“ Newspapers and young audiences: a relationship of participation or rejection?”
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Transcript of “ Newspapers and young audiences: a relationship of participation or rejection?”
“Newspapers and young audiences: a relationship of participation or rejection?”
Dr. Anna Panagiotarea - Dr. Dimitra DimitrakopoulouDepartment of Journalism and Mass CommunicationAristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
“The Future of Newspapers”Cardiff, 12 & 13 September 2007
Facts “Young people are reading…everything but
newspapers!” The young reading audience of newspapers is
rapidly diminishing. Fewer people are reading newspapers and the
decline in newspaper readership is greatest among young adults.
This new ‘blood’ of readers is today more than necessary for the future development of newspapers.
Relevant questions & worries Declining rates of newspaper readership are
greatest among young people. Why is this happening and how should this issue
be addressed? Are young people interested in news and
information? How does technology affect their daily media
consumption? What are their habits and ‘rituals’ in matters of
information seeking?
Our research questions
What are their reading habits and which media do they choose for their daily information?
On which criteria do they base their preference/rejection?
What do they think of journalists? Do they consider themselves well-informed and if
so, in which areas? What do they think of the future development of
the media?
Newspaper reading habits in Greece
Greece has a low newspaper copy penetration of about 8% and an average issue readership of approximately 55%
Greece enjoys a large number of newspapers (59) Greece has one of the highest numbers of
newspapers relative to the size of the market, and therefore one of the lowest average circulations.
Methodology of our research
Age group: 18-25. Time period of study: November 2006 to February
2007. Method: structured questionnaire / personal, face-
to-face interviews. Total sample: 634 young people from all over
Greece.
GENDER
49%
51%
men
women
7,3
74,9
14,3
3,5
01020
30405060
7080
lyceumgraduate
students universitygraduates
postgraduatestudies
EDUCATION
The participants in our study constitute an upper level sample in matters of education.
Time devoted to news (I)
6,3
31
44,3
13,7
4,8
05
1015202530354045
not at all less thanhalf anhour
lalf hout toone hour
1-2 hours over twohours
WEEKDAYS
8,6
24,8
36,2
23,1
7,3
05
10152025303540
not at all less thanhalf anhour
half hour toone hour
1-2 hours over twohours
WEEKENDS
Time devoted to news (II)
Frequency of news watching/reading/listening
FREQUENCY
1%27%
31%
41% not at all
1-2 times a week
3-4 times a week
daily
Media use
The mass medium that youngsters choose at weekdays is the television (87%), followed by the radio (34%), the newspapers (29%) and the Internet (29%).
During the weekend the television seems as an attractive informational tool (79%).
Newspapers, the Internet and the radio get 59%, 28% and 24% respectively.
Newspaper readership climbs up during weekends. Internet usage is also higher during weekends since young
people find more time to ‘surf’ the Net.
Level of satisfaction with newspapers
NEWSPAPERS not at all little moderate very much extremely
speed of information
15,80% 31% 27,90% 16% 9,60%
rich content variety
6,30% 12,60% 24,30% 34,50% 22,40%
easy access 10,80% 18,30% 26,50% 25,50% 19%
time/cost 20,80% 30,20% 26,30% 13,20% 9,50%
Level of satisfaction with newspapers
5,2
18
46,2
25,3
5,3
0 10 20 30 40 50
not at all
little
quite
very much
extremely
LEVEL OF SATISFACTION
Newspapers seem to be more that quite satisfying (77%) in matters of the information that they offer.
Contradiction: why is newspaper readership declining when young readers feel highly satisfied with the press?
Attitude towards journalists
0,8
11,6
51,4
25,2
6,9
4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
very positive
positive
neither positive nor negative
negative
very negative
don't know/answer
The results are not surprising taken into consideration that the journalistic profession lacks in credibility and trust among citizens
Main reason for satisfaction: the presence of a few good journalists (78%).
Main reason for dissatisfaction: the dependence of journalists from decision-making centers (30%).
Future developments of the media field
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
25,5
45,6
25,62 1,3
better
worse
the same
towards theamerican/european modelthough the Internet
Gender differences (I)
During weekdays mostly men read newspapers (37% men and only 22% women) and surf the Net more than women do (38% men and only 22% women).
The majority of women gets informed by television (93% women in contrast to 85% of men) and the radio (39% women and only 30% men).
At weekends the picture changes and the gaps on information seeking between genders disappear.
Differences are observed only in the case of the Internet (38% men prefer it in contrast to 20% of women).
Gender differences (II) The level of satisfaction is the same for men and
women in the cases of the newspapers, the Internet and the radio, whereas their attitudes differ in the case of television. Women appear more satisfied with television in comparison with men (51% women vs 40% men).
Men appear to be more critical towards journalists: 39% have a negative opinion while the percentage declines among women media users (28%).
Concluding remarks (I)
The trends seem to be contradictory: young citizens trust newspapers but are reluctant in reading them.
Television is still the predominant medium which occupies most of their free time.
The lack of time is preceded as their main and strongest argument.
Young people seem to want to be better informed, but instead they are uninformed or – even worse – under- or misinformed.
Concluding remarks (II)
The reluctance of young people to read the papers is not associated to their indifference in social and political problems.
It is more an expression of their growing mistrust and disappointment towards political and media institutions which appear to be interrelated and interconnected on the basis of their common political and financial interests.
This is the price to be paid for media operating as pure businesses.
Concluding remarks (III) Impact factors:
The familiarization with newspapers from their childhood and during school years.
Cultivation of newspaper reading and interest in social and political among the circle of family and friends.
Internet offers the opportunity for newspapers to become more interactive, involving this way their young readers into an active ‘dialogue’.
Future research: Detailed study of the wants and needs of young media users Possibilities of the interrelated development of the Net and the
press.