Reader surveys Demographic profile of Social Audit respondents. Guardian Observer Guardian Unlimited. Sample size n= 927 n=1036 n=1135

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1 1 Reader surveys 2006 Introduction The social audit research was conducted online, using Confirmit software for each of the core GNM products. Different recruitment methods were used for readers of the / and users of. and readers were invited to participate in the survey via with a link to the questionnaire, whilst users were recruited via a pop-up that ran appeared across. The opt-in nature of the methodology means the profile of respondents is not entirely representative of readers or users of as a whole. It also means we are more likely to have a sample of brand enthusiasts or core readers, than a sample that is totally representative of our readers and users. Overall the profile of respondents participating in the social audit research was broadly similar to the actual profile of readers of the and according to the national readership survey (NRS) and Forrester research for users. However, some differences were apparent for age, gender and region. Male readers are slightly underrepresented in the social audit research for both the and, whereas the sample included a higher proportion of males than is reflected in the actual profile of users. Far fewer 15 to 24 year olds participated in the social audit surveys than are in reality reading/using any of the GNM products. For and readers this is an effect of an age skew in the database of readers used for the research. Finally, regional data for the social audit does not accurately reflect the proportion of readers living in London. Levels are slightly lower than would be the norm for or readers. Sample size n= 927 n=1036 n=1135 Fieldwork dates 26th July - 14th August th July - 21st August th July - 7th August 2006 Response rate 15% 9% N/a Demographic profile of Social Audit respondents

2 2 Are you? Male 50% 49% 76% Female 50% 51% 24% Which age group do you fall into? Under 15 0% 0% 0% 15 to 24 4% 6% 6% 25 to 34 25% 31% 32% 35 to 44 24% 26% 27% 45 to 54 22% 19% 17% 55 to 64 19% 14% 14% 65 to 74 5% 4% 3% 75+ 1% 0% 0% Which of the following best describes your ethnic group? White 91% 94% 84% Asian or Asian British 2% 1% 3% Black or Black British 0% 1% 1% Chinese 1% 0% 2% Mixed 2% 2% 3% Other (Please specify) 2% 1% 3% I would rather not say 2% 1% 3% Which region of the United Kingdom do you live in? Greater London 28% 29% South East 19% 15% South West 10% 9% North West 9% 11% Yorkshire/Humberside 7% 7% East Midlands 5% 6% West Midlands 5% 6% East Anglia 5% 5% Scotland 5% 6% North East 3% 3% Wales 3% 3% Northern Ireland 1% 2% Which country/region do you live in? United Kingdom 31%

3 3 Europe 23% North America 22% Australasia 8% Asia 7% Ireland 5% South America 2% Africa 2% Frequency of readership / usership A third of readers interviewed for the social audit read every edition of the newspaper A fifth of respondents also read every edition of The and half of respondents read The to some extent In an average week how many issues of The do you read out of six? None 0% 1 28% 2 16% 3 13% 4 6% 5 6% 6 32% Nearly half the readers read every edition of their newspaper In an average month how many issues of The do you read out of four? None 0% 1 19% 2 20% 3 13% 4 48% 91% of users participating in the social audit research visited the site very frequently several times a week or more. How often do you visit our website,? Every day 22% 17% 62% Several times a week 19% 16% 29% At least once a week 15% 15% 7%

4 4 At least once a month 19% 19% 3% Less often than once a month 21% 23% 0% Never 5% 9% n/a Length of readership / usage Over a third of readers in the social audit had read the for over 20 years. A quarter of respondents had also been readers of the for over 20 years. However, there was a higher proportion of respondents who had started reading the within the last 2 years than for the. Half of users had been accessing the site for over 3 years. For how long have you been reading The / The? Less than 1 year 1% 3% 1 to 2 years 4% 10% 3 to 5 years 14% 22% 6 to 10 years 19% 20% 11 to 15 years 12% 12% 16 to 20 years 12% 8% Longer than 20 years 37% 25% For how long have you been regularly accessing? Less than a month 2% Between 1 and 6 months 6% Between 6 and 12 months 7% Between 1 and 2 years 16% Between 2 and 3 years 19% Between 3 and 4 years 18% Between 4 and 5 years 12% Longer than 5 years 20% Advertising Music with offensive lyrics was the form of advertising that most people objected to readers were more likely to object to advertising with sexual imagery than readers of the or users users were more likely to object to political advertising more than or readers

5 5 A third of both and users would not object to any forms of advertising. The same is also true for a fifth of readers in the survey. Do you think that The / / has a responsibility to refuse to carry any of the following types of advertising? Music with offensive lyrics (e.g. homophobic or sexist material) 54% 44% 43% Advertising using sexual imagery 42% 34% 34% Gambling 39% 36% 36% Religious 36% 35% 40% Political 13% 14% 25% Other (please specify) 11% 8% 7% I would not object to any of these forms of advertising 22% 31% 30% Reflects society The content of all GNM brands was thought to represent the composition of British society relatively well However, Regionality was the area that was least represented through content. How regionality is represented is an issue which also arises through verbatim comments and many state that the / are too London centric or that GU could cover more international news. Do you believe that the content of The adequately reflects British society in terms of the following? Gender Sexual orientation Ethnicity Religion and belief Age Disability Regionality Yes 86% 76% 71% 65% 62% 38% 37% No 6% 8% 12% 14% 23% 19% 43% Don't know 8% 16% 17% 21% 15% 43% 20% Do you believe that the content of The adequately reflects British society in terms of the following? Gender Sexual orientation Ethnicity Religion and belief Age Disability Regionality Yes 82% 72% 65% 60% 61% 33% 32% No 8% 9% 15% 14% 23% 22% 47%

6 6 Don't know 10% 19% 20% 26% 16% 45% 21% Do you believe that the content of adequately reflects society in terms of the following? Gender Sexual orientation Ethnicity Religion and belief Age Disability Regionality Yes 71% 67% 64% 59% 55% 37% 41% No 6% 7% 10% 13% 16% 13% 24% Don't know 23% 26% 26% 28% 29% 50% 35% Multi cultural writers More than half felt that multi-cultural Britain was adequately represented in the composition of and writers. A third of readers interviewed were not able to comment on the composition of writers. Do you feel that Britain's multi-cultural society is adequately represented in the composition of / writers? Yes 57% 54% No 11% 14% Don't know 32% 32% Value for money Overall The and were both thought to be very good value for money Do you believe that The / is good value for money? Very poor value 0% 0% 2 1% 3% 3 18% 24% 4 50% 54% 5- Excellent value 31% 19% 4 or 5 out of 5 81% 72% Poly-bagging

7 7 The majority of readers did not like their weekend newspaper being poly-bagged. The reason for this would appear to be because readers are concerned about the impact of poly-bagging on the environment. Do you prefer your weekend newspaper to be packaged in a poly-bag? Yes 37% 37% No 63% 63% Are you concerned about the impact of polybagging on the environment? Yes 85% 84% No 15% 16% The vast majority of readers recycled their newspapers When you have finished with your copy of The /, which of the following are you most likely to do with it? Put it in the bin 4% 4% Recycle it 93% 94% Use it for compost 1% 1% Other (Please specify) 2% 1% Environmental influence We are interested in the extent to which environmental coverage in The / / has influenced you behaviour in relation to the following. Environmental coverage was most likely to influence the behaviour of readers and users in the areas of energy saving, fair-trade, green purchasing and recycling. Readers and users were least likely to be influenced in the areas of carbonoffsetting their transport emissions and supporting environmental NGOs. This may be because less coverage is given to these subjects. users were slightly less likely to be influenced by environmental coverage than readers of The or. The

8 8 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Energy saving Purchasing fair-trade products Purchasing 'green' alternative products Recycling or reusing waste materials Consuming organic or GM free food Choosing less harmful transport Ethical investments Supporting an environmental NGO Paying to carbon-offset transport emissions Some Influence Strong influence The 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Energy saving Purchasing fair-trade products Recycling or reusing waste materials Purchasing 'green' alternative products Consuming organic or GM free food Choosing less harmful transport Ethical investments Supporting an environmental NGO Paying to carbon-offset transport emissions Some Influence Strong influence

9 9 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Energy saving Recycling or reusing waste materials Purchasing fair-trade products Purchasing 'green' alternative products Consuming organic or GM free food Choosing less harmful transport Ethical investments Supporting an environmental NGO Paying to carbon-offset transport emissions Some Influence Strong influence Impact on the environment The majority thought that we could do more to encourage readers to reduce their impact on the environment Do you think that The / / could be doing more to encourage readers to reduce their impact on the environment? Yes 70% 71% 60% No 30% 29% 40% Readers editor Approximately half of and readers who participated in the research, were aware of the papers readers editors. Most felt that the existence of a readers editor made the newspaper responsive to their views. Are you aware that The / has an independent readers' editor to deal with editorial complaints? Yes 51% 55%

10 10 No 49% 45% Does the existence of a Readers' Editor make you feel that the paper is responsive to your views and opinions? Yes 78% 80% No 22% 20% Active role in society The majority of respondents felt our coverage had prompted them to take a more active role in society in one or more of the ways mentioned. The most likely action taken was to talk to friends or colleagues about issues raised in our coverage. Over half of or readers had boycotted products or brands because of articles they had read in our newspapers. readers were slightly more likely to have taken action on issues than both the readers and users. Do you believe that The / / coverage has prompted you to play a more active role in society in any of the following ways? Talked to friends or colleagues about issues 82% 73% 69% raised in the paper Boycotted certain products/brands 61% 56% 35% Donated or raised money for a charity or 35% 29% 21% community organisation Campaigned on an issue 24% 16% 14% Written to my MP 22% 14% 14% Been on a demonstration 22% 15% 14% Written a letter to the editor 12% 5% 17% Volunteered for a charity or community 11% 8% 6% organisation Contributed to 'Comment is free' or any other n/a n/a 11% blogs Other (Please specify) 4% 3% 2% No coverage has NOT prompted me to play a more active role in society 10% 18% 21%

11 11 Importance / coverage rating How important is it that newspapers / news websites deliver each of the following? % of those stating highly important or important on a 5 point scale 100% 90% 98% 99% 98% 95% 94% 95% 87% 89% 86% 85% 86% 84% 80% 70% 70% 71% 71% 60% 50% 40% The The 30% 20% 10% 0% Trustworthy news coverage Brings Unbiased news information into coverage the public domain that would otherwise remain hidden A broad range of perspectives through comment and analysis Gives a voice to under represented groups in society To what extent do you agree with the following statements about The //? % of those stating Strongly agree or agree on a 5 point scale

12 12 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 86% 83% 82% 69% 65% 59% 58% 57% 52% 73% 72% 69% 54% 53% 48% coverage coverage coverage 30% 20% 10% 0% Trustworthy news coverage Brings information into the public domain that would otherwise remain hidden Unbiased news coverage A broad range of perspectives through comment and analysis Gives a voice to under represented groups in society Top 5 reasons for reading Quality of journalism, depth of coverage and to keep informed were the were the main reasons for our readers and users choosing our products. The was also read for its liberal viewpoint (65%) 39% read the because it was the sister paper of The was read for international news (48%). It was also read for sports coverage (38%) more than the other titles What are your top 5 reasons for reading The / /? The quality of journalism 62% 52% 48% The depth of news coverage 50% 41% 45% To keep informed 45% 33% 32% Comment and analysis 41% 21% 34% It's political stance 33% 27% 27% Balanced perspective 24% 19% 11% To get different perspectives 22% 15% 22% Sports coverage 21% 15% 38% Out of habit 20% 14% 12% The crossword 16% 8% 2%

13 13 For stories you can't get elsewhere 11% 6% 15% Views The majority thought that // both reaffirmed and challenged their views. Which of the following most closely describes your view of The / /? GU 2006 It reaffirms the views that I already have 9% 6% 8% It both reaffirms and also challenges my views 66% 63% 67% It does not reflect my views but gives an 6% 5% 7% alternative viewpoint It's balanced perspective enables me to form my 19% 22% 13% own opinion None of these 0% 4% 5% Transparency It was considered highly important that we are open with readers and users in how editorial decisions are made as well as how we operate as a business The majority of readers interviewed were aware of the Corrections and Clarifications column readers were more likely to be aware of transparency practices than readers of the or GU users Do you believe it is important for the / / to be open with readers in the way it makes editorial decisions and operates as a business? Yes 94% 93% 89% No 6% 7% 11% Are you aware that The / / has the following practices in place to increase its openness and accountability? Corrections and clarifications: printed daily in the comment section Open door: a weekly column by the readers editor which discusses editorial decision making and journalist ethics 83% 72% n/a 37% 27% n/a Web editor's week: Emily Bell's Saturday column 31% n/a 19%

14 14 discussing 's editorial practices as well as ethics and perspectives on new media. Daily editor's blog on : 30% 21% 22% includes commentary on how The reach editorial decisions. Social, ethical and environmental audit: 20% 15% 23% conducted annually by an independent auditor, reporting on the s editorial and business practices. None of these 12% 21% 60% Importance of openness practices Corrections and clarifications was considered the most important practice among and readers. The social audit was considered to be important by all respondents. % Stating Highly important / important How important do you feel it is that The / / has the following practices in place? Corrections and clarifications 78% 80% Social ethical and environmental audit 72% 74% 64% Open door 60% 58% Web editor's week 40% 50% Daily / Weekly editor's blog on 39% 40% 52% Awareness of web-first About a third of respondents were aware of web-first Are you aware of the new initiative to report International and Business news on a "web-first" basis? Yes 30% 28% No 70% 72%

15 15 Awareness of Comment is free Approximately a third of or readers interviewed were aware of Comment is free. Are you aware of 'Comment is free' space, a collective blog available on? Yes 36% 30% No 64% 70% Interest in Comment is free Over half the and readers were interested in Comment is free. Only a small minority were not. Using the scale below how interested are you is the idea of Comment is free? Total who were very or quite interested 53% 60% Very interested 12% 13% Quite interested 41% 47% Neutral 33% 30% Not interested 8% 7% Not interested at all 6% 3% Using the scale below how interested are you is the idea of Comment is free? Of those aware of comment is free n=332 n=311 Total who were very or quite interested 67% 69% Very interested 20% 19% Quite interested 47% 50% Neutral 24% 23% Not interested 7% 6% Not interested at all 2% 2% Future of newspapers Newspapers were thought to be extremely relevant in today's society.

16 16 Nearly all and readers participating in the social audit still thought they would be reading newspapers in 5 years time. As did a high proportion of users. Given the wide variety of news sources available, do you think that newspapers / Sunday newspapers are still relevant in today's society? Yes 99% 96% 96% No 1% 4% 4% Do you see yourself still reading newspapers in 5 years time? Yes 97% 97% 83% No 3% 3% 3% I already only read news online 14% Scott Trust Half the readers interviewed were aware that The was owned by the Scott Trust. The vast majority of readers and users thought that Scott Trust principles were reflected in our newspapers and website. Are you aware that The / / are owned by a trust whose mission is to ensure the continued existence of The as a quality newspaper, free from party affiliation, remaining faithful to liberal tradition? Yes 52% 43% 40% No 48% 57% 60% Do you believe that the trust's mission is reflected in the content of the newspaper / news site? Yes 92% 91% 92% No 8% 9% 8%