According to eMarketer, adults in the UK in 2019 spend on average 23% of their time with media watching television, 15% listening to radio, compared to 55% of time with media spent online across smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. While there are important generational and socio-economic differences, digital media already dominate media use in the population as a whole. This competition for attention from, for example, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix and in the future perhaps Tiktok and others will be increasingly important going forward as television and radio use is declining, while people are spending more and more time online and especially with social media and other digital platforms, as Ofcom has shown. The BBC is the only online news provider in the UK more widely used as a source of online news than search engines and social media, which are increasingly important and popular ways for people to find and access online news. BBC in a digital, mobile, and platform-dominated media environment Similarly, Ofcom has found that while BBC News has maintained its reputation among most people for trusted and accurate reporting, it is seen by some as representing a white, middle class and London-centric point of view that is not relevant to their lives. Like other public service media –and unlike some commercial media– its news audience thus tends to skew towards older people and those with higher levels of education. While it is widely used, the BBC has somewhat lower reach among younger people and people with more limited formal education. However, 14% said they thought it had done a bad job - which was also among the highest. When asked how well they thought each news outlet covered the 2019 election generally, 43% of our survey respondents said the BBC had done a good job, a higher score than any other news outlet in the country. The combination of wide reach and politically diverse audience suggests that public service broadcasting can contribute to cross-cutting exposure (ensuring people see more diverse news) and reduce the gap in cross-cutting exposure between the most and least politically engaged individuals, as other researchers have shown. Though the BBC is slightly less trusted by people who identify with the political right than by people in the centre and on the left, it is still as trusted on the right as major conservative newspapers. Similarly, the UK’s independent communications regulator Ofcom has found that large majorities of audiences in the UK value public service media providers like the BBC very highly for providing trustworthy news programmes that help people understand what is going on in the world. It is the most popular source of news among both Conservative and Labour voters, and among both Leave and Remain voters. The BBC is very widely used across the political spectrum. According to the BBC itself, it also reaches more than 400 million people globally with news every week. It is also more widely used as a source of news than many of its peers among other public service media. The BBC is by far the most widely used source of news in the UK both online and offline, and it is one of the most highly trusted sources of news. The public’s use of and perception of the BBC In this piece, we summarize key findings from recent empirical work from the Reuters Institute and others to help inform ongoing public debate and policy discussions about public service media in the UK and beyond, with links to the underlying research. A dramatic, ongoing disruption of its entire media sector as audiences embrace digital-, mobile-, and platform-dominated media environment where international commercial competitors like Facebook, Google, and Netflix play a more and more important role and many domestic media face strong commercial headwinds as they face far more intense competition for attention, consumer spending, and advertising.The current licence fee funding settlement coming to an end in early 2022, and some in the new British government looking critically at the current funding model.Internal issues over gender pay gaps, coverage of controversial issues like climate change and racism, and disagreements over where the lines of due impartiality should be drawn.Intense scrutiny for its coverage of Brexit, domestic politics, and more, with frequent allegations of bias.The challenges facing the BBC and its next Director General include: With the BBC and other public service media facing increased political and public scrutiny, and a number of different challenges, this is a good time to take stock about what research can tell us about the role of the BBC and public service news in the UK.
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