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 (bullet points/short answers are fine):
1) Look at the key findings from the report on pages 2-3. How do UK adults generally get their news?
They get their news from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
2) Read the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What do you notice about the changing way adults are getting their news?
2) Read the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What do you notice about the changing way adults are getting their news?
Print is in decline, TV is the most popular source of news, social media is increasingly becoming the most used platform.
3) Look at the summary of platforms used on page 13. What do you notice about newspapers and how has it changed since 2018?
The internet is the only one that has increased, the rest, including print, are declining very quickly.
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?
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?
males read more newspapers than females
people aged around 65 are most likely to read print news
It's the least popular method amongst the ABC1 and C2DE groups
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
The Sun
The Guardian
Metro
6) Now turn to Section 6 focusing on newspapers (page 33). How has the circulation of national newspapers decreased between 2010 and 2018?
The total market has fallen from 21.9 million in 2010 to 10.4 million in 2018, just over 50% decline
7) What are the most-used newspaper titles?
7) What are the most-used newspaper titles?
Metro
The Guardian
Daily Mail
8) What are the most popular titles when print and online figures are combined (look at page 38)?
8) What are the most popular titles when print and online figures are combined (look at page 38)?
Daily Mail
The Guardian
The Sun
The i has seen no change in readership or circulation whereas in one year the Daily Mail saw a 1% increase in numbers, so not a huge difference between the two newspapers
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?
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: a majority of its readers are white, aged 65, and are from a ABC1 or a C2DE background
The 'i': Alot less circulation and popularity, male ABC1 readers,.same white and ethnic minority readership
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.
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.
Facebook is still the most [popular news source on social media - FB is seen as an ageing platform with a lot of older users, it's surprising that it's still the most popular, compared to Twitter.
Trending news stories are most shown on Twitter - the retweet function helps to spread news faster even though it might be fake
The BBC and Sky News are 1st and 2nd respectively in terms of the most used source of news - these are two British PSBs which practice two different levels of news - public and commercial.
12) Look at the summary of readers' attitudes for newspapers on page 76. What statements do Daily Mail readers tend to agree with?
12) Look at the summary of readers' attitudes for newspapers on page 76. What statements do Daily Mail readers tend to agree with?
It's an important part of their life, high quality, and it informs the readers with current affairs really well. Although it's not as high as its competitors, the Daily Mail isn't the worst on the table.
Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media
Go to our Media Factsheet archive 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 or you can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login.
Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks (bullet points/short answers are fine):
1) What has happened to print media in the last 30 years?
Print media was one of the biggest industries in the world but as soon as audiences could get their news for free and at a greater convenience
2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media?
2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media?
The Independent was one of the UK's biggest newspapers but as time drew on, many newspapers made the switch to digital much faster than the Independent and it was closed down a few years ago because it wasn't an economically sound idea.
3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?
3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?
unorthodox front pages and not being politically biased
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.”
5) How do online newspapers make money?
cookies, brand deals, sponsored articles
6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital?
6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital?
“For me, the power of the Independent came from the variety of voices, the originality in its design and the iconoclastic feel of the paper. It is very difficult to replicate that in digital form. And it is even more difficult to do that with a paper like the Independent.
7) What is the concern with fake news? What does 'post-truth' refer to?
That it will have a much larger prominence than real, genuine news. The websites are easy to set up and free, increasing the likelihood of fake news as readership online grows to record numbers
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?
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 think that the technological revolution has made sure that traditional print media is now a thing of the past. It's something that the industry should have seen coming but alas it was unavoidable. The audience should pay for its news if it wants quality news reporting but social media has made the public think that their citizen reporting has put paywall journalism to rest.
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