Tik Tok… time catches up with the news
New Zealand’s future creative leaders don’t read the news – and they rely on TikTok for what they consider to be relevant information.
At a time when Newshub owners have announced a withdrawal from New Zealand’s news field and the future of many print products are up in the air, their failure to spark interest amongst potential followers has been laid bare by a simple survey at Wintec.
Journalism students Jordan Sing and Isabella Root gate crashed three classes of their fellow students to ask about their news consumption.
Budding creative professionals were given questions such as “do you read or watch the news?” Most said no. Some even appeared proud of the fact they had little knowledge of current affairs.
As for local body news, while many paid rent in Hamilton, they showed little understanding of the impact of local government on their lives. Almost all students knew which day their rubbish was collected and which electorate they lived in – but hardly any named Paula Southgate as Hamilton’s mayor.
A common response was: “I don’t pay attention because it doesn’t really affect me”.
The responses appeared to take their tutors by surprise. They also came from a cohort of students which has greater immediate access via devices to news presented by journalists than any before them.
When the internet reach became almost universal, New Zealand media outlets began to publish their stories online, free. More than 15 years on – as major publishers move more and more behind paywalls – of the under 25s surveyed, none had ever purchased a newspaper or subscribed to a premium service online.
Many of the students surveyed quoted social media, especially YouTube and TikTok, as their sources of news.
“Newspapers still exist?”
Student comment from a recent survey about media consumption
The plot thickened when students admitted that they got their first cell phones at an average age of 12 years old. The survey revealed that the average screen time across all devices was about five hours a day, and more than 80 per cent of that was spent viewing entertainment sites or apps. They have access to news presented by journalists working for NZME, Stuff, TVNZ, Radio New Zealand and Newshub – but choose not to read it.
The impact of the changing trends of media consumption was emphasised when Newshub pointed to its failure to attract advertisers to keep its news content economical. It and TVNZ then announced plans to cut more than 350 jobs. Last week a century old newspaper, the Wairoa Star, announced it was closing.
