Consuming news in the digital age

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11/06/2024 | Faculty of Arts and Design

UC researchers have revealed the profound impact of digital transformation on how Australians consume and engage with news. The Digital News Report: Australia has offered insights into declining trust in traditional media, the rise of social platforms as news sources, and how this has changed civic engagement since 2015. The ongoing research equips policymakers with essential data to shape policies and empowers news organisations to adapt their strategies for a changing media landscape.

News is a social and cultural phenomenon which plays a central role in our democratic processes. We look to the news to stay connected with people and places, stay safe during disasters, and be part of key moments in history. News content shapes our cultural experiences, informs our buying and voting choices and more. Digital media has irreversibly changed how Canberrans understand and engage with the world around them.

A long-term project run by the News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC) since 2015 has enabled the voices and experiences of news audiences to be heard as the news media changes around them. Governments, news media industry and ACT citizens now have an evidence base for making decisions about how to produce, consume and regulate the news media.

Digital News Report

The Digital News Report (DNR): Australia is the cornerstone of the N&MRC’s program of work in this space and is part of the global Digital News Report coordinated by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism based at Oxford University. UC has led the Australian study in this international collection since 2015 and over the last decade, the DNR: Australia report has traced changing audience habits, knowledge and attitudes to the news. Trends UC researchers have traced over that time include:

A steady rise in people’s distrust of news.
Falling interest in, and rising avoidance of the news, particularly among young people and women.
The rise of social media as a way people get their news.
Rising concern about misinformation, particularly on social media.

This body of research is essential to government and policymakers tasked with designing policy and regulation to manage rapidly changing news and social media landscapes. Each year the DNR: Australia report is broadcast online, and the team have briefed government departments, embassies and media organisations such as the ABC, SBS, Australian Communication and Media Authority and more to share that year’s findings. Our researchers are highly engaged with industry, attending conferences, roundtable discussions and conferences attended by journalists and media organisation heads. The team has written 11 submissions to government and parliamentary inquiries over the last decade, including:

Social Media and Foreign Interference;
Social Media and Misinformation;
Local Newspapers;
ACMA News Measurement Framework;
News Media Assistance Program; and
ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry.

“The Digital News Report is certainly a key and awaited piece of research for us, helping us get an understanding of the full news landscape. It’s robust and trusted and helps give us a sound understanding of the news trends from Trust to News Avoidance. Demographic breakdowns and longitudinal views are particularly helpful, with insights regularly used in news strategy workshops or to feed into board papers.”

– Tim Freiszmuth, from the ABC

Related projects

The DNR: Australia has spawned several funded and independent studies relating to audiences, users and publics and their engagement with news media.

News & wellbeing: older generations and news consumption (Fisher et al., 2020) was a collaboration with the ACT Council on the Ageing (COTA). While older Canberrans are among the highest news consumers in Australia, they rely on traditional media like television for social connection, and some feel they are being left behind by social media.
The Women & News Special Report (Lee et al., 2023) identified that women, especially younger women, are less interested and engaged with news than men. In fact, this gap is among the widest in the world. The report provides evidence and advice for news organisations, educators and policymakers in the ACT on how to engage young women in the news, and Australian news outlets have used the insights to inform their newsroom policies and digital strategy.
Heartbeat of Australia (Park et al., 2023-2025) is a collaboration with Australian Community Media (ACM), publishers of The Canberra Times. The research is tracing how often-overlooked local and regional communities are adapting to the changing media landscape. News is a social connector; our research is key to understanding the wellbeing of regional communities.

“Heartbeat of Australia research has helped ACM [Australian Community Media] set up valuable meetings with hard to reach media agencies. ACM has been able to share valuable insights on how regional Australian's differ from those living in five major capital cities. In particular, ACM have highlighted the unique role local news mastheads play in the lives of the regions. Data from Heartbeat of Australia has supported ACM in countless responses to client briefs, helping drive revenue. It has also informed our editorial and product team and formed a strong case to governments on how crucial it is for local news outlets to continue to exist in the regions.”

– Lisa Levesque, from Australian Community Media (ACM)

The N&MRC not only undertake the research and deliver the findings, they also integrate the research into education and training for UC Faculty of Arts and Design undergraduate students and PhD candidates, and media and communication professionals.

Research team

This collection of research has been undertaken by the News and Media Research Centre in the Faculty of Arts and Design.

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