declining quality of the media and consequences for companies and business reporting
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by fög (Research Institute of the Public Sphere and Society) / University of Zurich Switzerland showing how Media use and Media Concentration change, how the Quality of the Media is decreasing over time and what this all means for Business Reporting, Corporate Reputaton und Companies being covered in the Media.TRANSCRIPT
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Zurich, 29 July 2014
Declining quality of the media and what this means for business reporting – The case of Switzerland
fög / University of Zurich
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1. Media use and quality of the media
2. Media concentration
3. Financial and human resources
4. Quality of the media and corporate reporting
5. To conclude: Some words about social media
Overview
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Media use and quality of the media
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Development of the use of selected media titles (1)
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Tagesanzeiger Tagesanzeiger.ch
NZZ
Radio SRF 1 – Rendez-Vous
nzz.ch
High-quality information media (paid-for newspapers, public broadcasters) are continuously losing ground
Online information media are gaining
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Development of the use of selected media titles (2)
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Blick
20 Minuten
Blick.ch
20minuten.ch
Lower-quality media titles are recording the highest growth in use (i.e. free commuter newspapers on/offline; online editions of tabloid press)
In Switzerland, the free paper 20 Minuten already reaches 1.7 million people daily!
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The boom in free media and online news sites has led to a significant growth of the (red) zone of lower-quality media titles
The segment of the high-quality media titles is shrinking
Quality dynamics 2001 – 2013
Indicators used to measure media quality:
Hard news (+) vs. soft news and entertainment (–)
Providing background information (+) vs. presenting news without context (–)
Weighing up arguments (+) vs. polemics and emotional appeals (–)
Source transparency (+) vs. lack of transparency as regards the sources used (–)
Etc.
Low quality
Medium quality
High quality
24%
64%
36%
population coverage 2001 in %
German-speaking Switzerland
Low quality
Medium quality
High quality
38%
49%
27%
population coverage 2012 in %
German-speaking Switzerland
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Since 2010, there has been a loss of quality almost across the board On- and off-line free press, with the online tabloids trailing behind
Media quality of different media types (2010-2013)Pu
blic
radi
o
Subs
cript
ion
pres
s
Suda
y/m
agaz
ine
Publ
icTV
Subs
cript
ion
onlin
e
Privat
era
dio
Type
mea
n
Priva
teTV
Tabl
oid
pres
s
Free
new
spap
ers
Free
onl
ine
Tabl
oid
onlin
e
2,50
3,00
3,50
4,00
4,50
5,00
Poin
ts sco
red
5,505,49
5,24
5,07
4,86 4,804,74 4,76
4,56 4,42
4,10
4,31
4,014,07
3,903,80
3,50
2,64
3,32
3,07 3,07
3,60
2,94 2,79
2,53
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Media use and quality of the mediaWhat does this mean for corporate communications?
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The Swiss media arena faces a massive trend to a growing tabloid sector: lower-quality “tabloid” media titles are growing strongly while high-quality titles are losing ground
Entertainment and emotional appeals are becoming increasingly important; this raises the risk of companies being exposed to scandals
Companies find it harder to reach wide sectors of the population with complex topics and arguments
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Media concentration
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Media concentration in the press market
In the period 2001-2012, the number of media companies massively declined
The publishing house Tamedia clearly dominates the press market
(Share of Press market of Tamedia in german-speaking part: 40%; in French-speaking part: 70%)
Concentration of the press market 2001 vs. 2012
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Media concentration in the online market
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The concentration in the online sector is even higher than in the press sector
Only the biggest players can afford hosting online portals with a nation-wide coverage
Again, Tamedia is the strongest player in this field
23%
20%
17%
14%
11%
7%6%1%
German-speaking Switzerland
BZM
NZZ-Gruppe
United Internet
SRG
Mic. Adv.
Ringier
Swisscom
Ta
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Media concentration means “more of the same”
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Media concentration leads to a loss of diversity, especially in domestic, foreign but also business reporting
The trend towards “more of the same” is even stronger online than in the print sector
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Media concentrationWhat does this mean for corporate communications?
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The “more of the same” pattern of media reporting increases the scope for companies to find broad attention with certain topics
But on the other hand it also increases the risk that critical or scandalizing reports will quickly trigger nation-wide attention
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Financial and human resources
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The press sector is losing advertising revenue; online information media cannot even nearly compensate the income losses
This had led, among other things, to massive layoffs among journalists
Lack of financial resources: loss of revenuesInformation press Other press
In million CHF In million CHF
2011 988 686
2012 955 661
2011 1'337 667
2012 1'154 629
(Data source: Werbestatistik Schweiz)
Sal
es r
even
ues
Net
adv
ertis
ing
reve
nues
Newssites Other online offers
In million CHF In million CHF
2011 88 423
2012 85 475
(Data source: Media Focus)
Gro
ss a
dver
tisin
g re
venu
es
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As (human) resources shrink with the layoffs of journalists, externally produced content such as news agency and PR reports is becoming much more important in the media arena
Lack of human resources: Growing PR influence
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Sunday(n =191)
Subscription (n =743)
Tabloid (n =135)
Business(n =426)
PR influence – media reports PR influence – other reports No measurable PR influence
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The media also react to their lack of financial resources by pooling their editorial staff (keywords: Newsroom, all-round journalism)
In consequence, competent contact partners are being lost, especially in business reporting
Lack of human resources: de-specialization
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Lack of financial and human resources What does this mean for corporate communications?
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The lack of financial and human resources in journalism is a two-edged sword for companies:
On the one hand, the risk of scandalization increases (“outrage” journalism costs less than quality journalism)
On the other hand, the influence of corporate PR is growing rapidly in media reporting (growing demand for information that can be used rapidly and that requires no expensive work)
In their media relations, companies have to convey more “basics” because the number of specialized sector experts in journalism is shrinking
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Media quality and corporate reporting
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Quality of the media and reputation – relationships (1)
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Negativequality of the media Volatility of reputation+
r = .31, p = .041
n.s.
Coverage about moral /social aspects
Focus on individuals
+
r = .3
9, p = .0
08r = .46, p = .002
+
n.s.
Negative quality of the media increases the volatility of the reputation development within media reporting
A focus on individuals makes reputation volatile
Mark Eisenegger
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Quality of the media and reputation – relationships (2)
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Negativequality of the media
Reputation risks
n.s.
Coverage about moral /social aspects
Focus on individuals
+
r = .3
4, p = .0
25
n.s.
+
r = .4
9, p
= .0
01
r = .46, p = .002
+
Both a focus of individuals and social topic coverage correlate with increased reputation risks (=negative reporting on companies)
Mark Eisenegger
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Quality of the media and corporate reportingWhat does this mean for corporate communications?
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The sinking quality of the media leads to more volatile reputation of companies: praise and shame quickly follow upon each other
A focus on individuals (CEOs, Chairmen etc.) and coverage in social contexts increase reputation risks
CEO and CSR communications have to be used selectively and in moderation
Good CSR is based on action and must not be exposed as a “PR trick”
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And finally…
… Social Networks – important or overestimated?
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Social networks show a particular preference for soft news
For online information media, news items which go viral on the social networks are increasingly seen as successful
This additionally increases the importance of soft news in the media arena
Social Networks – increasingly important, but over-estimated
themenpuls.ch: Which media contributionsare shared the most in social networks?
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Contact details:
fög – Forschungsinstitut Öffentlichkeit und Gesellschaft / Universität ZürichAndreasstrasse 15CH-8050 ZürichTel. 044 / 635 21 23www.foeg.uzh.ch