By Jay Tavares-
The internet is the second most popular source of news in the Uk, Ofcom has said.
A survey conducted by Ofcom has revealed that while television remains the most popular source of obtaining news, the internet comes right behind it in terms of popularity as a source of news.
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Over 65% of the British public use the internet as the next most popular platform for news, just behind news obtained on television. followed by radio ( 42%). Print newspapers were read by 35% of people, but when combined with newspaper websites and apps, overall use increased to 47%.
BBC One was found to be the single most popular news source, used by 56% of people, although use of BBC channels fell from 85% to 83%. ITV ( 41%) and Facebook ( 34%) were the second and third biggest sources of news. BBC One was also supported by 23% of participants of the research as the most important news source (23%), although this has decreased from 27% of all adults in
2018.
This is followed by ITV (12%), Facebook (8%), Sky News Channel (7%) and the BBC website/app (6%). However, this does vary by age.
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At a platform level, attitudes towards news provision (measures such as quality, accuracy, trustworthiness and impartiality) remain
strongest among consumers of news in magazines, followed by TV and weakest for news from social media, Ofcom researchers said.
Researchers also found significant decreases across attitudes in 2020, while, in contrast, attitudes towards news on other apps and websites have become more positive.
Youths Prefer Internet To Television
The detailed research also said that young people within the age range of 16- 24s,are still more likely to use the internet for news than TV (79% vs. 49%), while the same is true for those from minority ethnic groups (74% vs. 65%).
By contrast, those aged 65+ were more likely to use more traditional platforms for news, including TV, radio and print newspapers, with TV use among this age group almost universal (92%
The study found 6% used podcasts to listen to the news, with YouTube the most popular platform.
It concluded that fewer people claim to be following news via social media channels, according to Ofcom’s latest annual news consumption research.
Limited Teenage Interest In News
Consistent with previous years, the research revealed that just under six in ten (57%) 12-15 year old’s are interested in news.
Like in 2019, just under six in ten 12-15s claim to be either ‘very’ or ‘quite’ interested in news
”These children primarily engage with news to understand what’s going on around them, to learn and to think about new things”, Ofcom’s researchers said.
68% of people obtaining news by talking to the family , with 67% using television as the most common way to find out about news amongst that age group.
Of those who participated in the survey, 55% obtained information about the news from talking to friends (49%). BBC One/BBC Two are still the most-used (41%) and most important news source (17%), although it is noteworthy that six of the top ten most used sources among 12-15s are social media sites.
Social Media Drop
The proportion of people claiming to use social media to access news fell from 49% in 2019 to 45% this year, the study found.
The research involved 2,066 face-to-face and 2,510 online interviews conducted between 9th November and 8th December 2019 and also between 24th February and 30th March 2020.
It revealed that trust in social media fell from 38% in 2019 to 35%, according to the research, while belief in its impartiality fell from 37% to 34%. Ofcom also found that 36% of respondents thought social media news was accurate, compared with 39% last year.
People who obtain news from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were also less inclined to share or retweet articles or videos than they were in 2019.
The study found 6% used podcasts to listen to the news, with YouTube the most popular platform.
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