The weekly reach of local and regional newspapers has increased, but only a small percentage of those readers access online news platforms, found the Digital News Report (DNR): Australia 2022 released by the University of Canberra’s News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC) today.
The report found a three percent growth in regional and local newspaper consumption on last year, higher than the two per cent seen across the wider print sector.
One in four regional news consumers reported reading their local newspaper (up seven points on last year), however just three per cent access those newspapers’ online platforms.
Paying for online news increased in all segments of the population except for those who live in regional areas. Only 13 per cent of regional Australians pay for online news compared to 20 per cent of city dwellers.
“We have lost many print publications in the regions during the past few years, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, traditional print audiences haven’t transitioned to online platforms very well,” lead author of the report Professor Sora Park said.
“In the print era, local newspapers were often the sole provider of local news and local advertising. Going online means competing with multiple online news providers and global platforms.”
While overall trust fell to pre-COVID levels in this year’s findings (41 per cent, down two percentage points on last year) high levels of trust remain in public broadcasters along with regional and local newspapers, compared to commercial broadcasters.
The report also found news consumers in regional areas remain less concerned (71 per cent) about climate change than those in larger cities (78 per cent).
“This may reflect the fact higher proportions of older and more conservative Australians live in the regions,” Dr Park said.
“Climate change is an issue that divides Australians across the political spectrum, age and region. Older people, those who identify with right-wing and live in regional areas are the least concerned about climate change and pay less attention to news about it.”
Other key findings include:
- One in five Australians report not paying attention to climate change news
- 67 per cent of respondents reported being most interested in local news.
- Women are particularly interested in news about their local community (70 per cent) compared to men (63 per cent).
- More Australians are interested in local news (67 per cent) than the global average (60 per cent).
- The proportion of people using news more than once a day remained about the same as last year (52 per cent)
- For the first time since 2016, a slight increase in print news consumption was reported (22 per cent) up two points on last year