Digital News Report - Key Findings - Asia-Pacific

Reuters Institute
Digital News
Report 2018
Key Asia-Pacific Findings
Rasmus Nielsen, Director
Digital Media Asia
Hong Kong
November 9, 2018
#DNR18 | @risj_oxford

World’s biggest ongoing news survey
74,000
respondents
37 markets

Methodology
RESEARCH CONDUCTED ONLINE IN JANUARY/EARLY FEBRUARY 2018
RISJ Digital News Report 2018 3
Country Sample Size
Internet
penetration
USA 2401 96%
UK 2117 95%
Germany 2038 90%
France 2006 87%
Italy 2040 87%
Spain 2023 87%
Portugal 2008 72%
Ireland 2007 94%
Norway 2027 100%
Sweden 2016 93%
Finland 2012 93%
Denmark 2025 97%
Country Sample Size
Internet
penetration
Belgium 2006 88%
Netherlands 2010 95%
Switzerland 2120 89%
Austria 2010 85%
Hungary 2005 81%
Slovakia 2006 85%
Czech Republic 2020 88%
Poland 2005 73%
Romania 2048 63%
Bulgaria 2021 60%
Croatia 2010 74%
Greece 2014 69%
Country Sample Size
Internet
penetration
Turkey* 2019 70%
Japan 2033 93%
Korea, South 2010 93%
Taiwan 1008 88%
Hong Kong 2016 87%
Malaysia 2013 78%
Singapore 2018 84%
Australia 2026 88%
Canada 2022 90%
Brazil* 2007 66%
Argentina 2012 79%
Chile 2008 77%
Mexico* 2007 65%
Polling by Supported by

Key findings
Social media
use high and
stable, but
clear decline
as source of
news,
messaging
apps on the
rise
Heightened
concern over
‘fake’ and
unreliable
news – with
implications
for tech
platforms and
journalism
Some
countries
leaping
ahead with
subscription,
but donation
models also
look
interesting
Brand level
trust scores in
37 countries
for the first
time reveal
significant
differences
Voice
helping
new wave
of
innovation
around
audio (and
growth in
podcasts)
4

Social media use stable overall but
DOWN for news…
52% (-2) AVERAGE ACROSS ALL COUNTRIES, BIGGER DROPS IN SOME
COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY FAKE NEWS
Q3. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week as a source of news? (Please select all that apply)/Q10 Thinking about how you
FIND news online, which are the main ways that you come across news stories? - Used social media and came across news that way. Base:
45%
39%
36%
31%
USA
UK
FRANCE
GERMANY
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Japan USA UK Germany France Hong Kong
59% HONG KONG
21% JAPAN

Globally, Facebook and Twitter stagnate -
others grow
WEEKLY USE OF NETWORKS FOR NEWS 2014-18, 12 COUNTRY AVERAGE
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
36%
15%
6%
11%
3%
3 REASONS
FOR SHIFT
- Changes to algorithms
- Boredom with Facebook
- More interesting
alternatives
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014-18, Q12b Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week for news?
Base: Total sample in 12 countries (UK, US, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Brazil), 10 country average for 2014 excl Australia and Ireland

Discussion of news is moving to messaging…
CONTEXT COLLAPSE KICKING IN?
“These friends on Facebook are not
important for me any more. With my inner
circle of friends I communicate via
WhatsApp”
(M, 20-29, DE)
“I’ve actually pulled back from using
Facebook a lot since the whole political
landscape changed over the last few years
because I just find everyone’s got an
opinion”
(F, 30-45, UK)

Trust in the News
@risj_oxford | #DNR18

Different types of trust
ALL 37 MARKETS - % THAT TRUST EACH MOST OF THE TIME
Uncertainty in distributed environments, information
unchecked, hard to distinguish news from rumor...
Mostly this about trust in mainstream media
and in the sources that people use
Trust news
I use
44%
Trust news
overall
51%
Trust news
in search
34%
Trust news
in social
23%

HONG KONG - % THAT TRUST EACH MOST OF THE TIME
Trust news
I use
45%
Trust news
overall
Trust news
in search
34%
Trust news
in social
26%49%

JAPAN - % THAT TRUST EACH MOST OF THE TIME
Trust news
I use
43%
Trust news
overall
Trust news
in search
Trust news
in social
20%43% 25%

Significant variation at the brand level
10 POINT SCALE (0 IS UNTRUSTWORTHY, 10 COMPLETELY TRUSTWORTHY)
• Public Service Broadcaster and
commercial TV most trusted
• Local newspapers follow
• Lower trust in digital-born brands
• Users of news brands trust them more
Q6_2018. How trustworthy would you say news from the
following brands is? Use the scale below, where 0 is ‘not at all
trustworthy’ and 10 is ‘completely trustworthy’.
Base: Total sample/all who used each brand in the last week.

‘Fake News’

85%
71% 69% 66% 66% 66% 65% 64% 63% 63% 62% 61% 60% 60% 60% 60% 58% 57% 55%
53% 51% 50% 50% 49% 49% 48% 47% 46% 44% 43% 42% 41% 38% 37% 36% 36%
30%
54%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Varied concern about whether online
news is real or fake
Q_FAKE_NEWS_1. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement. “Thinking about online news, I am concerned
about what is real and what is fake on the internet.” Base: Total sample in each market
Brazil
Issue in the elections
Singapore
Government
highlighting
issue
Hong Kong
Low levels of
concern
USA
Popularised by Trump
and the media itself

Audience definitions of ‘fake news’ are very wide
What type of ‘fake news’ are people EXPOSED to?
ALL MARKETS
see poor
journalism,
mistakes and
clickbait every
week
42%
complain about
spin and
agenda-filled
news
39%
say they have
been exposed to
completely
made up news
Only 26%
Q_FAKE_NEWS_3. In the >LAST WEEK> which of the following have you personally come across? Please select all that apply.

Who should do more to address disinformation?
16
3. GOVERNMENT
61%
1. PUBLISHERS
75%
2. PLATFORMS
71%
41%65%
USA
ASIA - PACIFIC

Paying for Online
News

All over the globe
RISJ Digital News Report 2018
PEOPLE ARE REALISING THAT QUALITY COSTS
22%
Average in
Nordic countries
pay
16%
Now pay for
online news
in the US
7%In the UK
But only
NORDIC
COUNTRIES LEAD
THE WORLD
TRUMP BUMP
MAINTAINED
“I now realize that good journalism requires
money. If I keep relying only on free news
stories, the quality of journalism I get will be
dumbed down and made much worse.”
M, 52, USA
Q7a. Have you paid for ONLINE news content, or accessed a paid for ONLINE news service in the last year ? (This could be a digital subscription, combined digital/print subscription
or one off payment for an article or app or e-edition)
18

Reasons for Nordic success?
DISTINCT, VALUABLE CONTENT - AND STRONG READING
TRADITIONS, AUDIENCE FOCUS, DATA DRIVEN IN MARKETS WITH
LESS COMPETITION AND LESS SPILL-OVER
NORWAY
AFTENPOSTEN
100,000 Digital
Subscribers
Meter + Premium
Cost / Month: €21
FINLAND
HELSINGIN SANOMAT
70,000 Digital Subscribers
Meter + Premium
Cost / Month: €17.50
SWEDEN
DAGENS NYHETER
70,000 Digital Subscribers
Meter + Premium
Cost / Month: €10

Donations and membership –
an emerging opportunity
• Long history in US public media
• Guardian has 600,000 donations or cause
focused memberships
• Partisan websites are also asking
supporters to support them
• Platforms starting to support donation
models
26%say they might in
the future
But
3%Make a donation
today
Just
Q7c_DONATE_2. Please indicate your level of agreement with the
following statements - I would consider making a donation to a news outlet
I like if they were unable to cover their costs in other ways

Reasons for donations
“I paid for The Guardian because I read its work
and it doesn’t have a paywall.’
(F, 60, US)
2. GUILT
1. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MEDIA
“It is the only way to maintain free media that is
independent of political power.”
(M, 45, Spain)
3. PART OF A CAUSE
“I want to make sure those news outlets stay
open.”
(F, 64, US)

Awareness of financial difficulties low
are unaware of the problems of the news industry or believe
that most news organisations are making a profit from digital
news.
Likely to pay for online news in the future
Would consider donating in the future
68%
When news literacy is higher,
people are more likely to pay
Q7aiv. You said you have not paid for online digital content in the last year. How likely or unlikely would you be to pay in the next 12 months for online news from
particular sources that you like? Base: All with very low/low/high/very high news literacy in selected markets = 9926/10037/6619/2869. Q7c_DONATE_2. Please
indicate your level of agreement with the following statement. I would consider making a donation to a news outlet I like if they were unable to cover their costs in
other ways. Base: All with very low/low/high/very high news literacy in selected markets = 11149/11898/8069/3790.

Future of Audio
@risj_oxford | #DNR18 | @EdelmanUK

Podcasting is on the up – driven by young
PODCASTS VS RADIO NEWS BY AGE – USA
5
X
% ACCESS AT LEAST MONTHLY
0%
20%
40%
60%
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
Podcasts (monthly) Radio News (weekly)
US 31%

1%
2%
4%
5%
6%
7%
9%
Korea
Germany
UK
US
2018
2017
Smart speakers – next big thing?
Voice activated speakers growing quickly from a low base
SELECTED COUNTRIES
Q8a. Which, if any, of the following devices do you ever use (for any purpose)? Please select all that apply. Showing smart speaker code. Base: All
25RISJ Digital News Report 2018

15%
18%
35%
47%
65%
67%
75%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Access podcasts
Shopping (ordering goods, saving lists)
Access latest News
Set alarms
Ask questions to get facts or info
Access latest weather
Listen to music
Smart speaker – uses
Uses for news/information Other uses
UNITED STATES
Q8. New You say you have a smart speaker (e.g. Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod) which of the following do you do
regularly? Percents do not add to 100 due to multiple response. N=609

Points for discussion …
How will
Facebook’s
changing
strategies (less
focus on news,
more on
friends/family)
impact news
industry?
As platforms
use trust
scores/signals
to define what
content they
show, will this
reinforce old
legacy brands
at the expense
of new voices?
How should
publishers
respond to
findings that
audiences think
they bear most
responsibility for
sorting out so-
called ‘fake
news’?
What are the
prospects for
new business
models to
sustain
quality
journalism?
What are the
opportunities
for audio,
podcasts
and voice?
(And how to
handle
platform
risk…)

Digital News Report - Key Findings - Asia-Pacific

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