Queensland Science Communicators Network 20 June 2018 DIGITAL NEWS CONSUMPTION IN AUSTRALIA Sora Park
World s biggest news survey 74,000 respondents 37 Markets Supported by RISJ Digital News Report 2017 2
GENDER EDUCATION AGE 50 Male 50 Female High School 39 Bachelors 52 Postgraduate 9 18-24 12 25-34 18 35-44 18 45-54 17 55-64 15 65+ 21 INCOME REGION DEVICE Low 34 Medium 32 High 20 No response 14 Major cities 62 Regional 38 Digital News Consumers88 Mobile news Consumers 36
ONLINE AND MOBILE TAKING OVER 82 AL L 80 78 78 79 74 42 35 29 29 36 33 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 80 80 80 REGIONAL 71 2017 2018 35 33 34 26 2017 2018 Q3. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week as a source of news? (Please select all that apply). UK8b6_5. You ve said you use the following devices to access news in the last week, which is your MAIN way of accessing online news?
REGIONAL NEWS CONSUMERS USED IN THE PAST WEEK Major cities Regional 66 71 70 60 55 57 38 38 38 35 TV Radio Print Online Social media/blogs Q3. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week as a source of news? (Please select all that apply).
REGIONAL NEWS CONSUMERS OFFLINE PLATFORMS () News consumers in regional Australia rely heavily on local and regional newspapers for news (32), almost twice as much as urban consumers (17). 43 39 4140 37 35 32 Major cities Regional 17 25 23 6 20 21 15 8 13 14 13 16 13 15 11 12 13 10 10 10 10 8 10 10 11 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 6 7 4 6 5 4 5 ABC Channel 7 Channel 9 A regional or local newspaper Channel TEN WIN Television SBS Prime7 Herald Sun Sky News BBC News Daily Telegraph The Australian Triple M CNN Courier Mail Triple J Sydney Morning Herald Southern Cross Fox News The Age Radio National The Advertiser Australian Financial Review 2GB Q5a. Which of the following brands have you used to access news in the last week (via TV, radio or print only)? Please select all that apply.
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWS 2016 2017 2018 45 41 39 15 15 20 11 10 8 8 8 10 7 9 4 3 4 1 5 5 2 3 3 Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for finding, reading, watching, sharing or discussing news in the last week? Please select all that apply. [Base = those who use social media].
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEWS IN REGIONAL AUSTRLIA 2017 2018 44 40 16 12 8 11 6 9 4 6 8 5 3 4 2 1 Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for finding, reading, watching, sharing or discussing news in the last week? Please select all that apply. [Base = those who use social media].
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for finding, reading, watching, sharing or discussing news in the last week? Please select all that apply. Red and green figures indicate the change in percentage from 2017. Social media with no red or green figures indicate no change since 2017. Q12C_2018. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements: When looking at stories in social media, the _* _ is very important in helping me decide whether information is likely to be worth my time (*news brand, headline or picture, person who shared the story, number of comments likes of shares) [Base= Those who have used a social media site for news in last week]. GENERATIONAL DIVIDE IN SOCIAL MEDIA USE 18 24 year olds +2 65 +5 25 +3 24 +2 8 Any use For news -3 72 +1 51-2 59 +5 49 +3 +7 16 17 Decisions to look at news on social media by age 60 62 18-24 54 55-64 59 48 45 34 55 64 year olds +14 54 +1 14 +6 17 + 3 5 +2 71 37 +11 44 +6 10 +1 3-1 Headline/picture News brand Person who chared the story 19 Number of comments/likes/shares
EXPRESSING POLITICAL VIEWS Australians worry about how others will think of them if they express their political views online; 45 of news consumers are concerned that expressing their political views on social media could change the way their family and friends think about them. Younger people (25-34 year-olds) are more worried. Regional Australia All respondents 25-34 year olds AUTHORITIES 40 FRIENDS/FAMILY 43 COLLEAGUES/ACQUAINTANCES 45 41 45 45 < 57 < 58 < 61 Q13a_2018. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements [I tend to think carefully about expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could get me into trouble with the authorities][i tend to think carefully about expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could make friends or family think differently about me][i tend to think carefully expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could make work colleagues or other acquaintances think differently about me].
EXPRESSING POLITICAL VIEWS & MESSAGING APPS Those who are worried about what others think are more likely to use messaging apps for news. AUTHORITIES FRIENDS/FAMILY COLLEAGUES/ ACQUAINTANCES 3 5 3 6 4 6 14 12 14 5 6 6 8 7 7 14 13 13 10 8 7 8 9 8 14 15 15 4 4 3 3 3 3 8 8 8 DisagreeNeither Agree DisagreeNeither Agree DisagreeNeither Agree DisagreeNeither Agree Q13a_2018. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements [I tend to think carefully about expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could get me into trouble with the authorities][i tend to think carefully about expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could make friends or family think differently about me][i tend to think carefully expressing my political views openly on the internet because this could make work colleagues or other acquaintances think differently about me].
CONCERN OVER AND EXPOSURE TO FAKE NEWS () Almost three-quarters of Australian news consumers (73) have experienced fake news and are very concerned (65) about it. Poor journalism (40) is the most commonly experienced type of fake news but news consumers are the most worried about politically and commercially fabricated stories (67). Q_FAKE_NEWS_2_1-6. To what extent, if at all, are you concerned about the following. Q_FAKE_NEWS_3. In the last week which of the following have you personally come across? [Base: Total sample in all markets].
Q_FAKE_NEWS_4_2. Any action to decrease/reduce the amount of misinformation (in the media or in social media) is likely to have the consequence of reducing, to some extent, the range of real or legitimate news or opinion available. With this in mind, please indicate your agreement with the following statements: Technology companies (e.g. Facebook and Google) should do more to make it easier to separate what is real and what is fake on the internet; Media companies and journalists should do more to make it easier to separate what is real and what is fake on the internet; The Government should do more to make it easier to separate what is real and fake on the internet. [Base=All]. Who bears biggest responsibility to fix the problem? Most respondents (81) believe that media companies and journalists have responsibility to stop the problem of fake news. The majority (68) also believed the government can do more to combat fake news. 1. PUBLISHERS 81 2. PLATFORMS 75 3. GOVERNMENT 68 75 71 61
Q6_2016_1/2. Thinking about news in general, do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I think I can trust most news most of the time; I think I can trust most of the news I consume most of the time. [Base=All]. Q6_2018_3. It is now possible to get online news in many different ways, including from search engines and social media sites. With this in mind, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. - I think I can trust news on search engines most of the time [Base=All]. NEWS TRUST TRUST NEWS OVERALL TRUST NEWS I USE TRUST NEWS IN SEARCH TRUST NEWS IN SOCIAL 50 (+8) 55 (+7) 39 24 Mostly this is about trust in mainstream media and in the sources that people use. Uncertainty in distributed environments, information unchecked, hard to distinguish news from rumour.
TRUST LOWER AMONG REGIONAL NEWS CONSUMERS Major cities Regional 51 48 56 53 40 38 24 23 Trust in news Trust in my news Trust in social media Trust in search engines Q6_2016_1/2. Thinking about news in general, do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I think I can trust most news most of the time; I think I can trust most of the news I consume most of the time. Q6_2018_2. It is now possible to get online news in many different ways, including from search engines and social media sites. With this in mind, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. I think I can trust news on social media most of the time. Q6_2018_3. It is now possible to get online news in many different ways, including from search engines and social media sites. With this in mind, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. - I think I can trust news on search engines most of the time [Base=All].
Q6_2016_1/2. Thinking about news in general, do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I think I can trust most news most of the time; I think I can trust most of the news I consume most of the time. [Base=All]. Q6_2018_3. It is now possible to get online news in many different ways, including from search engines and social media sites. With this in mind, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. - I think I can trust news on search engines most of the time [Base=All]. TRUST IN BRANDS Trust remains highest in established news brands; public broadcasters and print newspapers. 7.2 7.1 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.1 5.9 5.4 5.3 ABC News SBS News Australian Financial Review The Australian Channel 9 News The Age Channel 7 News Sydney Morning Herald Sky News Guardian online Herald Sun Daily Telegraph Huffington Post BuzzFeed News Junkee
FOLLOWING POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL PARTIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA () Increase in news consumers subscribing to the direct feeds of politicians on social media (2016: 11 -> 2018: 22) Regional Australia - a political party 17 - a politician 19 Followers are - more likely to have high interest in news and political news - access news via mobile phones and tablets more - more likely to have higher general trust in news than non-followers Q12_2018. When accessing news through social media like Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, have you subscribed to or followed any of the following? Please select all that apply. [A news organisation, a journalist, a political party, a politician, a campaigning group, None of these] [Base: All who have used a social media site for news in the last week based on responses to Q12B].
INCREASE IN THE USE OF NEWS ALERTS () News alert use has increased by 10 since 2016. Those with higher levels of education and income are more likely to use news alert services. The age group with the highest rate of news alert use was the prolific 25-34-year-old age group. < 27 25-34 year olds < 29 < 22 Postgraduate High income Q13. During an _average week_ in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage? Please select all that apply [Base=All].
NEWS PARTICIPATION & ENGAGEMENT No sharing 28 Talk Talk with friends and colleagues about a news story (face to face) Talk online with friends and colleagues about a news story 18 (4) 42 (7) Like Rate, like or favourite a news story Vote in an online poll via a news site or social network 14 (2) 15 (3) Share a news story on social media 22 (3) Share Share a news story via email 16 (3) Comment Share a news story via an instant messenger Comment on a news story on social media Comment on a news story on a news website 14 (5) 11 (1) 19 (4) Sharing 72 (+7) Post or send a news-related picture or video on social media 8 (1) 42 Post Post or send a picture or video to a news website/news organisation 6 (1) Action Write a blog on a news or political issue Take part in a campaign or group based around a news subject 4 (2) (1) 6 Q13. During an _average week_ in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage? Please select all that apply [Base=All].
NEWS PARTICIPATION: REGIONAL No sharing 30 Actio n Post Comment Share Like Talk Talk with friends and colleagues about a news story (face to face) Talk online with friends and colleagues about a news story Vote in an online poll via a news site or social media Rate, like or favourite a news story Share a news story via social media Share a news story via email Share a news story via an instant messenger Comment on a news story on a news website Comment on a news story in social media Post or send a picture or video to a news website/news organisation Post or send a news-related picture or video to social media Write a blog on a news or political issue Take part in a campaign or group based around a news subject 6 (1) 5 (1) 7 9 (2) (- 1) 16 (2) 16 (4) 17 (4) 13 (- 1) 13 (3) 13 (2) 22 24 (8) (6) 42 (8) Q13. During an _average week_ in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage? Please select all that apply [Base=All].
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SHARING () Women like to talk face-to-face and engage in light sharing activities such as likes or sharing news on social media. Men engage in more active methods of news engagement such as commenting on news. When sharing, women use social media and men use email. 47 37 17 18 24 20 19 16 13 13 14 15 18 12 19 19 13 10 8 8 8 5 6 7 2 5 Talk online with friends and colleagues about a news story Talk with friends and colleagues about a news story (face to face) Share a news story via social network Share a news story via email Share a news story via an instant messenger Rate, like or favourite a news story Vote in an online poll via a news site or social network Comment on a news story in a social network Comment on a news story on a news website Post or send a news-related picture or video to a Social Network site Post or send a picture or video to a news website/news organisation Write a blog on a news or political issue Take part in a campaign or group based around a news subject Talk Share Like Comment Post Action Male Female Q13. During an _average week_ in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage? Please select all that apply [Base=All].