The World Association of Newspapers Young Reader Conference is here in D.C. this year -- just a short commute from NAA's Virginia offices. Though much of the conference is focused on the Newspapers In Education program, a good bit of the conference is focused on teens' media consumption and technology. NAA is a sponsor of the conference. (See more about the conference from Editor & Publisher.)
The “Making New Connections” session Monday focused on some of the most recent research on youth’s media consumption habits worldwide.
The session panelists were Mike Smith,Executive Director of the Media Management Center, Northwestern University; Robert Barnard,Founder and Partner, D-Code; and Roxana Morduchowicz, Director of Media Education, Argentinian Education Ministry. The moderator was R. Bruce Bradley, Publisher, The Virginian Pilot.
Robert Barnard, Founder and Partner D-Code
D-Code is working with WAN on a Youth Media DNA study in progress now. The study is an in-depth look at the lives of youth (and where newspapers can intersect with their lives).
So far, D-Code and WAN have analyzed more than 60 studies and have formulated a series of hypothesis about what’s going on. In the current phase, D-Code and WAN are working on involving youth adults ages 14 to 25 from around the world (including the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa) with interviews, media diaries and more to confirm or refute some of the WAN and D-Code hypotheses.
Some of the hypotheses include:
- There is a time-squeeze and youth are doing a lot of media multitasking.
- The age of media consumers greatly affects their news and information needs. (There are three distinct life stages in the age range between 14 and 25: Secondary school, post-secondary and working life.)
- Compact formats designed for youth are effective.
- Local and international news are both important.
- Youth readers are getting news from multiple sources and via multiple technologies.
- Social networks are playing an important role.
Other hypotheses that, when flushed out, provided useful insights:
Parents, teachers and friends are all influential in inspiring newspaper reading.
The overwhelming influence was parents,” Barnard said. “What we see is that certain youth are seeing newspapers as an adult behavior, and that’s a good thing – but it’s something that has to be nurtured.” Some youth view it as an important “avoidance mechanism” – it gives youth something other than their own lives to talk about with their parents.
Trust is still linked to the newspaper format.
But, Barnard said, trust in news overall may be waning. Youth have increased concerns about bias. They do trust their friends, however, and they take their friend’s recommendations seriously. They trust news from the Internet less than they trust information that came from the printed newspaper. Regarding newspaper branded Web sites: “Online newspapers are not as prevalent as expected,” Barnard said, in the daily media consumption habit of youths worldwide.
Is the Internet is taking over as the main competitor for newspapers. “Not yet.”
“Well,” Barnard said, “Not yet.” Many youth are still getting a good deal of news from television, especially among younger consumers. Online newspapers are not as prevalent s expected. Reading online is not as focused as reading a newspaper.
In addition, D-Code and WAN researchers found young readers want to be a part of the main paper – in photos, articles, even as “experts” interviewed for stories. “Not all experts have to be old,” Barnard said.
Roxana Morduchowicz, Director of Media Education, Argentinian Education Ministry
Roxana Morduchowicz, speaking through a Spanish-English translator, said her research focused on youth media consumption in Argentina, specifically focusing on 11 to 17 year olds. Though the research focused on Argentinean youth, many of the findings can be translated to other Latin American countries – and, in some cases, to the rest of the Western world.
Television and radio were tops among Argentinean homes with children ages 11 to 17, newspapers were ranked fifth most common among those homes, and the Internet was ranked much lower. (Morduchowicz said Internet access in Argentina is low compared to some places in Europe and the United States, and there are significant gaps in media access across economic lines.)
But even children from the poorest families who have limited access at home have access other places, such as cafes and school.
“Which would you hate to lose?”
When asked “Which would you hate to lose?” youth surveyed said they would most hate to lose access to television, then their cell phones. Those were followed by CDs, radio, and the computer. Access to the computer was valued among children from higher incomes, but the findings, Morduchowicz said, are probably linked to income (and access).
What they do online
In terms of computer use, many youth in Argentina said they spend much on their online time chatting or communicating with friends (not including via e-mail). Many use it for games as well, and about half said they use it to get information. Many of the youth who come from higher income families also use the computer for homework. “It’s a clear indication that access does have an influence in use,” Morduchowicz said.
The research also found youth consider newspapers a source of information above learning and entertainment. (The research did not separate newspaper Web sites.)
There are more screens than print media in the home in Argentina (television and computers over books and newspapers). Music is highly valued among youth. Youth, like those across the world, are media multitaskers. And given a choice of spending time with media (telelvision, online, etc.) during thier free time or spending time with their friends, many youth said they would rather spend time with their friends.
Michael Smith, Executive Director, Media Management Center, Northwestern University
In January, the Media Management Center conducted a qualitative study on young people and their news consumption habits. Media Management Center Executive Director Michael Smith gave conference attendees a preview of the findings about teen’s motivation to seek out news and their interests from that January research.
Motivators for going online
Many of the teens interviewed in January said a key motivator for them to go online for news was conversations with their friends (when they want to find out more than what their friends told them) or school assignments. Smith said one of the action-steps that comes from the research is to have teachers and newspapers work together. But, many of the teens said they often go to Google, Yahoo or another national site over their local newspaper.
“Whatever catches my eye…”
Much of the teen’s news consumption comes from reading articles that happen to “catch their eye” while they’re doing something else. Teens value ‘serendipity’ the same way newspaper people do. Newspaper companies can use eye-catching to draw teens into their products, but “First, we have to figure out what the secrets are to catching their eye,” Smith said. Smith said certain types of content are key: music, entertainment, sports and off-beat news.
Characteristics of teen’s favorite sites
The teens interviewed said their favorite news Web sites are sites that give them information they can trust and give them something they can talk about with their friends and family. They did not consider news Web sites places to socialize, escape from their concerns, or solve problems. They look for sites like MySpace and Facebook to socialize and converse and feel connected to their community.
The teens also said they like sites that are “easy to use.” They defined those as sites that are comprehensive, quick, clearly organized and easy to navigate.
In conclusion, Smith said the “catches my eye” strategy may be the center of a new teen audience aggregation strategy. It should shape content, presentation and marketing.