The proportion of the public interested in news and current affairs has rocketed, according to a new survey.
The “Daily Life” survey – conducted on behalf of the BBC to get a snapshot of everyday living – reveals that nearly two-thirds of both tabloid and broadsheet readers say they are more interested in news and current affairs than they used to be.
Tabloid readers placed more importance on regional news, with 40 per cent saying they found news from their own region the most interesting – twice as many as among broadsheet readers.
Also, tabloid readers tended to watch more television, with 18.5 per cent of their day (4.4 hours) spent in front of the box, as opposed to 15 per cent (3.6 hours) for broadsheet readers. Tabloid readers were more likely to say they could not live without TV (59 per cent) against 45 per cent of broadsheet readers.
Broadsheet readers spent longer reading the paper, 2.6 per cent of their day against 1.8 per cent for tabloid readers. Thirty-nine per cent of broadsheet readers used the internet on an average day, against 28 per cent of tabloid readers.
Broadsheet readers were more likely to read a book – 36 per cent against 22 per cent for tabloid readers.
The survey covered 6,000 licence-fee payers and resulted in 18,000 days worth of information. The survey has been conducted every decade since 1930 and aims to track changes in the way people spend their time and consume media. It was carried out in conjunction with Taylor Nelson Sofres.
By Wale Azeez
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