Newspapers in Decline


Blog tasks: The decline in print media

Part 1: Ofcom report into news consumption 2019

Read this Ofcom 2019 report on the consumption of news in the UK. Note down the key statistics and changes that Ofcom highlight and answer the following questions:

1) Look at the key findings from the report on pages 2-3. How do UK adults generally get their news? 
  • Most UK adults retrieve their news from the television.
2) Read the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What do you notice about the changing way adults are getting their news?
  • Previously adults would watch the news to get their news but die to the rise of social media, this has declined.
3) Look at the summary of platforms used on page 13. What do you notice about newspapers and how has it changed since 2018?
  • In 2019, Newspapers have decreased by 2% since 2018. 
4) Now look at the demographic summary for news platforms on page 15. What audience demographic groups (e.g. age, social class) are most and least likely to read newspapers?

MOST :
  • Males
  • ABC1
  • White
  • 65+
LEAST:
  • Females
  • Minority backgrounds
  • 16-24
  • C2DE
5) Read Section 3 on cross-platform news consumption (page 20). What newspaper brands can you find in the list of most popular news sources across platforms?


  • The most popular news sources across platforms are:
  • - Daily mail 
  • -The Sun
  • -The metro 
  • -The guardian 


6) Now turn to Section 6 focusing on newspapers (page 33). How has the circulation of national newspapers decreased between 2010 and 2018?


  • Circulation for newspapers has decreased to a half. In 2010 it was at 22 million but now it’s at 10.4 million.


7) What are the most-used newspaper titles?

  • It starts from the daily mail to the sun and then the metro.


8) What are the most popular titles when print and online figures are combined (look at page 38)?


  • - daily mail
  • -The guardian 
  • -The metro


9) How does the i compare to the Daily Mail?


  • - Compared to the Daily Mail the I has a significantly smaller readership


10) Now study the demographic details for our two CSP newspapers on page 39. What is the breakdown of the Daily Mail audience and the i audience? What differences do you notice?

The Daily Mail audience: 

  • 33% male
  • 40% female
  • 34% 16-24
  • 39% 65+
  • 37% ABC1
  • 36% C2DE
  • 32% minority ethnic
  • 37% white
The I audience:
  • 6% male
  • 5% female
  • 5% 16-24
  • 6% 65+
  • 6% ABC1
  • 4% C2DE
  • 5% minority ethnic 
  • 5% white
The I has a minute audience but the figures suggest a similar type of audience.

11) Read section 7 of the report: news consumption via social media (pages 40-52). Pick out three statistics from this section that you think are interesting and explain why.

  • Overall 73% of audiences use facebook- This is interesting as the digital age is largely dominated by the younger generation who don't use Facebook as much.
  • In 2019 41% of people get their news from social media - The intense impact of the digital age.
  • 18% of people get their news from people on Facebook, this shows the impact of opinion leaders and media susceptibility.
12) Look at the summary of readers' attitudes for newspapers on page 76. What statements for Daily Mail readers tend to agree with?

  • Highly Quality content
  • World knowledge consumption.

Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What has happened to print media in the last 30 years?

  • Print, on the whole, has declined massively.

2) Why is the Independent newspaper such a good case study for the decline in print media?

  • At first, it was a very strong newspaper but when other newspapers came to surface, it died out only leaving the 'I' relevant.

3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?

  • The content was heavily based off of honesty.

4) What did the then-owner of the Independent, Evgeny Lebedev, say about the newspaper's digital-only future?

  • He suggested that the move from print to digital was a "bold" move. It's safe to assume that he didn't think it had future in it.

5) How do online newspapers make money?

  • Through advertising.

6) What did the Independent's longest-serving editor Simon Kelner warn regarding the switch to digital?

  • It's difficult to replicate an "iconoclastic" feel in a digital paper.

7) What is the concern with fake news? What does 'post-truth' refer to?

  • The concern is that fake news can become more and more common with the ease of setting up your own websites that can replicate the original news outlet. 

8) What is your view on the decline in print media? Should news be free? Is it a concern that established media brands such as the Independent can no longer afford to exist as a printed newspaper?

  • I do think new should be free as many people can access the news on the internet, but i do think its a shame that some print media are struggling to afford their own production.

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