The 2016 Reuters Digital News Report launched this morning. The Digital News Report is the largest ongoing comparative study of news consumption in the world. This is Ireland's second year participating in the study with FuJo, sponsored by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), conducting detailed analysis of the Irish data.
Jane Suiter, FuJo director, said: “The Digital News Report puts Irish and international trends in perspective. Worldwide, the popularity of smartphones and ad blockers has created a powerful role for Facebook while presenting some significant difficulties for publishers.”
Some of the major findings of the Irish report highlight the widespread use of smartphones, the growth of news on social media, and the rise of ad blockers.
Social Media: Over half of Irish consumers (52%) now get their news from social media sites. Internationally, around one in ten (12%) say social media is their primary news source. Facebook is Ireland’s most popular social media site with 71% using it regularly and 45% using it as a source of news. Participation in online news is also high in Ireland with 72% frequently rating, sharing and commenting on online news stories. However, only 23% of Irish consumers notice the news brands responsible for content on social media. This is a troublesome finding for news publishers as they are increasingly dependent on social media to distribute content.
Paying for News: As sales of printed newspapers continue to fall, 71% of Irish consumers are unwilling to pay for online news. Among those who do currently pay for news, 49% pay less than €50 a year. The widespread availability of free news in the global English-language market is a notable influence on payment rates. No English-speaking country has a news payment rate of more than 10%.
Ad Blockers: While 42% of consumers say they are willing to view ads in return for free access to news, more than half of Irish consumers (54%) find adverts on news sites intrusive. The popularity of ad blockers presents a serious problem for publishers relying on digital advertising revenue. Among the 26 nations surveyed, Ireland has the fifth highest level of ad blocker use at 30%. More than half of 18-24s use some form of ad blocker.
Trust: Trust is news is highest among over-55s. Half of those surveyed do not trust the news in general. In line with international findings, the Irish trust editors and journalists (37%) less than news organisations (47%).
News Consumption Routines: News consumption is high in Ireland across all demographics, with 84% of people assessing some news every day and 53% accessing news several times a day. Traditional media are still deeply integrated into Irish new consumption routines. TV news remains the most popular platform for accessing news in Ireland at 73%; although this is down three per cent from 2015. Radio remains the first point of daily contact with news for 39% of consumers. However, social media and mobile devices are forming new consumption patterns. Among morning smartphone users (21%), 50% find news on social media sits while 30% go direct to a news app or news website.
Online News Video: Despite industry expectations, video content is not attracting large numbers of news consumers. Only a quarter (24%) of international respondents say they access online news video. The Irish (28%) are more inclined to watch video news than many European peers. However, those who do not regularly watch news video identify technical issues (46%), the convenience of reading (39%), and a dislike of pre-roll adverts (24%) as factors.
*Download the Digital News Report (Ireland) 2016*
*Please Note: the brand section in the executive summary was edited to clarify the reach of Irish Times (unchanged) and Landmark Media results (added).
The global report is available here.
