The decline in print media

Part 1: Ofcom report into news consumption

Read this Ofcom report on the consumption of news in the UK and answer the following questions (bullet points/short answers are fine):

1) Look at the headlines from the report on page 6. Pick three that you think are interesting and bullet point them here. Why did you pick those three in particular?  

1. Reach of print/online newspapers has seen a decrease from 2020 (47%) to 2022 (38%)
• Big increase in the amount of people seeing news through these avenues
2. Social media is overtaking traditional channels for news among teens.
• Teens are preferring to get their news from sources other than newspapers - could be a big reason for the decline in reach
3. Five of the top six TV channels (including BBC One which remains the top news source across platforms) saw decreased reach from 2021
• TV also seeing a major decrease in views - social media can give same content while taking up less time + not needing to view at specific times.

2) Look at the overall summary for adults on pages 7-8. What are the key points on newspapers? 

• Reach of print/online newspapers decreased from 2020 (47%) to 2022 (38%), with the previous trend of steady decreases likely exacerbated by the pandemic. Its reach doubles for younger groups when online newspaper reach is added to print.
• The differences between platforms used across age groups are striking; younger age groups continue to be more likely to use the internet and social media for news, whereas their older counterparts favour print, radio and TV.
• The BBC remains the news organisation with the highest cross-platform audience reach (76%)
• BBC One remains the top source by reach for adults (53%).
• BARB data shows that people turned to TV channels for news at the start of the pandemic and then turned away as it progressed.
• While the reach of print newspapers is decreasing, online newspaper reach remains steady.
• TikTok has seen a marked increase in reach for news from 2020 (1%) to 2022 (7%) and over half (52%) of its user base (for news) are aged 16-24.

3) Look at the statistics on page 13. What do you notice about newspapers and how has it changed in recent years?

• Newspapers popularity was already low but after the pandemic there was a drastic decrease in the number of people using newspapers as a news source.

4) Now look at the age demographics for news consumption on page 16. What age demographic groups are most and least likely to read newspapers and what are the percentages? 

• The 75+ age demographic is most likely to read print newspapers with 51% however they are the least likely to read online newspapers with only 8% while 16-24 is most likely to read digital newspapers with 20% reading online newspapers compared to 10% reading print

5) Look at the newspaper-specific data on page 36. Which are the most popular newspaper titles? 

• Daily mail
• The Sun
• The Metro
• The Guardian

6) Now look at the total newspaper reach of print and online on page 39. How has this decreased over the last three years?

• In 2019 the total reach was 49% with 38% using print and 19% using digital, with 8% using both, this dropped by 2% in 2020 to 47% with 35% using print 20% using digital with 8% using both, this dropped again by 9% in 2022 to 38% with 24% using print 19% using digital and 5% using both

Part 2: Factsheet - The death of print media

Go to our Media Factsheet archive and open Factsheet 165: The death of print media. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can find it online here.

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks (bullet points/short answers are fine):

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

• Print media used to be the main sources of information but in the last 30 years has decreased in readership.

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

• As it was set up by Rupert Murdoch in which he decided to reduce printing costs and his paper reigned 

3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?

• The selling line which was "free from political bias, free from proprietorial influence" as it was known for it's 'unorthodox' front pages.

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

• He suggested that it was a bold transition and that the industry is changing and the change is driven by the readers, and the future is digital.

5) How do online newspapers make money?

• By selling advertising spaces for companies to buy and rent to use to promote their own company.

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

• He suggested that the power and originality came from the print and that this was hard to replicate in digital format.

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

• That as things become more digital it is harder to see what is fake news and what isn't as it is easy to replicate a website and the conventions of a online news site and it is also more accessible and doesn't have the cost of printing and selling to find the audience, especially with the rise of social media it is easier to spread. Post-truth refers to the idea of a circumstance in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinions and personal beliefs.

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 believe that print media will continue to decline as their older target demographic is decreasing in number as time goes on and more and more people are preferring to use digital services when it comes to reading the news. I believe that news should be free to the public as by putting a pay wall on their products they are preventing poor people from accessing it and knowing about what's going on in the world. It is a concern for the newspaper industry as it shows that even established media brands are not entirely safe from the decline of print media as this means that they have to look into other avenues to make money.