For over 170 years, The Economist has been in the media business. However, the rise of social media has profoundly changed the media landscape. Social media is a fundamental shift in user behavior rather than just a new distribution channel, as people now discover news themselves through social media rather than waiting to be told. This represents an opportunity for The Economist to directly connect its journalists to readers and build trust in its brand. The Economist harnesses the power of social media platforms to share content, reach new audiences through word-of-mouth, and reward loyal fans.

2. For
one
hundred
and
seventy
years
The
Economist
has
been
in
the
media
business

3. In
recent
years
the
rise
of
social
media
has
profundly
altered
the
underlying
media
status
quo

4. Social
media
is
not
just
a
channel
shi=
it
is
a
much
more
fundamental
behaviour
shi=

5. In
a
social
media
world
we
don’t
wait
to
be
told
what’s
happening
we
discover
it
ourselves

6. In
a
social
media
world
we
don’t
wait
to
be
told
what’s
happening
we
discover
it
ourselves
occupy key positions online across the globe.
Varying gateways to news
The rise of new global digital intermediaries like Google,
Facebook, and Apple influence the flow of traffic online
and increase the competition for digital advertising,
often putting pressure on industry incumbents like
primarily with competition, data protection, and privacy
issues.
But how important are these new digital
intermediaries actually, compared to established players,
when it comes to how people find news online? This
year’s Digital News Report provides useful comparative
data on this question, summarised in Figure 4.2 below.
Figure 4.2: Brands, search, and social as gateways to news online
UK Germany Spain Italy France Denmark US Urban Brazil Japan
Branded sites 34% 32% 38% 35% 16% 55% 20% 47% 28%
Search engines 24% 40% 40% 49% 45% 30% 33% 44% 39%
Social networks 17% 15% 45% 38% 14% 22% 30% 60% 12%
Q10: Thinking about how you find news online, which are the main ways that you come across news stories? (multiple answers allowed, only some
responses included here)
Base: Various
The survey results reveal a number of similarities but also
interesting and important differences in terms of how
people find news online. In general, there is no question
that search and social media are becoming increasingly
important gateways to news, supplementing users
going directly to branded sites – but they are not equally
important in all countries.
First of all, branded websites (of news organisations
like broadcasters, newspapers, or online-only providers)
amongst their main gateway to news, and these
differences do not correlate in any simple way with
either the market share of a given search engine (like
Google) or the overall ICT development index of the
country in question. Search engines (by virtue of its
market share almost invariably Google) represent the
most widely named gateway to news online across
much of Central and Southern Europe, with between
40% (Germany) and 49% (Italy) of online news users
Source:
Reuters
Ins.tute
Digital
News
Report
2013

7. Nor
do
we
just
passively
consume
media
anymore
we
acAvely
parAcipate
in
its
creaAon

8. Nor
do
we
just
passively
consume
media
anymore
we
acAvely
parAcipate
in
its
creaAon
First of all, it is striking that, even amongst our survey
respondents (online news users) and in countries like the
UK or the US, where about two-thirds of all internet users
are also Facebook users, talking with friends and
colleagues about news in offline social settings is far and
away the most widespread form of‘participatory news
use’. (Going beyond our sample of online adults, this is
arguably even more so.)
Second, it is clear the online forms of sharing,
commenting on, and writing about news remain
minority pursuits in every single one of the nine
countries covered here – even amongst our sample of
online news users, and even in countries like Denmark,
Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US, where internet use
has been a majority phenomenon for a decade or more.
Most of our respondents presumably use email
have partially different approaches to finding news
online – branded sites and search seem about equally
important for all but younger demographics use social
networking sites more, also for news.)
See Alison Preston essay for more on the impact of
demographics, p. 97
are particularly interesting as they document a much
lower level of overall engagement than some might
have expected, as well as significant differences from
country to country, suggesting the existence of different
‘participatory cultures’.21
Figure 4.3 collects the main
findings regarding how people share, comment on, and
create news online.
Figure 4.3: Sharing, commenting, and creating news
UK Germany Spain Italy France Denmark US Urban Brazil Japan
Share a news story
via email
10% 10% 24% 19% 18% 10% 23% 32% 4%
Share a news story
via a social network
11% 8% 30% 33% 14% 13% 22% 44% 8%
Comment on news
via social network
10% 8% 27% 26% 10% 11% 21% 38% 7%
Write a blog on a
news issue
1% 2% 3% 5% 2% 2% 4% 5% 4%
Talk with friends and
colleagues
44% 39% 55% 50% 34% 49% 51% 43% 17%
(Q13)‘During an average week in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage?’
(Multiple answers allowed, only some responses included here.)
Source:
Reuters
Ins.tute
Digital
News
Report
2013

9. And
we
rely
less
on
a
few
trusted
media
sources
and
more
on
an
increasingly
complex
media
ecosytem

10. And
we
rely
less
on
a
few
trusted
media
sources
and
more
on
an
increasingly
complex
media
ecosytem

11. Yet
for
The
Economist
the
social
media
opportunity
has
proved
to
be
as
big
as
the
challenge

12. Through
social
media
we
build
trust
in
our
brand
by
connecAng
our
audience
directly
with
our
journalists

13. We
use
social
media
to
establish
new
habits
and
behaviours
around
the
consumpAon
of
our
content

14. We
create
value
for
our
readers
by
enabling
them
to
leverage
the
social
currency
of
our
brand

15. We
harness
the
extraordinary
power
of
word
of
mouth
on
social
media
plaForms
to
reach
new
audiences

16. We
also
proacAvely
share
some
of
our
more
unusual
content
on
social
media
to
challenge
misconcepAons
about
our
business

17. And
criAcally
we
use
social
media
plaForms
to
reward
the
loyalty
of
our
most
passionate
fans

18. And
criAcally
we
use
social
media
plaForms
to
reward
the
loyalty
of
our
most
passionate
fans

19. Some
of
our
social
media
iniAaAves
our
specific
to
our
business
but
most
are
just
about
a
new
way
of
doing
business