Digital News Report 2016

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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 2012-2016
UNITED STATES
Social media news use has nearly doubled in the USA since 2013. Print has declined.

PROPORTION THAT USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWS
SELECTED 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 2016
SELECTED 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 NEWS
ALL 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 AGE
ALL COUNTRIES
For 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 NEWS
USA AND UK
Snapchat discover not widely used for
news outside of the 18-24 age group in
the USA.

USE OF SELECTED NEWS AGGREGATORS
UK, 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 NEWS
USA, 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 NEWS
ALL 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 AGGREGATORS
SELECTED 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 USE
SELECTED 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
UK
Younger users prefer smartphone news access, older users prefer either tablets or the computer.

PROPORTION WHO ACCESS NEWS SEVERAL TIMES A
DAY BY DEVICE
ALL 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 DEVICE
ALL 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
TABLET
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Use 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
ALERT
SELECTED COUNTRIES

NEWS USE ON SMARTWATCHES
ALL 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 MORNING
SELECTED 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 MORNING
UK AND US
Social media is used by half of those accessing their first news on their smartphone

CHANGE IN USE OF HOMEPAGE HEADLINE LISTS
AND DIRECT TO NEWS ARTICLES OVER TIME
UK
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 WEEK
ALL 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
WEEK
ALL 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 CONSUMPTION
ALL 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 CONSUMPTION
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Off-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 35S
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Off-site video news consumption is more popular among the under 35s.

PROPORTION WITHIN EACH GROUP THAT
CONSUME ONLINE NEWS VIDEO
ALL COUNTRIES

38
PROPORTION THAT ARE CURRENTLY USING ADBLOCKNG
SOFTWARE
ALL 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 SOFTWARE
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Ad-blocking particularly popular with 18-24s. Once people download ad blockers, they rarely uninstall
them.

40
REASONS FOR ADLOCKING
SELECTED 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 CLEAR
SELECTED COUNTRIES

42
PROPORTION THAT AGREE THAT EACH TYPE OF
ADVERTISING IS A FAIR PRICE TO PAY FOR FREE NEWS
SELECTED 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 YEAR
ALL 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

45
PROPORTION THAT AGREE THEY CAN TRUST MOST
NEWS MOST OF THE TIME
ALL COUNTRIES
Trust 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
JOURNALISTS
ALL 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 ONLINE
ALL 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 BRAND
SELECTED COUNTRIES
When 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 SOURCE
UK
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 2013-2016
GERMANY, FRANCE, UK, US
51
Use of live broadcast TV news falling sharply among under 35s, with smaller decreases across all ages.

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 WEEK
The 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 WEEK
SVT 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 WEEK
Ilta-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

PROPORTION WHO USED EACH AS A SOURCE OF NEWS IN THE LAST WEEK
SELECTED COUNTRIES
TV and online are the two most popular news sources in every country. Print is still strong in Austria and the
Netherlands

PROPORTION OF EACH GENDER AND AGE GROUP THAT
USED EACH SOURCE OF NEWS IN THE LAST WEEK
ALL COUNTRIES
133
Social media is the only news source used more commonly by women.

134
SEGMENTATION BY SOURCES AND DEVICES

135
PROPORTION OF DIGITALISTS AND TRADITIONALISTS
ALL COUNTRIES
Germany most traditional.
Greece most digital.

137
SEGMENTATION BY FREQUENCY AND INTEREST

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 BRANDS
SELECTED COUNTRIES

GLOBAL CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL BORN NEWS
BRANDS
SELECTED COUNTRIES

STARTING POINTS FOR NEWS
ALL COUNTRIES

WEEKLY REACH OF PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS VIA BROADCAST
AND ONLINE
SELECTED 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 AGE
SELECTED COUNTRIES

PROPORTION THAT AGREED THAT THEY CAN
TRUST MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIME
SELECTED COUNTRIES

PROPORTION OF OVER AND UNDER 35S THAT
AGREED THAT THEY CAN TRUST MOST NEWS MOST
OF THE TIME
SELECTED 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 TIME
SELECTED 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
NEWS
SELECTED 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 BRAND
UK, 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 GENDER
ALL COUNTRIES

PROPORTION THAT ARE MORE INTERESTED IN HARD
NEWS OR MORE INTERESTED IN SOFT NEWS
ALL 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 TOPICS
SELECTED 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 TOPICS
SELECTED 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 NEWS
SELECTED 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 WEEK
ALL 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 NEWS
SELECTED 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 NEWS
SELECTED COUNTRIES

PROPORTION OF POSITIVE PARTICIPATORS,
REACTIVE PARTICIPATORS, AND PASSIVE
CONSUMERS IN EACH COUNTRY
ALL 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
YEAR
ALL 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 NEWS
ALL 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 NEWS
ALL COUNTRIES

YEARLY MEDIAN PAYMENT FOR ONLINE NEWS
COUNTRIES 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 information
www.digitalnewsreport.org
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