Screen size and age affect how smartphone owners get mobile news stories Phablet owners are much more likely than standard-size smartphone owners to frequently use multiple ways to access news organization content.

1. Screen size and age affect
how smartphone owners
get mobile news stories
Phablet owners are much more likely than
standard-size smartphone owners
to frequently use multiple ways
to access news organization content.
Roger Fidler
RJI Program Director for Digital Publishing [Retired]REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey

2. 54% 56%
45%
24%
19%
11%
69%
76%
63%
43%
38%
29%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
31% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 54% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
41%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL
Smartphone owners who said they
used two or more approaches*
to access news organization content
frequently or very frequently.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
* Based on frequent or very frequent use
of at least two of the five approaches
described in slides 5-9 in the week prior
to taking the survey.

3. 13%
24%
15% 6% 4%
2%
36%
46%
37%
19%
9% 9%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
9% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 27% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
17%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL
Smartphone owners who said they
used four or more approaches*
to access news organization content
frequently or very frequently.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
* Based on frequent or very frequent use of at
least four of the five approaches described in
slides 5-9 in the week prior to taking the survey.

4. 26%
30%
42%
65%
69%
77%
22%
14%
26%
41%
49%
56%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
56% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 34% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
47%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL
Smartphone owners who said they
used none of the common approaches*
to access news organization content
frequently or very frequently.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
* Based on frequent or very frequent
use of none of the five approaches
described in slides 5-9 in the week
prior to taking the survey.

5. 55% 54%
36%
20%
11%
7%
60%
73%
44%
32%
25%
19%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
26% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 44% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
Smartphone owners who said they
frequently or very frequently go indirectly
to news organization content through
links provided by social media users.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
34%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL

6. 52% 51%
30%
15%
13% 5%
62%
70%
51%
30%
26%
20%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
24% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 45% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
Smartphone owners who said they
frequently or very frequently stumble onto
news stories of interest while using their
smartphone for non-news activities.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
33%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL

7. 33%
39%
30%
17%
14% 12%
50%
58% 57%
33%
25%
29%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
22% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 43% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
Smartphone owners who said they
frequently or very frequently go directly
to news organization websites
that they can access with their browser.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
31%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL

8. 23%
30%
25%
17%
15%
10%
45%
55% 56%
35%
21%
17%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
19% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 39% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
Smartphone owners who said they
frequently or very frequently go directly
to news organization content
using their smartphone apps.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
27%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL

9. 13%
28%
32%
17%
14%
9%
36%
45%
40%
24% 24%
19%
0
20
40
60
80
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
18% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 32% PHABLET OVERALL
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
Smartphone owners who said they
frequently or very frequently go indirectly
to news organization content through
links included in email messages.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
24%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL

10. REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey
57%
46%
32%
16%
21%
17%
79%
85%
74%
64%
49%
44%
0
20
40
60
80
100
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
29% STANDARD SMARTPHONE OVERALL 67% PHABLET OVERALL
Smartphone owners who said they
somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that
the size of their smartphone’s screen
made reading news easier.
Percent of standard smartphone and phablet users within each age group
45%
SMARTPHONE
OVERALL

11. About the 2015 RJI Mobile Media Survey
This survey was conducted for RJI in June 2015 by Ipsos, one of the world’s largest
market research companies. It included 1,001 U.S. adults. The questionnaire was
drafted by Samuel Tham, a graduate student in the Missouri School of Journalism,
under the guidance of Esther Thorson, RJI’s director of research.
Unlike the three previous annual RJI Mobile Media News Consumption Surveys,
which included users as well as nonusers of smartphones and tablets, this survey
was confined to those who had standard-size smartphones and phablets —
smartphones with screens that measure diagonally 5.1 – 6.99 inches.
Ipsos maintains a database that collects demographic information from commercial
list brokers. Individuals in this database are offered incentives to participate in various
surveys. For this survey, Ipsos sought to match respondents as close to the U.S.
population as possible.
About the Reynolds Journalism Institute
The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute engages media professionals, scholars
and other citizens in programs aimed at strengthening journalism in the service of
democracy. RJI generates and tests new techniques and new thinking that promise
to improve journalism.
REPORT FOUR
Results from 2015 RJI Mobile Media
News Consumption Survey

12. RJI Mobile Media Research Project
https://www.rjionline.org/research/rji-mobile-media-project
Roger Fidler
Program Director for Digital Publishing [Retired]
FidlerR@rjionline.org
(573) 808.2137