Audience&institutions

Blog task: Audience and Institution

1) Read this extract from the Ofcom 2014 report on the consumption of news in the UK. What are the key statistics relating to the influence of new and digital media? 

• In the UK (95%) say they follow the news. 
• 75% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news; 
• those who use any internet or apps for news, 41% doing so this year
• Between the ages of 16-34, the use of internet or apps for news has increased from 44% in 2013 to 60% in 2014
• 28% named BBC as the single most important news source.  
• Increase in the number of people stating a website/app as their most important news source (21% in 2014 vs. 14% in 2013).
• Almost half (45%) of 16-24s say their most important news source is a website/app, up 15 percentage points since 2013 (30%). 
• Each adult watched an average of 115 hours of national and international news on television  in 2013
• The majority of this (64%) was on BBC One or BBC Two and a further 12% on the BBC News channel.  
• 16-24 year olds consumed only 27 hours of news on television in the same period, 
• For those aged 55 and over they consume 196 hours .

2) Come up with an example of an institution that has benefited from the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. Explain how new technology has helped the institution and try to find statistics or financial figures that support your point.

An example of an institution that has benefited from the advances in new and digital media is the Sky. This is as they are an institution that has adapted very well to the changes, developing a website as well as an app. Through these developments, it has allowed the institution to remain relevant in and amongst the changes in digital media. This therefore results in Sky generating more revenue as they will remain competitive within the developments in digital media. Furthering this, as 60% of users accessing news via app and website are 16-24's it shows how the demographic of this institution's audience has widened because of the developments thus meaning that through the changes in digital media, the institution has crafted a wider audience.       

3) Find an example of an institution that has suffered as a result of the changes new and digital media has brought to the news industry. In what way has it had a negative impact? Again, try and find actual statistics or financial figures to explain your point.

An example of an institution that has suffered because of the changes in new and digital media is the daily telegraph. This institution is suffering because of the lack of sales they are making with their newspapers. This is because audiences are given a range of platforms to access the news such as, the internet, television and mobile apps. These alternative ways audiences can access news are more convenient for audiences therefore leading to the daily telegraph, who generate majority of their revenue through sales of newspapers, to suffer. 

4) Answer the following question in a mini-essay on your blog:

Who has benefited most from the changes new and digital media have had on the news industry - audiences or institutions?

There is no doubt that both the audiences and the institutions have benefited most from the changes in new and digital media however, the latter have arguably benefited more from these changes. 

The way in which the institutions have benefited from changes in new and digital media is that it opens and unlocks an audience where they wouldn't usually attract with traditional means of media. These are audiences aged 16-24. With news institutions such as The Guardian and the BBC providing their content online, it makes news more relevant as it available online. With this availability, the younger audience would more likely consume their service as majority of online users are between the ages of 16-24. Without this development in digital media, the BBC and The Guardian wouldn't have been able to provide their content online. This would limit their demographic leaving out the younger generation as, means of traditional media just aren't consumed by the younger generation. The developments in digital media therefore benefits institutions through widening their demographic.

On the contrary, a stronger argument would be that in fact audience are the ones who benefit more rather than the institutions. This is as through the developments in the media, audiences are able to access news on the go with such convenience. The developments of mobile applications allow audiences to get the latest news on the go. This means that audiences are constantly updated with the news from around the world. This benefits the audience because they are able to update themselves on the go and not to have to watch the television bulletin or buy a news paper in order to get the latest news. In addition to this, it allows audiences to access news live, this is done through the developments in online streaming. This means that audiences can get updates live to the second. With the developments of mobile applications, it also allows audiences to customise the news that is priority to them. This means that with the touch of the screen, audiences are able to get the latest news that they want.