Here's A Brief Summary Of The Most Significant Digital Media Findings For 2020

Here's A Brief Summary Of The Most Important Digital Media Findings For 2020


The coronavirus pandemic has seen a significant increase in the consumption of news in mainstream media in all countries in which we've conducted our studies in. There's been an impressive increase in television news and online news. A greater number of people are now identifying television as their primary source for news. It is a brief break from the trend of decreasing news consumption. Lockdowns have made it hard to distribute newspapers printed on paper. This has led to a rapid transition to a digital future. At the same time the use of the internet and social media substantially increased across the globe. WhatsApp had the highest growth in all areas, with an increase by 10% in certain countries. More than half of those surveyed (51 percent) were part of an open or closed online group to communicate and share information , or be part in local support groups.

The media's trust in its coverage of COVID-19 in relation to relates to individual politicians was high in all countries at the same level as the national governments. Concerning COVID-19 information, media trust was twice as high for social platforms, messaging services, and video platforms as it was for media. From our wider dataset collected in January, Global concerns about misinformation remain high. The global concern about misinformation remains high even before the coronavirus crisis. Over half of our world-wide sample of respondents said that they are concerned about what information is being disseminated on the internet regarding the news. The most prominent politicians in the United States are often blamed for the spread of misinformation - though people who consider themselves right-wingers, such as those in the United States, are more likely to blame the media. Facebook is seen almost everywhere as the main channel for disseminating false facts. WhatsApp is however more responsible in countries like Brazil as well as Malaysia.

We found that less then four in ten people believe in news more frequently than they do in our January survey around the globe. This is an increase of 4 percentage points from the previous year. The news they use is not trusted by more than half of those surveyed (46%) The increasing tensions and political divisions have caused a decline in trust in public broadcasters which are under attack by both the left and right. Our research suggests that 60 percent of people still prefer news without any particular opinion and only 28 percent would prefer news to reinforce or share their opinions. The number of partisans has risen in the United States since we last asked this question in 2013, but even here a silent majority appears to be searching for news that at the very least tries to be objective.

Most people (52%) prefer media to focus on false statements made by politicians (29 percent) as they adapt to the changing ways of communicating. People are less comfortable watching political advertisements on social media or search engines than they are with TV. Most people (58 percent) would prefer that platforms to stop ads that make false claims. The United States has seen significant rises in the online news payment, with an increase of 42% in Norway (+8) and a 20% rise in the United States (+4). Other markets have seen lesser increases. It's crucial to remember that most people still don't pay for online news across all countries even though some publishers have reported an increase in their payments.

The decision to sign up for the newsletter is an indication of trust. One of the most crucial factor is the quality and authenticity of the content. Subscribers believe they receive more information. However, many people are satisfied with the information that they get free of charge. Also, we observe a high percentage of non-subscribers (45% in the USA and 50% here in the UK) who say they were not convinced to pay. Countries that have higher rates of payments (e.g. in countries with more payment options (e.g. Norway and the USA), between one-third to half of subscriptions are paid directly to a handful big national brands. This suggests that there is still the winner-takes-all model. In both countries, there is a substantial number of people buying more than one subscription, and often adding a local or specialist publication. For radio Sebes Romanian radio station. Their format is 60% news from all areas and 40 percent music. Their current programming range concentrates on news from the county and special shows as well as talk shows. They enjoy news, contests, and interviews but also enjoy debates, cultural shows and music.

In the majority of countries local newspapers and their websites are the primary source of information about the region or town in question with a readership of four out of ten (44%) each week. Our study shows that Facebook along with other social media platforms, are now used on an average of around one quarter (31 percent), to provide local news and other information. This adds additional stress on companies and their business models. News access continues to become more distributed. More than 25% of users prefer to start their journey to read news via an app or a website. Generation Z, those between 18 and 24, prefers to get news on Twitter and Facebook. The use of news on Instagram has more than tripled for all age groups since the year 2018, and it is likely to outdo Twitter within the next few years.

Publishers have been trying to make direct connections via mobile alerts and email in order to stop the trend of moving to other platforms. The United States sees nearly one fifth of all Americans reading news emails weekly (21%) and more than half of those access it as their main source of information. Northern European nations have taken longer to get on board with news channels via email. Only 10% use Finnish email news. The number of people using podcasts has risen significantly in the past year, although coronavirus lockdowns could have temporarily stopped this trend. Across countries, half of all respondents (50%) say that podcasts provide more depth and understanding than other types of media. Meanwhile, Spotify has become the top destination for podcasts in many markets, overtaking Apple's podcast app.

Seven out of 10 (69 percent) think that climate change is as a major issue. But, in the United States and Australia, a substantial minority do not agree. This group tends to be conservative and older. The younger groups can access more of their climate change information via social media, and also by following activists like Greta Thunberg. The use of voice-activated speakers such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home continues to grow. The use of these devices for any purpose has been increasing from 14% to 19 percent in the UK to 7 to 12% in Germany and 9% – 13% in South Korea. Despite all this, we still find that news is utilized in extremely small amounts across all markets.