Local papers “essential”

Conducted in July and August this year, a survey has found that a majority of non-local newspaper readers still believe the papers are “an essential service for the community”.

Conducted as part of ‘The Local News Innovation Project’ – a partnership between Deakin, RMIT, Country Press Australia (CPA), and the Australian Government – the survey asked 407 Facebook users in four areas their thoughts on local newspapers.

‘Exploring the social – A report on Facebook users who don’t read local newspapers’ was published on Tuesday 14 December, and revealed a number of interesting statistics.

Despite not being local newspaper readers, 64.5 per cent of respondents said they found a printed local paper an essential service, with almost half (48 per cent) saying if they ever did read a local paper, they would do so in print, rather than online (33 per cent) or on social media (13 per cent).

Participants also showed resistance to the idea of paying for local news, with 64.5 per cent not paying for any news and information, but said they would engage if it was free.

“News should be free to read, and newspapers should make their profit from advertisements,” a 50-year-old female survey participant said.

“[Don’t] disappear behind a paywall. I can only access headlines. I refuse to pay for news that I used to have free access to,” a 63-year-old female from Victoria said.

A strong sentiment for media diversity was also observed in the findings, with 73 per cent of respondents favouring locally owned newspapers profiting from local news production, versus 14 per cent preferring “no profit”, 7 per cent “Facebook and Google” and 6 per cent “national and international news companies”.

Deakin University Associate Professor Kristy Hess is leading the research, and said the findings reinforced the passion for print uncovered from a previous survey of local newspaper readers.

“The fact that social media users examined here (in the latest survey) also indicate a preference for print is perhaps especially profound,” Dr Hess said.

“Many participants highlighted that the absence of a home-delivery service or easy way to access the paper created an impediment to accessing the physical copy. They also indicated that they resisted paying for local news and would engage if it were free.

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2021-12-21/3

in the 14 December 2021 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.