Radio news 'most trusted' and social media explosion

Radio is the most trusted news source and the amount of internet users who’ve got a social networking account has doubled in the last two years.

These are just a few of the findings of an interesting research study carried out on behalf of the UK’s broadcasting regulator, OFCOM. More than 1,800 people over the age of 16 were surveyed for this in 2009.

Of these 66% said they tended to trust radio news. On-line beat television’s score for the first time scoring 58% and 54% respectively while newspapers trailed on 34%.

This high trust rating is great news for all of us who work in radio news but I don’t think it should be a surprise. I think it’s down to the special relationship listeners have with radio stations. It is intimate and personal (what other media wakes you up and follows you into the car?) and bonds grow between radio broadcasters and their audience.

Also when times are hard - like the terrible winter we had this year - radio’s localness, reactivity and interactivity mean it remains a powerful proposition.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Any decent research on the usage of social networking is very welcome as this area is continuing to grow at light speed. I have to change my slides for the social media course I teach for the EBU every month because of developments.

To sum up the findings from the study for OFCOM – four in ten internet users have a social networking profile. This compares to a figure of two in ten two years ago.

This chart breaks the figures down. Note that almost one in three 45-55 year olds said they have a profile. Social media is not just for the kids!

Click on the chart to see it enlarged.



Source: OFCOM UK Adults’ Media Literacy, May 2010

Facebook’s dominance is shown in these figures.



Source: OFCOM UK Adults’ Media Literacy, May 2010

For anyone who watches social media closely the broad findings of this study may not be surprising. Although the research does confirm the explosion in take up of social networking, across all areas of the population. So, for broadcasters trying to convince executives of the value in investing in it, here are some statistics you may wish to leave on their desks.

You can look at the full report here.