David Levy & Nic Newman, Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014, 13 June

REUTERS INSTITUTE
DIGITAL NEWS REPORT 2014
TRACKING
THE FUTURE
OF NEWS

David Levy
Director
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Oxford University
13/06/2014 RISJ Digital News Report 2014 2

Background and
methodology
One of the largest news
surveys in the world – online
news habits of more than
18,000 people in ten countries.
Research conducted online in
January/early February 2014.
Additional analysis of key
themes, country level insights
from network of partners
Supported
by

Polling
by

Nic Newman
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

Key findings •  Role of smartphone as a key agent of change
•  Generational split in news consumption
•  Increasing disruption to mainstream media companies from
pure players and aggregators
•  Rise of the reporter as a key focus of trust and engagement
•  Role of social media and emergence of WhatsApp as news
network.

SMARTPHONES
AND TABLETS

Strong growth in
SMARTPHONE news access
Consistent pattern of strong growth in all markets
28% 28%
21% 20%
0%
32%
19%
29% 28%
22%
24% 25%
35%
43%
26%
33%
31% 32%
35% 36%
44%
52%
Japan UK USA Germany France Italy Spain Denmark
2012 2013 2014
8b Which, if any, of the following devices have you used to access news in the last week?
Base: All (total sample in each country)
access news
weekly
ALL TEN COUNTRIES
37%

6% 6%
11%
8%
13%
6%
10%
14%
11%
16%
13%
16%
25%
10%
17% 18% 19% 20% 21%
23%
36%
Japan
Germany
Italy

France
USA
Spain
UK
Denmark

2012
2013
2014

Strong growth in
TABLET access
Denmark still leads in tablet usage
access news weekly
ALL TEN COUNTRIES
20%
8b Which, if any, of the following devices have you used to access news in the last week?
Base: All (total sample in each country)

Impact and value of
new devices
•  Increasing the frequency with which we access the
news
•  Increasing the access points for news
•  Encouraging payment for news
“in the café or at the bus it’s right there, you
have all the news at your fingertips”
Say the mobile is the main
way of accessing online news
20%
For under 45’s
30%

Smartphone and tablet demographics
Smartphones are still more popular with younger age groups. Tablets are used equally through age groups but with
a significant bulge with the 35-55 group.
56%
20%
55%
23%
48%
25%
35%
23%22%
17%
Smartphone Tablet
Smartphone and tablet by age
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
35-44 group (+9%) driving
smartphone growth
44-54 group (+7%)
driving tablet growth

Smartphone users tend to access fewer new sources
and brands with strong app propositions do best
On a smartphone, news brands with
strong app proposition such as the BBC
and Sky News & Mail Online tend to
thrive. General aggregators are losing out
Access one news
source weekly on a
smartphone
37% Access one news
source weekly on a
computer
30%

Multiplatform
world
In general new devices are not replacing TV,
radio or print, though usage patterns are
changing and becoming more complex

From brand’s point of view…
It’s an increasingly complex world. Different devices are used at different points through the day

From audience’s
point of view…
GENERATIONAL SPLIT:
Older people prefer a
newspaper ‘edition’ or
scheduled ‘TV broadcasts’,
whereas younger respondents
access news throughout the
day – mainly online
Q4c When do you typically access the news? Pleas select all that applies

DISRUPTION TO
TRADITIONAL MEDIA

New challengers
Huff Post Buzzfeed
US 17% 5%
UK 9% 3%
Italy 5% -
France 5% 1%
Spain 4% 1%
Germany 3% 1%
Brazil - 1%

UK brands suffering less disruption

FINDING NEWS
ONLINE

Finding news online
Audiences in Finland, Denmark and the UK tend to go first to brand, followed by search and social whereas in other countries
there is much more of a mix. In France, Germany, US, Italy and Brazil search is the primary gateway.
UK France Germany Denmark Italy Spain Japan Urban Brazil USA Finland
Directly via brand 45% 23% 27% 46% 39% 46% 20% 46% 33% 57%
Search engine 29% 40% 42% 15% 59% 35% 41% 59% 40% 26%
Social media 17% 14% 15% 16% 34% 38% 12% 46% 28% 24%
Email 9% 24% 12% 16% 12% 12% 18% 22% 27% 11%

Finding news online
Google News – No1 site in France and No 3 in Italy but only 5% in UK and 4% in Finland
Search engine 29% 40% 42% 15% 59% 35% 41% 59% 40% 26%
Social media 17% 14% 15% 16% 34% 38% 12% 46% 28% 24%
Email 9% 24% 12% 16% 12% 12% 18% 22% 27% 11%

Finding news online
Search engine 29% 40% 42% 15% 59% 35% 41% 59% 40% 26%
Social media 17% 14% 15% 16% 34% 38% 12% 46% 28% 24%
Email 9% 24% 12% 16% 12% 12% 18% 22% 27% 11%

Social discovery
24%
45%
41%
34%
37%
19%
Brand Search Social
United States
18-24 OVER 45s

PAYING FOR NEWS

Paying for news
Overall numbers still low but an increasing proportion are moving to online subscription with 1. Times 2. Telegraph 3. Sun
Online subscription payment
2014 (43% in 2013)
59%

Who is paying for online news?
Of those subscribing to online news (all countries)
are male
61%
are aged 55+
35%
have a Masters/Doctoral or Bachelors degree
52%
say they are very or extremely interested in news
52%
use a tablet for news
43%

Motivations for paying for news
People sign up to get content they like on multiple devices or because they can’t get it any
other way though the quality of writers and range of coverage is also important

ROLE OF THE
REPORTER AS DRIVER
OF ENGAGEMENT

The influence and value of
individual journalists
In Spain, France and the United States the journalist is considered important for trust. In UK, Finland and Germany the
brand is the most important driver

The influence and value of
individual journalists
In Spain, France and the United States the journalist is considered important for trust. In UK, Finland and Germany the
brand is the most important driver
of Twitter users follow a
professional news account
follow a journalist
64%
48%
follow a journalist
48%
And in social media…..

Top Social Networks for news
Average of 10 countries

33

3%
4%

7%
8%

10%

12%

21%

8%
9%

13%

18%
18%

24%

34%

Germany
Denmark
France
USA
Italy
UK
Spain

Age

18-‐24
19%

25-‐34
11%

35-‐44
10%

45-‐54

8%

55+
6%

•  Q12a/b. Which, if any, of the following have you used for any purpose/for news in the last week?
•  Base: All markets 2014 – UK=2082, Germany=2063, Spain=2017, Italy=2010, France=1946, Denmark=2036, Finland=1520, USA=2197, Urban Brazil=1015, Japan=1973
Twitter for news (weekly use)

Use of WhatsApp for news
The use of WhatsApp in India, Sudhi Sen NDTV, India
Spain
26%
Brazil
15%
Italy
13%
WhatsApp

Role of video news online
Most take up for video news in the US but online is still mainly about text.
70%
73%
77%
78%
78%
11%
12%
14%
4%
5%
10%
6%
5%
2%
5%
USA
Germany
Spain
Finland
UK
I mostly read news in text I read text stories and watch video news about the same I mostly watch video news

Barriers to using more video
Still technical and cultural barriers to take up…

Formats of videos consumed
Still technical and cultural barriers to take up…

More information
www.digitalnewsreport.org
#RISJ2014

David Levy & Nic Newman, Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014, 13 June

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David Levy & Nic Newman, Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014, 13 June