED AT NEWS VIA A MOBILE ALERTSELECTED COUNTRIES

NEWS USE ON SMARTWATCHESALL COUNTRIES

Less than 1% in both the US and Europe use smartwatches for news. Of those that do use news, push alerts seem to be more popular than going directly to an app.

FIRST CONTACT WITH NEWS IN THE MORNINGSELECTED COUNTRIES

Internet is the most popular route to news in the morning for the younger age groups, but print and TV are still favoured by older groups. 20% get their first news contact via print in Finland

NEWS DESTINATIONS FOR SMARTPHONE USERS FIRST THING IN THE MORNINGUK AND US

Social media is used by half of those accessing their first news on their smartphone

NEWS FORMATS

CHANGE IN USE OF HOMEPAGE HEADLINE LISTS AND DIRECT TO NEWS ARTICLES OVER TIMEUK

In 2014, more people went to homepages to access news.

In 2016, more people go direct to news articles.

TYPES OF NEWS ACCESSED IN THE LAST WEEKALL COUNTRIES

We see the emergence of news forms of news, such as live pages, listicles and infographics.

32

PROPORTION WHO WATCHED A NEWS VIDEO IN THE LAST WEEKALL COUNTRIES

After substantial rises for many markets in 2015, less upward movement this year USA leads in terms of consuming news videos online, experiencing a rise of 3%. Canada is a close second

BARRIERS TO NEWS VIDEO CONSUMPTIONALL COUNTRIES

The number of people put off by pre-roll ads in front of online video is rising in some countries.

BALANCE BETWEEN DISTRIBUTED AND ON-SITE NEWS VIDEO CONSUMPTIONSELECTED COUNTRIESOff-site video news consumption particularly popular in countries where social media is also prevalent.

BALANCE BETWEEN DISTRIBUTED AND ON-SITE NEWS VIDEO CONSUMPTION AMONG UNDER 35SSELECTED COUNTRIES

Off-site video news consumption is more popular among the under 35s.

PROPORTION WITHIN EACH GROUP THAT CONSUME ONLINE NEWS VIDEOALL COUNTRIES

THE BUSINESS OF NEWS

38

PROPORTION THAT ARE CURRENTLY USING ADBLOCKNG SOFTWAREALL COUNTRIES

Ad blocking is widespread outside of Asia. A majority of under 35s in Poland and Greece use them.

PROPORTION WITHIN EACH AGE GROUP THAT CURRENT USE AN AD BLOCKING SOFTWARESELECTED COUNTRIES

Ad-blocking particularly popular with 18-24s. Once people download ad blockers, they rarely uninstall them.

40

REASONS FOR ADLOCKINGSELECTED COUNTRIES

There is no one reason for ad blocking but the volume and distracting nature comes out top almost everywhere with privacy concerns strong in Netherlands and Spain

41

PROPORTION THAT THINK THE LABELLNG OF SPONSORED CONTENT IS SIMPLE AND CLEARSELECTED COUNTRIES

42

PROPORTION THAT AGREE THAT EACH TYPE OF ADVERTISING IS A FAIR PRICE TO PAY FOR FREE NEWSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Under 35s are more prepared to see sponsored or branded content in exchange for free news (Korea is the exception). They are also more likely to agree that its clearly labelled

43

PROPORTION WHO PAID FOR ONLNE NEWS IN THE LAST YEARALL COUNTRIES

Highest in Norway and increases seen in many markets – Ireland, Austria, Poland, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands. Dip of 2% in the USA as some publishers abandon paywalls and free apps

TRUST IN THE NEWS

45

PROPORTION THAT AGREE THEY CAN TRUST MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIMEALL COUNTRIESTrust highest in Finland, but lowest in Greece where the reputation of many institutions has been dented by the financial crisis.

46

TRUST IN NEWS ORGANISATIONS COMPARED TO TRUST IN JOURNALISTSALL COUNTRIES

In almost every country people trust news organisations more than they trust journalists.

TRADITIONAL NEWS BRANDS

ONLINE

PROPORTION THAT USE EACH TYPE OF NEWS BRAND ONLINEALL COUNTRIES

Traditional news brands still matter enormously online, and remain more popular thaN digital born brands.

49

PROPORTION OF ONLINE NEWS USERS WHO SAID EACH IS THEIR MAIN BRANDSELECTED COUNTRIESWhen asked about their main news brand, most people cite a traditional news brand rather than a pure player.

PROPORTION OF USERS OF EACH WHO SAID IT IS THEIR MAIN NEWS SOURCEUK

Huffington Post

Over half (51%) use BBC News each week and two thirds of them say (70%) users say it is their MAIN source of news.

14% use Huffington Post and 9% Buzzfeed but only a small proportion of them as a main source.

DECLINE OF BROADCAST NEWS FROM 2013-2016GERMANY, FRANCE, UK, US

51

Use of live broadcast TV news falling sharply among under 35s, with smaller decreases across all ages.

KEY DATA BY COUNTRY

53

Local television reaches 42% across traditional and online sources. Fox follows with a reach of 37%, local newspapers reach 33%

USA: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

54

USA: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

55

USA: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

56

BBC News remains the most popular form of news accessed in the last week for both traditional and online access – achieving a reach of 78% across both higher than the national newspaper total reach of 63%

UK: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

57

UK: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

58

UK: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

59

Tagesschau has a total reach of 51% across traditional and online sources, and local papers reach 39% when including both online and offline

GERMANY: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

60

GERMANY: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

61

GERMANY: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

62

BFM has an overall reach of 48%, a slight extension of its traditional reach of 44%. TF1 has a total reach of 44% and M6 27%

FRANCE: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

63

FRANCE: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

64

FRANCE: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

65

ITALY: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

66

ITALY: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

67

ITALY: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

68

Antena 3 maintains the top spot for traditional sources and has a reach of 60% when including online usage. LaSexta has a total reach of 49%.

SPAIN: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

69

SPAIN: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

70

SPAIN: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

71

PORTUGAL: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

72

PORTUGAL: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

73

PORTUGAL: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

74

Irish Independent/ Herald reaches 44% and then Sky with 38%

IRELAND: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

75

IRELAND: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

76

IRELAND: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

77

NORWAY: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEKThe print source VG reaches 70% of the sample across offline and online sources, TV2 reaches 64% and Dagbladet 51%

78

NORWAY: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

79

NORWAY: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

80

SWEDEN: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEKSVT reaches 60% of the sample across traditional and online sources, Aftonbladet reaches 58% and TV4 reaches 55%

81

SWEDEN: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

82

SWEDEN: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

83

FINLAND: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEKIlta-Sanomat reaches 64% across both platforms and Iltalehti 61%

84

FINLAND: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

85

FINLAND: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

86

DENMARK: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

87

DENMARK: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

88

DENMARK: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

89

BELGIUM: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

90

BELGIUM: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

91

BELGIUM: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND DEVICES

92

NETHERLANDS: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

93

NETHERLANDS: NEWS SOURCES AND DEVICES

94

NETHERLANDS: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

95

SWITZERLAND: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

96

SWITZERLAND: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

97

SWITZERLAND: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

98

AUSTRIA: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

99

AUSTRIA: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

100

AUSTRIA: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

101

HUNGARY: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

102

HUNGARY: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

103

HUNGARY: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

104

CZECH REPUBLIC: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

105

CZECH REPUBLIC: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

106

CZECH REPUBLIC: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

107

POLAND: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

108

POLAND: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

109

POLAND: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

110

GREECE: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

111

GREECE: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

112

GREECE: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

113

TURKEY: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

114

TURKEY: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

115

TURKEY: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

116

KOREA: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

117

KOREA: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

118

KOREA: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

119

JAPAN: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

120

JAPAN: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

121

JAPAN: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

122

AUSTRALIA: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

123

AUSTRALIA: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

124

AUSTRALIA: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

125

CANADA: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

126

CANADA: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

127

CANADA: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

128

BRAZIL: NEWS BRANDS USED LAST WEEK

129

BRAZIL: NEWS DEVICES AND SOURCES

130

BRAZIL: TRUST, SOCIAL, AND BUSINESS

ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS

PROPORTION WHO USED EACH AS A SOURCE OF NEWS IN THE LAST WEEKSELECTED COUNTRIES

TV and online are the two most popular news sources in every country. Print is still strong in Austria and the Netherlands

133

PROPORTION OF EACH GENDER AND AGE GROUP THAT USED EACH SOURCE OF NEWS IN THE LAST WEEKALL COUNTRIESSocial media is the only news source used more commonly by women.

134

SEGMENTATION BY SOURCES AND DEVICES

135

PROPORTION OF DIGITALISTS AND TRADITIONALISTSALL COUNTRIES

Germany most traditional.

Greece most digital.

WHO ARE THE TRADITIONALISTS?

137

SEGMENTATION BY FREQUENCY AND INTEREST

WHO ARE THE NEWS LOVERS?

139

ONLINE REACH OF NEWSPAPERS, BROADCASTERS AND DIGITAL BORN BRANDS SELECTED COUNTRIES Broadcasters perform well online in the USA, Canada and the UK. Print brands are popular online in Germany, France, Spain and Finland. Digital born brands lead in Poland, Korea and Japan.

140

TOP ONLINE NEWS BRANDSSELECTED COUNTRIES

GLOBAL CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL BORN NEWS BRANDSSELECTED COUNTRIES

STARTING POINTS FOR NEWSALL COUNTRIES

WEEKLY REACH OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS VIA BROADCAST AND ONLINESELECTED COUNTRIES

PSBs in some countries have a large online reach. In other countries, there is a large difference between their online and offline use.

WEEKLY REACH OF STRONG PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS ONLINE BY AGESELECTED COUNTRIES

PROPORTION THAT AGREED THAT THEY CAN TRUST MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIMESELECTED COUNTRIES

PROPORTION OF OVER AND UNDER 35S THAT AGREED THAT THEY CAN TRUST MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIMESELECTED COUNTRIES

In most countries older people are more likely to say that they trust most news most of the time.

PROPORTION OF LEFT WINGERS, RIGHT WINGERS, AND CENTRISTS THAT AGREED THAT THEY CAN TRUST MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIMESELECTED COUNTRIES

Trust in the news is higher among left-leaning respondents in the USA, but in Spain and the UK those are the right are more likely to trust the news.

STRENGTH OF CORRELATION WITH OVERALL TRUST IN NEWSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Trust in news organisations is most closely linked to overall trust in the news. Trust in journalists is second.

PROPORTION OF USERS OF DIGITAL BORN BRANDS THAT SAID EACH WAS THEIR MAIN BRANDUK, USA, SPAIN, GERMANY (AGE OF BRAND IN BRACKETS)

It takes time for digital-born brands to be regard as primary news sources. Older brands boast a larger proportion of users who say it is their main news source.

INTEREST IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF NEWS BY GENDERALL COUNTRIES

PROPORTION THAT ARE MORE INTERESTED IN HARD NEWS OR MORE INTERESTED IN SOFT NEWSALL COUNTRIES

Outside of Asia, most people say they are more interested in hard news topics. In Japan and Korea, a preference for soft news is more common than elsewhere.

PROPORTION OF MALES AND FEMALES THAT ARE MORE INTERESTED IN SOFT NEWS TOPICS THAN HARD NEWS TOPICSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Women in most countries are more likely to say that they are more interested in soft news, but this of course depends on how different news topics are grouped.

PROPORTION WITHIN EACH AGE GROUP THAT ARE MORE INTERESTED IN SOFT NEWS TOPICS THAN HARD NEWS TOPICSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Younger people are more likely to say they are more interested in soft news.

PROPORTION OF THOSE THAT ARE MORE INTERESTED IN HARD NEWS AND SOFT NEWS TOPICS THAT SAY SOCIAL MEDIA IS THEIR MAIN SOURCE OF NEWSSELECTED COUNTRIES

There is a link between soft news preference and social media use.

PROPORTION THAT SAY THEY ENGAGE IN SOME FORM OF NEWS PARTICIPATION DURING THE AVERAGE WEEKALL COUNTRIES

Participation around news is most common in southern European countries, and Brazil.

PROPORTION THAT SHARED A NEWS STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA COMPARED TO THE PROPORTION THAT USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWSSELECTED COUNTRIES

Although social media news use is increasing rapidly, sharing and commenting on the news remains static in most countries.

PROPORTION THAT COMMENTED ON A NEWS STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA COMPARED TO THE PROPORTION THAT USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWSSELECTED COUNTRIES

PARTICIPATION SEGMENTATION

PROPORTION OF POSITIVE PARTICIPATORS, REACTIVE PARTICIPATORS, AND PASSIVE CONSUMERS IN EACH COUNTRYALL COUNTRIES

In around two third of countries surveyed, most people are passive consumers and do not participate with the news.

PROPORTION THAT SAID THEY MOSTLY SHARE NEWS STORIES BECAUSE THEY APPROVE OF THE COVERAGE SELECTED COUNTRIES

Most people share the news they approve of and news they disapprove of in roughly equal amounts. Sharing is more likely to be used to express disapproval in the UK.

PROPORTION THAT PAID FOR ONLINE NEWS IN THE LAST YEARALL COUNTRIES

Less than one in five paid for any form of online news in the last year. In Norway, publishers have seen some success with digital/print bundles, which partly explains the high figure.

YEARLY MEDIAN PAYMENT FOR ONLINE NEWSALL COUNTRIES (IN POUNDS STERLING)On average, those that do pay for online news tend to pay different amounts in different countries. Though only 7% of people pay in the UK, the average payment is the highest of any country.

COUNTRIES GROUPED BY DOMINANT METHOD OF PAYMENT FOR ONLINE NEWSALL COUNTRIES

YEARLY MEDIAN PAYMENT FOR ONLINE NEWSCOUNTRIES DOMINATED BY ONE-OFF AND ON-GOING PAYMENTS (IN POUNDS STERLING)

In countries where on-going subscriptions are more common, the average payment tends to be higher. Average payments are low in countries where one-off payments are popular.

More informationwww.digitalnewsreport.org

#DNP2016

reuters.institute@politics.ox.ac.uk

165