Edelman once again hosted the launch of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s Digital News Report 2018 at our London offices on June 14. The global report covers 37 countries and is the most comprehensive survey of the way we’re consuming news available today. It provides a wealth of detail into where and how people are finding news and information and across a variety of demographics. This year’s report gives us new insights into the role that social media is playing in news, how the issue of ‘fake news’ is still affecting our trust, the brands that people default to in a low trust environment and the technologies, devices and formats that are becoming increasingly popular.
Our panel was moderated by Edelman UK CEO, Ed Williams and this year’s guest line up included David Dinsmore, COO, News UK; Polly Curtis, Editor in Chief, HuffPost UK; Fran Unsworth, Director of News & Current Affairs, BBC and Nick Wrenn, Head of News Partnership, Facebook.
Highlights from this year’s report include:
The use of social media for news falls in a number of key markets – almost all due to falls in the use of Facebook specifically. At the same time alternative platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat are all enjoying growth.
Using messaging apps for news continues to grow, in particular WhatsApp which has almost tripled since 2014, as consumers look for privacy and less toxic environments in which to communicate.
Over half of those polled (54%) say they are very or extremely concerned about what is real and ‘fake’ on the internet. A lot of this concern is driven by politicians using the phrase ‘fake news’ to undermine stories and media brands they don’t like. There is a rise in calls for platform and content regulation.
Trust in media generally remains low with only 44% saying they trust the news generally. News in distributed environments – like search and social – are significantly less trusted. Only 23% of those polled trust news in social media environments.
Television remains a critical source of news for many but the limited reach amongst younger people raises questions about its future. In the UK BBC News is the most trusted and the most used brand generally.
Podcasts are becoming popular across the world. In the UK 18% listen to them and under 35s generally listen to twice as many as over 45s and the use of voice activated speakers is on the rise. In the UK 7% have access to these devices and half use them news.
Jo Sheldon, Executive Director, Edelman interviews Nic Newman, Research Associate and Lead Author, Reuters Institute, on media trends. Watch the video below:
Watch the full livestream here.