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Four out of five ‘satisfied’ with quality of regional press news, study finds

Almost four out of five people are “satisfied” the quality of local news in regional newspapers, new research has found.

Ofcom’s annual study of news consumption in the UK has revealed a net satisfaction rate of 79pc when it comes to how readers perceive local and regional printed newspapers.

However, respondents to a survey conducted by the communications regulator gave higher satisfaction ratings to both ITV and BBC regional TV news bulletins, as well as BBC and commercial radio bulletins.

A total of 73pc of respondents said they were satisfied with the quality of news on regional newspaper websites or apps, one per cent more than said they were satisfied with the quality of news found on social media outlets.

regional press

In terms of how local or regional magazines were perceived, 74pc said they were satisfied with the printed products and 76pc said they were satisfied with such publications’ websites or apps.

BBC local news broadcasts were found to be the “most used” sources of news, with 48pc saying they watched them.

A total of 23pc said they used local newspapers, and 9pc used their websites or apps.

When combined these figures equalled the number viewing ITV regional news bulletins, at 32pc.

13 comments

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  • July 2, 2018 at 1:56 pm
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    And, just as a matter of interest, how many of these four out of five people actually shell out money to look at regional newspapers, on whatever platform?
    And how many respondents were there?

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  • July 2, 2018 at 2:07 pm
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    ‘Satisfied ‘ is a very wishy washy emotion, it simply means it was as you expected of to be or as you perceived it, hardly praise.
    I’d be interested to know the sample size of the audience questioned, not that if makes a great deal of difference tbh, the only thing that really matters is how many copies of x paper are sold, that will tell you the true value, worth and interest there is in it and sadly I think those figures speak for themselves as each six monthly ABC report shows all too well.

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  • July 2, 2018 at 7:12 pm
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    Utter nonsense. A survey manufactured for promotional purposes. The fact is four out of five people don’t read regional newspapers and aren’t qualified to comment!

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  • July 2, 2018 at 11:23 pm
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    Ok..following the first comment…..this “study” is meaningless..until the amount of “respondents” is revealed…73% of how many exactly ?

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  • July 3, 2018 at 10:18 am
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    The beauty of statistics (lies, damned lies…and statistics) @oldsnapper. The beauty of a percentage figure is you can read it however you please.
    (Although my year on year 0% pay increase remains constant. Or rather, flat-lining)

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  • July 3, 2018 at 11:07 am
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    As a regional journo for 40 years I no longer look at local papers, let alone read them. A friend recently offered me a copy of our local evening paper. It carried a piece about a new play featuring pit closures in the 1990s. The sub head described it as “a real life sit-in at a Lancashire cole mine”. Need I say more?.

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  • July 3, 2018 at 12:03 pm
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    That is why a lot of papers have lost more than 70 per cent of peak sales, in some cases up to 90 per cent.
    As for regional television, some of its morning bulletins are a string of press releases from cops about crime and crashes.

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  • July 3, 2018 at 5:58 pm
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    As my good friend would say…” and your point is?”
    I don’t know why this research was carried out other than in an attempt to give those working in the regional press some kind of lame reassurance that their work is not going wholly unnoticed?
    With all the serious and credible ex regional press journalists and advertising people now working for independent community publishers it must simply be an attempt at
    parting themselves in the back that they’re not talking and no ones listening, though one look at the last 4-5 years ABC would tell a different story.

    I also wonder how many of the 73% actually but a local paper?
    Very very few I’d guess.

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  • July 3, 2018 at 6:00 pm
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    Typo s/be ‘patting themselves on the back’

    not as I’d typed whilst walking!

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  • July 3, 2018 at 9:37 pm
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    Havig started out as a “cub” reporter on a local paper in 1965 before finally progressing to Fleet Street I still want to support our local paper. But …. it is £1.65 p a week, does not have a reporter based in the town it is supposed to be covering and most of it is taken up with hyperbole from local “big wigs” such as the Mp, the police chief and council bosses. Why? because that is cheaper than sending a reporter pout of the newsroom to report on matters affecting local paper. On that first paper I was sent out from the newsroom on my bicycle at least once a week to glean (there’s an old fashioned word) local stories and woe betide if I did not come back with more than a handful.

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  • July 4, 2018 at 10:08 am
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    I have to agree with Nelson. Less than 5,000 people took part? That, if you are lucky, is the average circulation of one local newspaper these days.
    And why weren’t the figures quoted by the always reliable and erudite Oliver quoted in the story in the first place?

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  • July 4, 2018 at 10:25 am
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    Jigsaw Research Ltd specialise in ‘Quant Segmentation’, ‘Deliberative Research’ and ‘Choice Modelling’ to name but three.
    Yep, me neither?
    Bet it doesn’t come cheap ‘though.

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