Blog tasks: The decline in print media

 Part 1: Ofcom report into news consumption 2022

Read this Ofcom 2022 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?  

TikToks reach for news has increased, Reach of print/online magazines have decreased and Different age gaps consume news differently. These 3 are interesting because they all link to one another revealing that new technologies is the downfall of legacy media.

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

The reach for newspapers has decreased by 7% however online newspapers are still "successful".

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

Readership has dropped significantly to around 16%.

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? 

People who are aged 75+ are most likely to read print newspapers whereas the younger ages from 16-24 whilst more based on online reading are still low in numbers.

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

The sun, The metro and the daily mail.

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 the last 3 years the total newspaper reach has dropped by 11%.


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 - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login.

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?

 It has shifted into a more digital landscape as there have been less and less readers.

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

It was set up by Rupert Murdoch who is famous for owning many newspapers and he decided to cut costs on printing.

3) What was the Independent newspaper famous for?

Its selling line promised that it was free from political bias.

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

He suggested that the move to a digital-only future was a bold transition but he said the future is digital.

5) How do online newspapers make money?

They sell advertising spaces to companies who wish to have their ads displayed on the online newspapers.

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

He pointed out that originality and style comes from print and that it might be hard to recreate digitally.

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

It refers to the idea that as things become more digital and more and more newspapers and copy is produced it is harder to distinguish from what is true and not. Especially since newspapers can twist words in order to gain a higher digital readership.

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 they are unable to make a decision to remain focused on physical newspapers as the market is diminishing day by day. Young people are now less interested in newspapers and prefer to get their information online.