Ofcom report : News Consumption 2016

 Ofcom 2016 report on the consumption of news in the UK 

 Statistics-

1. 69% of adults in 2016 watch TV in comparison to 48% who would use the internet.
2. Only 6% of say to have use all four platforms of TV, radio, newspapers and the internet.
3. Those aged 65+ are more likely than those aged 16-24 to use TV, newspapers and radio for news consumption, while the opposite is true for the internet/ apps. 
4. Newspapers are used by 29% of people, not a significant decrease in 2015 where just 31% of people used newspapers to access news, which represents a decrease of nine percentage points since 2014 and 2013.
5.  In 2015 41% said to have used the internet for news but this has increased in 2016 as it has raised to 48% 
6. 47% of those who use social media for news say they mostly get news stories through social media posts, compared to 30% in 2015.
7. The most-used titles for news are: Daily Mail (26%), The Sun (22%), the Daily Mirror (11%), followed by 9% using each of the Metro, The Times and The Guardian.

2) What are the most popular platforms for audiences to access news and how has this changed in recent years?

 In this new digital age television is one of the most popular platforms for news 69% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news.Nevertheless, this is continuing to decrease since 2014 when 75% of adults used their TV's to watch news. The number of people who use the internet or apps for news has remained the same since 2014, with just over four in ten (41%) doing so, compared to just under a third in 2013 (32%). In 2016 has shown an increase of this data as 78% of people access the news through the internet on any device more, showing a 16% difference from 2013 to 2016 usage of news accessed on devices. Newspapers are used by 29% of people, not a significant decrease in 2015 where just 31% of people used newspapers to access news, which represents a decrease of nine percentage points since 2014 and 2013 (when 40% of UK adults said they used newspapers for news).

3) How do different age demographics access news in the UK?

49% of people aged 16-24 use TV for news, compared to 89% of those aged 65+. Men are more likely than women to use any of the four main platforms for news including TV, internet, newspapers and radio.

4) What percentage of 16-24 year olds use the internet to access their news?

63%  of 16-24 year olds use the internet to access their news.

5) Does socio-economic status change attitudes to news? If so, how?

Socio-economic status does change attitudes to the news, People in the ABC1 socio-economic group are 'more likely' than those in the C2DE socio-economic group to consume news on any of the four main platforms.

6) How many different sources of news are used on average? How does differ between different groups?

Three in ten (31%) respondents use only one platform for news, with just under two in ten (19%) using only the TV alone, 11% using only the internet, 3% using radio alone, and 2% using only newspapers. The use of TV alone is more pronounced among over-55s (26%) and those in the DE socio-economic group (28%) than among 16-24s (13%) and those in the AB socio-economic group (14%). One in five (20%) people aged 16-24 report that they only use the internet for news, compared to just 2% of those aged 55+.

7) How has news consumption through television changed in recent years?

8) How much has newspaper circulation declined since 2010? Why do you think this is?

9) Which are the most popular newspapers and websites in the UK? What do you know about those newspapers' political viewpoints?

10) How does online news consumption differ for age, gender and socio-economic status?

11) What percentage of people use social media to access news? How does this differ by age and socio-economic status?

12) What percentage of users only use social media sites for their news?

13) What are the most popular online sites for news?

14) What percentage of 16-24 year olds access news mostly from social media?

15) How do audiences find stories online? Do you follow links or go to the homepage of the news provider?

New/digital media: audience and institution

16) What are the benefits for audiences from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?


17) What are the benefits for institutions from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry?

18) What are the downsides for audiences as a result of new and digital media in news?



19) What are the downsides for institutions as a result of new and digital media in news?

20) Who has benefited most from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry - audiences or institutions?