How Young People Consume News and The Implications For Mainstream Media A report by Flamingo commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Oxford University Contents 1 Foreword 1 Foreword 3 5 News Habits & Behaviours 18 Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate, Reuters Institute Differences across news moments 18 2 Executive Summary 4 for the Study of Journalism Media and Platforms: how young audiences are accessing the news 20 Mainstream news media has an age problem. In commissioning this report from strategic insight 3 Background, Objectives Every year, the Reuters Institute Digital News Report consultancy Flamingo, we engaged a team with a long & Methodology 6 Observing digital behaviour underlines documents how fewer young people are using traditional track record of researching the attitudes and behaviours of the preference for social media over news 21 sources of news such as television, radio and print, younger audiences and turning this into actionable insights. and how they are getting more of their news from social The methodologies chosen, which include tracking the digital 4 The Role of News Social media dominates the media and other aggregators. footprints of 20 respondents along with diaries and interviews, platforms, to varying degrees 23 have helped to uncover some of the core needs of younger for Young Audiences 12 These trends have underlined the challenge for mainstream groups around news, as well us some of the frustrations with Forming news habits & behaviours 27 Key generational differences: digital natives media in attracting the attention of younger audiences, the approaches taken by mainstream media. in building the brand loyalty and news habits that ultimately vs. digital migrants 13 The habits and behaviours of four different will guarantee their future. In short, news organisations are This qualitative work has helped complement the data from types of news consumer 27 What does this mean for the role of news? 13 struggling to remain relevant to a generation that has grown our annual Digital News Report and given all of us a much up with the distractions and diversions of digital media. richer understanding of the differences between younger The four types of news consumer 28 Greater role of news isn’t translating into and older news consumers. At the same time, we hope that the insights contained in this report will be useful for greater relevance for traditional news brands 16 No one-size-fits-all solution 38 Against that background, we were keen to commission a report that could both explore these challenges but also industry, for regulators, policy makers, and others interested Bridging the disconnect 16 come up with constructive and realistic suggestions about in the future of quality journalism. 6 Industry Insights 40 how to tackle them. We are very grateful to the Flamingo team both in Young people’s attitudes towards paying This research sets out to answer two key questions: responding to our brief so creatively, but also for meeting our for the news 46 demanding timeline. This report was greatly strengthened — How do young people consume news? by the input of the Institute’s research team, especially How can news publishers attract young readers, Antonis Kalogeropoulos, who helped shape the focus of the 48 — 7 Strategic Options listeners and viewers? research and provided feedback through the process. This report is made possible by the support of our sponsors 8 Conclusions 54 A number of secondary questions were also investigated, such as the relevance of the traditional news agenda, the and published with the support of the Google News Initiative. type of formats that appeal to younger audiences, as well 9 Appendix 58 as tone of voice and perceptions of negativity in the news. 2 How Young People Consume News and The Implications For Mainstream Media Foreword 3 2 Executive Summary 1 Younger audiences are different The study also revealed that the differences in the The experience of news should feel from older groups not just in what they relationships young people have with the news depend as easy and accessible as Facebook on three key areas: the moment, the person and the do, but in their core attitudes in terms medium. Four key news moments (dedicated, updated, and Netflix. This is partly about of what they want from the news. time-filler, and intercepted) are described in detail, how the content is presented, as are four types of news consumer (Heritage News Young people are primarily driven Consumers, Dedicated News Devotees, Passive News but also about how it is surfaced. by progress and enjoyment in their lives, Absorbers, and Proactive News Lovers). The impact and this translates into what they of the various media is also investigated, revealing key roles, usage, pros and cons of platforms including look for in news. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and podcasts. They still need and want news to connect their world to the Lastly, exploring areas of interest for the industry world – and fulfil an array of different social and personal revealed a number of attitudes towards the news, needs – but they don’t necessarily see the traditional including an overarching finding that consuming 2 media as the best or only way to do that. News media is news can often feel like a chore. now competing for attention with myriad other distractions, and there is a high level of ‘background’ or ‘indirect’ Even if the media adopts the suggestions outlined News brands need to tell stories in ways exposure to news (through social media, other online in this report, there is no guarantee of success. conversations, documentaries and TV shows, etc.). They Our segmentation work suggests that a significant that fit the expectations of young people don’t need to seek it out, news comes to them. Finally, proportion of young people in the US and UK and the moments when they are open much of the excitement and gravitas for younger people is will be hard to engage given their low interest in to news. This means creating formats on the periphery of the news space (infotainment, lifestyle, news. Building brand loyalty with these more ‘passive’ cultural, grassroots, bloggers and vloggers). groups will be tough, though it is possible that that are native to mobile and social they will become more engaged as they take platforms as well as incorporating All this means there is a disconnect; traditional on greater responsibility and enter a different life-stage. news media no longer seems as relevant or But other groups like the News Devotees and Heritage these ideas into their own websites. as dominant when it comes to news content. Consumers, and to an extent the Proactive News Lovers, In a simplified way, how news brands and young people offer more opportunities to build dedicated view the role and value of news is different: and direct moments for news as well as an ongoing connection throughout the day. — Traditional news brands see news as: what you should know. Achieving this will require a relentless focus on the needs — Young audiences see news as: what you should of younger audiences but also a deep understanding 3 know (to an extent), but also what is useful to of the motivations that underpin behaviour. We hope this know, what is interesting to know, and what report will contribute to this process. The way the news media covers is fun to know. Based on all of the insight gathered, the report offers a stories may need to change, And the role of news for young people appears primarily number of provocations around potential payment models, including addressing issues individualistic; it’s about what it can do for them and a detailed guide to producing content to engage as individuals – rather than for society as a younger audiences. It arrives at three key conclusions: such as negativity, stereotypes, whole. While it’s true that the industry is moving diversity and how news brands towards producing more content of this kind, present both themselves and their most traditional news brands are still not associated with being useful, interesting or fun. content on third party platforms. 4 How Young People Consume News and The Implications For Mainstream Media Executive Summary 5 Broadcasters and newspapers The objectives The goal-led lens 3 Background are struggling to reach or build relationships with under-35s. This This study set out to answer two key questions: As social media and aggregators have grown & Objectives to dominate the news experience of this audience, is an age group that tends to access — How do young people consume news? the reference point for the ‘source’ of a story has become the news via social media, aggregators — How can news publishers attract young distorted. News brands have grown more and more readers, listeners and viewers? concerned about ‘attribution’ – that is, how to ensure and other non-traditional media. that content is properly attributed to the brand or In this context, there were three key elements author that created it in a multi-platform, fragmented, This challenge has not gone unnoticed or unresearched. of news to consider: the agenda or content (the chosen global news environment. Previous studies highlight the role that family topics), the format, and the tone of news. Alongside background, socioeconomic status and parents’ news this framework of analysis there were key differences This year’s Digital News Report shows that concern consumption habits all play in forming an individual’s about misinformation remains extremely high around the 1 to consider, such as between platforms (e.g. Facebook news engagement . However, with the emergence of and Instagram), between media, between age world, partly driven by very low trust in the news found a digital native generation in Gen Z, an established groups, and between different payment methods.