TV favourite choice of Asians amongst media for news: Synovate study

While TV remains the news media staple, one in ten Asians now access weblogs on a weekly basis for news and current affairs information according, to a study released by the market research company, Synovate.

However, the taste of consumers differ from country to country. Indians prefer the lighter side of life with entertainment (61 per cent) their other preferred subjects are sport (56 per cent) and current affairs (55 per cent). While Thais love their politics (56 per cent) and Filipinos are most interested in financial news (38 per cent).

With regards to the emergence of personal online diaries known as 'weblogs', one in 10 respondents access weblog for news information. In India, however, weblog have yet not gained popularity amongst consumers.

Synovate Media Research Asia Pacific director Steve Garton states that the survey provides a detailed look at consumers' preferences for news media and content and the way in which news connects people to the broader community.

"The Synovate News Consumption study shows that consumers enjoy a wide diet of news, from entertainment to current affairs, and source this information from a variety of media be it through new media like weblogs and mobile phones, or the traditional staples of television, newspaper or radio, " says Garton.

The Synovate News Consumption Survey was conducted among more than 7,900 consumers from all socio-economic classes in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

THE NEWS ON TRADITIONAL MEDIA RULES

Respondents were asked how frequently, on average, they used different types of media for information on news or current affairs and revealed a surprising preference for traditional staples.

"When investigating the types of media consumers use to access news, the importance of traditional means is clear with people continuing to turn to the media they know and are comfortable with for their news information," Garton said.

"The most popular news media is television, with 81 per cent of Asian consumers saying they tune into TV at least once a day for news and current affairs information.

"And despite talk about the impact of digital media, newspapers are the second most popular medium with 46 per cent of respondents across Asia reading a newspaper at least once a day for news information," Garton added.

While Singapore and Hong Kong are the region's most avid newspaper readers with 67 per cent and 61per cent of respondents respectively reading a newspaper at least once a day for news information, Indonesians (20 per cent ) and Filipinos (28 per cent ) remain glued to the television.

"Radio is the third most important source of news and current affairs information, especially in Hong Kong (37 per cent ), Thailand (39 per cent ) and Singapore (38 per cent ) where more than one third of respondents switch on their radios for news updates at least once a day," said Garton

"But it's not always TV anchors, columnists and talk back hosts who deliver the news, as the survey shows that family and friends also spread the word with 26 per cent of respondents using word of mouth at least once a day for information on news and current affairs."

While digital media still lags behind traditional means, its popularity is growing with 19 per cent of respondents using the Internet for information on news and current affairs between once a day and two to three times a week.

"In countries with high Internet penetration rates like Hong Kong and Singapore, 25 per cent of the population now use the Internet to access news and current affairs on a daily basis," Garton added.

THE NEWS ON WHAT PEOPLE READ ALL ABOUT

To determine news subject preferences, Synovate asked respondents to rank the types of news they are most interested in.

"Current affairs are at the top of the list for two thirds of respondents when it comes to the type of news consumers prefer," adds Garton.

"However, the pervasiveness of celebrity culture across Asia is clear with 54 per cent choosing entertainment news as their second preference, ahead of sport (39 per cent) as the third choice."

THE NEWS ON TRUST AND CARRER SUCCESS

Synovate asked respondents a number of statements to determine their attitudes to a wide range of media issues and when it comes to trusting the news, it seems to be a matter of country rather than the heart.

"Across the region, an average of 58per cent of respondents agreed with the statement 'I trust a lot of the news stories I see or hear', with results differing greatly between countries," Garton said.

Thais are the most cynical news consumers regionally with only 28 per cent of respondents agreeing that they trust the news, followed by Chinese residents in major cities (43 per cent) and Filipinos (42 per cent).

At the other end of the spectrum, a majority of Indians (78 per cent) and Indonesians (73 per cent) trust a lot of the news stories they see or hear.

"When trying to understand why people watch, read and listen to the news, it's clear that a feeling of belonging is important to people, with 70 per cent of respondents agreeing with the statement that they like to keep in touch with the news as it makes them feel part of the community," Garton said.

"News also serves a practical purpose, with six in 10 respondents across Asia agreeing that keeping in touch with the news is important for their career success."

Indians (71 per cent), Filipinos (68 per cent) and Thais (67 per cent ) are the strongest believers that news and career success go hand in hand while only 32 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong agree that keeping up with the news is important for their work.

In June 2005, a series of questions were explored via AsiaBUS, Synovate's monthly omnibus survey. A representative sample of consumers aged 15-64 bracket were interviewed via telephone (face to face in the Philippines) in the markets of China (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan), Hong Kong, Thailand (Bangkok), India, Indonesia, Singapore and Philippines (Manila).

THE NEWS ON A DIGITAL FUTURE

In order to get a better understanding of the impact digital technology will have upon the future of news consumption, respondents were asked about their digital news habits over the past week

"The biggest development in digital news is the emergence of personal online diaries known as 'weblogs' and across the region over one in 10 respondents had gone online to access a weblog for news information in the past week," Garton said.

"In some countries this rate is even higher, with 31 per cent of respondents in Thailand, 22 per cent of respondents in China and 19 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong indicating that they had read a weblog for news information in the past week."

Mobile phones are also emerging media for news and current affairs in China and Thailand where 18 per cent and 16 per cent of respondents respectively had received news or headlines on their mobile phone in the past week. However, adoption in other countries remains relatively low.

When it comes to the long running debate over subscription based news websites, only 4 per cent of respondents across all the countries had accessed a news website for which they had paid to subscribe. Respondents from Singapore (9 per cent), Hong Kong (8 per cent) and China (7per cent) were more likely to have accessed a paid news website.

Results

Media Frequency

Question: On average, how often do you use each of the following media for information on news or current affairs?

	Internet	TV	News- paper	Mobile phone	Radio	Magazine	Word of mouth
Sample size	8013	8022	8016	8022	8022	8017	8023
At least once a day	11%	81%	46%	6%	21%	6%	26%
4-6 times a week	3%	8%	11%	2%	5%	3%	8%
2-3 times a week	5%	5%	11%	3%	9%	9%	13%
Once a week	4%	2%	8%	3%	5%	12%	10%
Once a month	2%	1%	3%	2%	4%	9%	4%
Seldom/Never	74%	3%	20%	84%	56%	62%	38%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%

Favourite news content

Question: I am now going to read out some different types of news. Please rank the types of news you are most interested in.

	Total	China	Hong Kong	India	Singapore	Indonesia	Thailand	Philippines
Sample size	7,978	1,948	1,000	1,019	979	1,020	1,012	1,000
Current affairs	65%	59%	75%	55%	70%	87%	71%	54%
Entertainment	54%	48%	38%	61%	49%	71%	39%	43%
Sport	39%	30%	25%	56%	29%	43%	35%	31%
Politics	33%	26%	15%	38%	29%	33%	56%	35%
Fashion	19%	24%	18%	21%	17%	15%	13%	18%
Technology	16%	19%	15%	13%	19%	12%	18%	24%
Weather	15%	29%	14%	7%	7%	4%	12%	25%
Business	14%	10%	3%	17%	14%	6%	22%	38%
Financial	13%	19%	22%	8%	17%	3%	11%	20%
Traffic	9%	16%	5%	2%	6%	8%	13%	10%
Horse racing	-	-	6%	-	-	-	-	-

Breaking news

Question: When a major disaster or news story breaks, which media do you turn to first for information?

	Total	China	Hong Kong	India	Singapore	Indonesia	Thailand	Philippines
Sample size	7,943	1,922	1,000	1,019	971	1,020	1,011	1,000
Television	80%	60%	71%	88%	74%	94%	80%	92%
Internet	7%	19%	8%	2%	5%	-	6%	1%
Newspaper	7%	15%	7%	5%	9%	2%	9%	2%
Radio	3%	2%	10%	-	9%	2%	2%	4%
Word of mouth	2%	1%	1%	3%	1%	1%	1%	1%
Mobile phone	-	1%	-	1%		-	-	1%

Media habits

Question: Which of the following have you done in the past week?

	Total	China	Hong Kong	India	Singapore	Indonesia	Thailand	Philippines
Sample Size	7,926	1,912	1,000	1,019	964	1,020	1,011	1,000
Read weekend newspapers for over an hour	42%	47%	52%	44%	54%	30%	45%	35%
Gone online to read a weblog	11%	22%	19%	1%	16%	1%	31%	7%
Received news or headlines on my mobile phone	9%	18%	8%	3%	7%	2%	16%	9%
Emailed some interesting news to a friend or colleague	8%	13%	14%	4%	16%	-	11%	7%
Received regular news email from a site I have subscribed to	7%	11%	13%	3%	13%	-	15%	8%
Listened to some news on digital radio using my PC	5%	8%	11%	1%	11%	1%	11%	3%
Accessed a news website I have paid to use or subscribe	4%	7%	8%	2%	9%	-	4%	3%
Non of the above	46%	31%	29%	51%	31%	69%	31%	56%

Agreement on "I access news from different sources to get a balanced view."