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The percentage of people in the UK who “don’t follow news” has doubled in one year, reported media regulator Ofcom in its annual analysis of information seeking. Accessing all traditional platforms for news fell… or has kept falling. Even that domain of cat photos and other conspiracies - the internet - didn’t increase.
Stop the press: literally. Consuming news via TV dropped to 67% of folks over 16 from 75%, year on year. The printed page (newspapers) down to 31% from 40%, radio down to 32% from 36%, magazines down to 4% from 5%. And, yes, 10% don’t follow news, up from 5%.
Accessing news from any digital platform has stayed ahead of all traditional platforms at 41% but that’s unchanged one year on. Into the important detail: accessing news via the the mobile phone increased to 25% from 21%. Word of mouth - presumably shouting at the neighbors over the fence - increased as a news access point for 14% of the UK population, up from 11%.
Across all platforms, the BBC is by far the most accessed brand for news in the UK, 77% of the survey sample, down from 80% year on year. Commercial radio, social media and online aggregators all significantly increased as news access points over 2014. Sky and News Corporation brands, they are related, were lower.
Of those who use the internet for news (subset of a subset) 56% access BBC sites or apps, down slightly. Social media as a news access point has grown dramatically, to 31% in 2015 from 23% in 2013. And much of that is Facebook; now accessed for news by 29% of internet users, up from 19% in 2013. Just this week Facebook claimed 350 worldwide publisher sources for its Instant Articles. Aggregators, which would include Google News and Yahoo News, fell as a news access point to 19% of internet users from 25% in 2013.
About two weeks ago a new online radio portal appeared in Ukraine, under the name Echo Kyiv. By appearance, it is remarkably similar to the website of well-known Russian channel Ekho Moskvy. Media watchers took certain interest as the website listed the chief editor as Lesya Ryabtseva, until recently employed by Ekho Moskvy.
Ms Ryabtseva left the employ of Ekho Moskvy rather abruptly, telling all to Russian magazine Snob (May 29). “I can’t be near idle, stupid, passive people,” was the big quote. “I have a lot of plans. I will create media that outdoes Ekho Moskvy.” (See more about media in Russia here)
When the Echo Kyiv website appeared, Ekho Moskvy chief editor and minority shareholder Aleksey Venediktov said he and the radio station “have nothing to do” with it, quoted by telekritika.ua (December 14). After Ms Ryabtseva unloaded about her dismissal from Ekho Moskvy, Mr. Venediktov appealed, via Twitter, to co-workers to “please accept my apologies for the unjust and grave public utterances… directed at you. Please do not take these statements at value.” Gazprom Media is the majority shareholder of Ekho Moskvy.
This past weekend she appeared on Russian TV channel NTV’s tabloid show New Russian Sensation (December 12) disparaging individuals unpopular with the current government; Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Alexei Navalny and former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov. “The Russian opposition is shit,” she offered. The show introduced Ms Ryabtseva as “Snowden in a skirt,” reported novayagazeta.ru (December 12). NTV is owned by Gazprom Media.
Ms Ryabtseva was, on exit, Mr. Venediktov’s personal assistant and deputy editor with responsibilities for the Ekho Moskvy website. Deeper plot-lines, oft repeated by Russian media watchers, are quite tangled. Radio Svoboda (RFE/RL) sent a reporter to the Kyiv address listed for Echo Kyiv and found no business.
Managing assets - trademarks and such - is about the least exciting activity for broadcasters, except for shareholders and, of course, lawyers. The fun comes from all those cool competitive things; DJs, promotions, selling ads. In the post-modern age, however, every publisher and broadcaster pays close attention to intellectual property, which has a life quite separate.
Sometime earlier this year a decision was made at big UK radio broadcaster Global Radio to re-brand its national channel XFM, focused on rock alternative music, as Radio X. XFM appeared on FM and DAB multiplexes drawing less than stellar ratings in recent years. And so a plan was set.
The September switch-over included new DJs, shows, logos and jingles for the “first truly male-focused fully national music and entertainment brand for 25-44 year olds,” according to the presser. Hired for the morning show was Chris Moyles, former star DJ at BBC Radio 1, and others of note. Global Radio, reportedly, invested a small fortune launching Radio X. That’s OK; this is the fun stuff.
Late in the game, lawyers for Global Radio applied for appropriate trademarks to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the European Commission’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). Owners of local Exeter station Radio EXE, thereafter, filed an objection. It seems they registered trademarks covering visual and audio representations in 2012. The disposition of those objections at the IPO are pending. This could get really expensive.
A half century ago, far from the UK, a burning hot radio station known as The X - for XERF - could be heard from central Mexico to the US-Canadian border. Wolfman Jack was on the air playing the hits. The station was immortalized by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons in 1975. For a little blast from the past, check out Heard It On The X here.
Multi-talented advertising people have been known to add something special to the process of buying and selling. The holiday season is, for them, to step it up a notch. Competition for ‘best Christmas ad’ is serious stuff.
Qualitative measurement - best or worst of anything - is tricky, emotional attachment in the eye of the beholder so to speak. UK researcher Realeyes released this week its annual list - 3rd, it seems - of most compelling seasonal retail ads. What they’ve done is solicit several hundred volunteers to view a bunch of ads and have their reactions analyzed by facial recognition software for emotional response. Pictured is an example of how a face lights up.
Ads for department store chain Harvey Nichols and automotive specialist Kwik Fit topped the emotion-grabbing list for holiday ads welling up sympathy for those receiving - and perhaps giving - disappointing gifts. British humor is easy to spot. “The barometer of a successful ad shouldn’t just be whether people like and share it, but also whether it actually makes them spend money,” said Realeyes CEO Mihkel Jäätma. (See Realeyes presser here) “Ads that connect emotionally with people are more likely to make this happen.”
Similarly, German researcher Ratingagentur Advertising used MRI brain scans to evaluate Christmas ads. The spot for department store chain Galeria Kaufhof was deemed “a very positive story with a humorous twist,” said CEO James Miller in a press statement. However the ad left “no clear message on the subconscious.” A tear-jerking ad for supermarket chain Edeka was called “counter-productive from neuro-marketing point of view. The happy ending cannot undo this effect.”
Online ad blocking has the attention of advertising and media people as consumers tune-out and turn off ads. For some it’s the Grinch that stole Christmas. Creativity will certainly abound in the New Year.
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