Element 68Element 45Element 44Element 63Element 64Element 43Element 41Element 46Element 47Element 69Element 76Element 62Element 61Element 81Element 82Element 50Element 52Element 79Element 79Element 7Element 8Element 73Element 74Element 17Element 16Element 75Element 13Element 12Element 14Element 15Element 31Element 32Element 59Element 58Element 71Element 70Element 88Element 88Element 56Element 57Element 54Element 55Element 18Element 20Element 23Element 65Element 21Element 22iconsiconsElement 83iconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsiconsElement 84iconsiconsElement 36Element 35Element 1Element 27Element 28Element 30Element 29Element 24Element 25Element 2Element 1Element 66

Types of Information Orientation and Information Levels Among Young and Old News Audiences

Types of Information Orientation and Information Levels Among Young and Old News Audiences

Leonie Wunderlich and Dr. Sascha Hölig present the results of the surveys conducted within the framework of the project Use the News in their article recently published in the journal Media and Communication.
 
Users can be characterised by a certain pattern of news-related attitudes, the use of sources and their relevance for opinion formation as well as the perceived level of information. Leonie Wunderlich and Sascha Hölig have examined how these patterns differ between and within three age groups and explore the connection with socio-political knowledge. The results show that not all young people are necessarily less interested and engaged in news and journalism than older people. Rather, it is a combination of interest, use and perceived relevance of journalistic sources that is relevant for positive effects on information status.
 
The paper is available as an open access publication.
Download the article here (PDF)

 

Abstract
Studies on audiences’ information behavior paint a mixed picture of young and old people’s interests, their involvement with news and information, and the effects news consumption has on their learning. By adapting Giddens’s structuration approach, this study aims to assess audience behavior and its relationship with journalism by comparing the use behavior and attitudes of three age groups – adolescents, young adults, and adults – as characterized by distinct media socialization and use patterns. We identify types of information orientation – that is, a typology of behavior and attitudes towards news and information – for the examination of news audiences. Based on a representative face-to-face survey (N = 1,508) with German adolescents (14–17 years old), young adults (18–24 years old), and adults (40–53 years old), we identify four types that can be characterized by a certain pattern of news-related attitudes, the use of sources, and their relevance to opinion formation, as well as the perceived information level of participants. We examine how these types of information orientation differ between and among the three age groups and explore their relationship with audiences’ socio-political knowledge. The findings show that not all young people are necessarily less interested and engaged with news and journalism than older people. Moreover, it is a combination of interest with the use and perceived relevance of journalistic sources that is relevant for positive effects on information levels.
 
Wunderlich, L.; Hölig, S. (2022): Types of Information Orientation and Information Levels Among Young and Old News Audiences. In: Media and Communication 10/3. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i3.5293
 
 

Types of Information Orientation and Information Levels Among Young and Old News Audiences

Leonie Wunderlich and Dr. Sascha Hölig present the results of the surveys conducted within the framework of the project Use the News in their article recently published in the journal Media and Communication.
 
Users can be characterised by a certain pattern of news-related attitudes, the use of sources and their relevance for opinion formation as well as the perceived level of information. Leonie Wunderlich and Sascha Hölig have examined how these patterns differ between and within three age groups and explore the connection with socio-political knowledge. The results show that not all young people are necessarily less interested and engaged in news and journalism than older people. Rather, it is a combination of interest, use and perceived relevance of journalistic sources that is relevant for positive effects on information status.
 
The paper is available as an open access publication.
Download the article here (PDF)

 

Abstract
Studies on audiences’ information behavior paint a mixed picture of young and old people’s interests, their involvement with news and information, and the effects news consumption has on their learning. By adapting Giddens’s structuration approach, this study aims to assess audience behavior and its relationship with journalism by comparing the use behavior and attitudes of three age groups – adolescents, young adults, and adults – as characterized by distinct media socialization and use patterns. We identify types of information orientation – that is, a typology of behavior and attitudes towards news and information – for the examination of news audiences. Based on a representative face-to-face survey (N = 1,508) with German adolescents (14–17 years old), young adults (18–24 years old), and adults (40–53 years old), we identify four types that can be characterized by a certain pattern of news-related attitudes, the use of sources, and their relevance to opinion formation, as well as the perceived information level of participants. We examine how these types of information orientation differ between and among the three age groups and explore their relationship with audiences’ socio-political knowledge. The findings show that not all young people are necessarily less interested and engaged with news and journalism than older people. Moreover, it is a combination of interest with the use and perceived relevance of journalistic sources that is relevant for positive effects on information levels.
 
Wunderlich, L.; Hölig, S. (2022): Types of Information Orientation and Information Levels Among Young and Old News Audiences. In: Media and Communication 10/3. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i3.5293
 
 

About this publication

Year of publication

2022

RELATED KEYWORDS

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and receive the Institute's latest news via email.

SUBSCRIBE!