Episode 70 - Why You Need to Rethink Your Public Sector PR Strategy

My favourite annual research is out and it’s time to understand the ever-changing news landscape.

The 2022 Digital News Report compiled by Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford presents an interesting evolution of news consumption online.

This year’s report looks at the progress on pay models and the popularity of curated editorial products like podcasts and newsletters.

The YouGov survey of over 93,000 online news consumers in 46 markets covers half of the world's population. So it’s worth reading. But I’ve read it so you don’t have to!

The report documents ways in which the connection between journalism and the public may be fraying, including a fall in trust following last year’s positive bump, a declining interest in news and a rise in news avoidance. It also looks at audience polarisation and explores how young people access news.

Coming up in episode 70:

• > Why your PR and media team need to take stock of their digital skills and digital news output
• > I’ll share the big takeaways for public sector media and marketing pros
• > My colleague Sophie Sweeney has been out and about on the streets of Galway asking citizens of all ages where and how they access their news.

Column | 

I went out onto the streets of Galway to see how people are accessing news today. I also asked the public who they trust when it comes to news and if mainstream media is their top choice.

@socialmediapros Where do you get your news? #news #voxpop #digitalnewsreport22 #onlinenews #socialmedia #mainstreammedia #publicsectormarketingshow #podcast #irishpodawards ♬ Luxury fashion (no vocals) - TimTaj

Download the 2022 Digital News Report

Consulting |

In this week’s consulting segment, I provide my top takeaways from the 2022 Digital News Report.

2022 marks the 11th edition of the Digital News Report, based on data from six continents and 46 markets, shining a light on the key issues that face the industry.

Big Takeaways

The changing habits of younger groups, specifically those under 30, whom news organisations often struggle to reach is dominant in this year’s report.

Social and digital natives have grown up with social media and they are also more drawn to visual media especially TikTok and YouTube for news.

Mobile-first journalism is also a preference for the public while experiments with other news formats is explored this year, such as newsletters and podcasts.

• > Trust in the news has fallen in almost half the countries in our survey, and risen in just seven, partly reversing the gains made at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. On average, around four in ten of our total sample (42%) say they trust most news most of the time. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (69%), while news trust in the USA has fallen by a further three percentage points and remains the lowest (26%) in our survey.

• > Consumption of traditional media, such as TV and print, declined further in the last year in almost all markets (pre-Ukraine invasion), with online and social consumption not making up the gap. While the majority remain very engaged, others are turning away from the news media and in some cases disconnecting from news altogether. Interest in news has fallen sharply across markets, from 63% in 2017 to 51% in 2022.

• > Meanwhile, the proportion of news consumers who say they avoid news, often or sometimes, has increased sharply across countries. This type of selective avoidance has doubled in both Brazil (54%) and the UK (46%) over the last five years, with many respondents saying news has a negative effect on their mood. A significant proportion of younger and less educated people say they avoid news because it can be hard to follow or understand – suggesting that the news media could do much more to simplify language and better explain or contextualise complex stories.
• >  In the five countries we surveyed after the war in Ukraine had begun, we find that television news is relied on most heavily – with countries closest to the fighting, such as Germany and Poland, seeing the biggest increases in consumption. Selective news avoidance has, if anything, increased further – likely due to the difficult and depressing nature of the coverage.

• > Global concerns about false and misleading information remain stable this year, ranging from 72% in Kenya and Nigeria to just 32% in Germany and 31% in Austria. People say they have seen more false information about Coronavirus than about politics in most countries, but the situation is reversed in Turkey, Kenya, and the Philippines, amongst others.

• > Despite increases in the proportion paying for online news in a small number of richer countries (Australia, Germany, and Sweden), there are signs that overall growth may be levelling off. Across a basket of 20 countries where payment is widespread, 17% paid for any online news – the same figure as last year. Persuading younger people to pay remains a critical issue for industry, with the average age of a digital news subscriber almost 50.

• > A large proportion of digital subscriptions go to just a few big national brands – reinforcing the winner takes most dynamics that we have reported in the past. But in the United States and Australia we are now seeing the majority of those paying taking out more than one subscription. This reflects the increased supply of differentiated paid news products in areas such as political opinion, local news, and a range of specific niches – holding out hope that more people will ultimately pay for multiple titles.

• > But in the face of rapidly rising household bills, we find some respondents rethink the number of media subscriptions they can afford this year – which include news, television, music, and books. While most say they expect to retain the same number of media subscriptions, others say they expect to take out fewer, as they look to save money on non-essential items.
• > With first-party data collection becoming more important for publishers with the imminent demise of third-party cookies, we find that most consumers are still reluctant to register their email address with news sites. Across our entire sample, only around a third (32%) say they trust news websites to use their personal data responsibly – comparable to online retailers such as Amazon – and the figure is even lower in the United States (18%) and France (19%).

• > Access to news continues to become more distributed. Across all markets, less than a quarter (23%) prefer to start their news journeys with a website or app, down nine points since 2018. Those aged 18–24 have an even weaker connection with websites and apps, preferring to access news via side-door routes such as social media, search, and mobile aggregators.
• > Facebook remains the most-used social network for news but users are more likely to say they see too much news in their feed compared with other networks. While older groups remain loyal to the platform, we show how the youngest generation has switched much of its attention to more visual networks over the last three years.

• > TikTok has become the fastest growing network in this year’s survey, reaching 40% of 18–24s, with 15% using the platform for news. Usage is much higher in parts of Latin America, Asia, and Africa than it is in the United States or Northern Europe. Telegram has also grown significantly in some markets, providing a flexible alternative to Meta- owned WhatsApp.
• > While social media have increased the profile of many digital journalists, we find that the most well-known journalists are still TV anchors and presenters in most countries. When asked to name journalists they pay attention to, few people can name foreign correspondents, while newspaper columnists have higher name recognition in the UK and Finland than in Brazil, the United States, or France.

• > The smartphone has become the dominant way in which most people first access news in the morning, though we find different patterns across countries. In Norway, Spain, Finland, and the UK, the smartphone is now accessed first ahead of television, while radio retains an important role in Ireland. Morning newspaper reading is still surprisingly popular in the Netherlands; television still dominates in Japan.

• > After last year’s slowdown in part caused by restrictions on movement during the COVID-19 pandemic, growth in podcasts seems to have resumed, with 34% consuming one or more podcasts in the last month. Our data show Spotify continuing to gain ground over Apple and Google podcasts in a number of countries and YouTube also benefiting from the popularity of video-led and hybrid podcasts.

Resources

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Thank You for Listening!

Thank you for tuning into episode #70 to find out News is Digital & Why You Need to Rethink Your Public Sector PR
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