What have
you learned about your own media use and how you access news content?
Throughout summer I took note of how I found out about news
stories and what I then do with this information I find.
A story that I was notified by on my phone via the BBC news
app was the devastating earthquake that struck Italy on the 24th
August. When receiving the notification I looked further than the headline as
it grabbed my attention, although not always do I do this if something doesn’t
interest me. I found out that almost 300 people had died and 4000 people were made
homeless after the quake, I believe that these facts and figures I get from BBC
news are reliable as the BBC is a very trustworthy source and has a very good
reputation; statistics show many other people agree with me as 23% of people
view BBC as their most trusted source for news in the UK. The BBC is different
from other news sources as is it funded by households across the UK by the
annual TV licence and is a PSB which claims to be intended for public benefit
rather than to serve purely commercial interests – further encouraging the
trust of consumers. I learnt that my own media use to access news is focused
around my phone as I get the majority of my news from the BBC news app, because
of technology changes 24% of the news market is owned by this app alone. The
app has been very popular, especially for younger people as more young people
find it easier to stay in touch with the news through their phone rather than a
newspaper or TV – myself included. From a recent survey that I completed with
my peers I found that majority of people my age (17-19) use the BBC news app
over watching news channels or newspapers, whereas the older generation (28+)
tend to still get a lot of news from TV and possibly newspapers.
Another way that I see news articles is from social media
sites such as Facebook or Twitter. As a person who regularly checks their
Facebook feed (at least once a day) I often see news headlines that have popped
up on my feed from pages that I have liked or from friends who have shared
them. If I see a news article on Facebook or Twitter I am less likely to click
onto the article and read it than if I see the article on BBC news. This is
because I believe Facebook is a lot less reliable for news as the sites the
articles are on may be unknown or just not trustworthy. Many times I find
articles on social media sites can be “clickbait” where the headline of the
article is very misleading to what the main story is actually about just so the
article gains more views equalling more money which I try to avoid . Also, I
can tailor my interests on the BBC news app to what I like to see for example
some topics I chose were ‘UK’, ‘World’, and ‘Music’ however on Facebook it
could be anything rather than things that interest me therefore I am not
intrigued to click further than the headline.
Although TV news is very popular within the older generation
I believe for younger people such as myself it isn’t taken as well as using
your phone is much easier and quicker to access the news you want to see not
what the news programme is broadcasting to you. I found that I very rarely
watch news on TV such as BBC news, Channel 4 news or ITV news. Despite this, TV
news still dominates but is slowly decreasing in the market specifically
amongst people ages 16-24.
The media is an ever-changing phenomenon and the way we view
news and other content will continue to change over time. Compared to past
times the media is now more democratic and allows people to make their own
viewpoints a lot easier, for example people can post their own opinions and
content on sites such as blog sites, YouTube and even their own websites. Due
to this change, the huge media conglomerates (‘Big Media’) aren’t the only
source of news available to people this allows consumers to hear different
viewpoints and explore a wider range of topics and people. This is the idea of
‘We Media’ created by Dan Gillmor, he believes this makes media a more
democratic and representative of people. I somewhat agree with this theory as
people creating their own news/ stating their own opinions aren’t restricted by
rules and regulations like the BBC are, however in many cases I wouldn’t
completely trust sources from people creating their own content over a reliable
source such as the BBC.
Some statistics which back up the points that I have been
making are, 75% of UK adults say that they get their news from TV, however
within these statistics 90% of people over 55 get their news from TV compared
to 59% of 16-24 year olds. Another statistic is 19% of 16-24 year olds said
they only use the internet and apps for their news whereas only 1% of over 55s
only use internet or apps. Also, 59% of people in the UK say they use the BBC
news app.
Overall, the media has a very large influence on consumers
around the world and the content that we view affects our own personal views. I
personally shape some of my views on certain topics around the things I hear
from news sources, media sites and friends/family as this is what is around me
and what I hear.
A very interesting read, thank you Amy. As you say, your news diet is mainly made up of media from established sources (or big media) due to trusting the professionalism or reliability but the change is mainly one of which apparatus or hardware (the phone) you may use to access news. A really good use of the Ofcom statistics to back up your points of view and a savvy understanding of devices such as 'clickbait' headlines.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, as you say, user-generated media content and news is interesting to you; you seem to trust it less. Perhaps, contrary to what Gillmor predicted, the way in which we access news content will change and become more curated and tailored to our interests and habits but the people producing the media sources will still be the same?