Here's A Brief Summary Of Key Digital Media Trends For 2020.

Here's A List Of The Most Important Digital Media Research Findings For 2020.


The coronavirus outbreak has significantly raised the level of news consumption in the mainstream media in all the countries in which we conducted surveys prior to and after the pandemic began to take effects. The proportion of people who depend on news on television as their main source of news has increased dramatically as more people identify the channel as their primary source of information. This temporary respite is welcomed after a prolonged period of decline. Printing of newspapers is down as lockdowns weaken physical distribution, possibly accelerating the shift to an all-digital future. However, the majority of nations have seen an impressive rise in the use of social media as well as the the internet. WhatsApp had the highest overall growth, with increases of 10 percentage points in certain countries. In addition, more than half of the people polled (51%) utilized an open or closed online group to connect, share information or join local support networks.

As of April 2020, trust in the media's coverage of COVID-19 was quite high across all countries, at the same level as national governments and significantly more than individuals politicians. Media trust was more than twice the level for social networks, video platforms, or messaging services when it came to information on COVID-19. The global concern about misinformation remains high according to the bigger data set we gathered in January. Concerns about misinformation in the world remain high even before the coronavirus epidemic. Over half of our global sample stated that they are concerned about the information is being disseminated online about the news. The most prominent politicians in the United States are often cited as the source of false information, people who consider themselves right-wing, like in the United States, are more likely to not blame the media. Facebook is seen almost everywhere as the primary source for spreading incorrect facts. WhatsApp is however more responsible in countries like Brazil as well as Malaysia.

In our survey conducted in January across the globe less than four out of ten (38 percent) reported that they trust the majority of news most of the time . This is an increase of four percentage points from the previous year. Less than half (46%) stated that they believe in the news sources they use themselves. Public broadcasters are having their popularity eroded by political partisans on both the right- and left-leaning side due to the growing uncertainty and political polarisation. Our research shows that 60 percent of viewers still favor news that doesn't have a particular viewpoint and only 28 percent of people prefer news to support or reinforce their beliefs. Partisan preferences have slightly increased in the United States since we last asked the question in 2013, however, even in this country, a quiet majority is looking for news that at the very least attempts to be impartial.

The news media are adapting to changing styles of political communication, most people (52%) would prefer that they prominently report false statements from politicians, rather than not highlighting them (29 percent). People are less comfortable viewing political ads on search engines and social media as they are with television ads. Most people (58 percent) prefer having platforms that block inaccurate claims however, this means they get to decide on the ultimate decision. There have been significant increases in online journalism's payment rates in many countries, including the United States (+14) and Norway (42 percent + 8). However there has been a lesser rise in different markets. It is important for you to be aware that the majority of people in all countries still don't pay for online news. However there have been reports from publishers that they have experienced a coronavirus bump'.

For subscribers the most important factor is the quality and originality of the information. Subscribers feel they get better information. However, the majority of people are content with the news they can access for free and we find a high percentage of non-subscribers (40 percent in the USA and 50% in the UK) who believe that they can't convince people to pay. If you pay more (e.g. in countries with greater levels of payment (e.g. Norway and the USA), between 1/3 to 50% of all subscriptions go directly to a handful of major national brands. This suggests that there's still an all-or-nothing dynamic. The two countries have a substantial percentage of people who have multiple subscriptions and even an additional specialist publication or local newspaper. For radiouri Alba Iulia Romanian radio station. Their format is 60 percent news from various fields, and 40 percent music. The current lineup of programming focuses on local news as well as special programs and talk shows. They enjoy news, contests, and interviews. They also love cultural shows, debates and music.

In the majority of countries local newspapers and their websites remain the top source of news about a particular town or region that reach four in 10 (44 percent) weekly. We discover that Facebook as well as other social networks are utilized by an average of a third (31%) for local information and news. This puts further pressure on businesses and their business models. Access to news is becoming more widely distributed. A little more than 25% prefer to begin their news journeys by using an app or web site across all countries. Generation Z, a group of people aged 18-24, prefers to use social networks to access news over apps and websites. Across age groups, use of Instagram for news has doubled in the last year and is expected to surpass Twitter in the coming year.

To counter the trend to multiple platforms publishers are looking for direct connections with consumers through mobile alerts or email. In the United States sees nearly one fifth of Americans checking their news emails every week (21%), and almost half of those access it as their primary source of information. Northern European countries tend to be slow in embracing news channels via email. Finland only has 10 percent. Even though the popularity of podcasts has increased substantially in the last year, coronavirus locking downs might have temporarily reversed this trend. The majority of people surveyed across all countries believe podcasts are more instructive and accessible than other forms of media. Spotify has overtaken Apple Podcasts as the most popular podcast application in a variety of markets.

Seven out of 10 (69%) consider climate change as a major issue. However, in both the United States and Australia, large portions of the population do not agree. The older generation tends to be right-leaning. Younger groups are able to gain access to more climate change information via social media and by following activists such as Greta Thunberg. Amazon Echo and Google Home as well as Google Home, both voice-activated smart speaker devices, continue to expand rapidly. The UK has witnessed an increase in the use of smart speakers for all kinds of purposes with 14% up to 19 percent, 7%- 13% in Germany and 9% to 12 percent in South Korea. But, news consumption remains in the low range across all markets.