Spaniards consume news through increasingly diverse digital channels. If a few years ago access to information on the Internet was practically limited to the web editions of newspapers, in the last year multiplatform news consumption has been consolidated, with social networks as the main emerging modality . According to the Digital News Report 2014 study published by the Reuters Institute of the University of Oxford and the new Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life of the University of Navarra, 46% of Spanish Internet users already receive news through social networks at least once a week, with a special acceptance among those under 35 years of age.   

In Spain, social networks are practically tied in popularity as source with newspaper websites and mobile applications on the Internet (49%) and with printed newspapers themselves (47%). However, they do not oust general television, which, with 76%, remains the main medium for receiving news. All these media are clearly ahead of other modalities such as radio news programs, blogs or printed magazines, among others, which make up the weekly information per diem expenses of Spaniards.

Based on 18,859 questionnaires to internet users in ten countries, the Digital News Report 2014 is the largest international study on news consumption on the network. In Spain, 2,017 questionnaires were completed, complemented by similar surveys in the markets of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Japan and urban areas of Brazil. The international comparative study can be downloaded free of charge from digitalnewsreport.org. The national report on Spain is also available at available on the website of the Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life of the University of Navarra: unav.edu/web/digital-studies.

This report provides data relevant regarding the habits of news consumption on the Internet. For example, it confirms the growing use of mobile devices for accessing journalistic information. In Spain, digital news consumption is still mainly done from computers (68% of respondents), but smartphones (46%) and tablets (21%) are emerging strongly. In fact, for 22% of Internet users surveyed in Spain, mobile is already the main device for accessing news, especially among those under 35 years of age.

Credibility of Spanish journalists

In the framework of the ten countries studied, Spain stands out for some particularities. The main one is the value given by Spanish Internet users to the credibility staff of journalists. Spain is the only country where the public claims to be more attracted by the identity of journalists (60%) than by news brands (55%). There is also a preference for plural and impartial journalism: 81% of respondents say they prefer "news in which the reporter tries to reflect a variety of opinions and leaves it up to the reader or viewer to decide which one to choose", compared to 19% who prefer "news in which the reporter defends a point of view and provides evidence in favor of it".                 

Another important aspect has to do with the perception of paying for news on the Internet. Only 8.5% of Internet users surveyed in Spain claim to have bought news on the Internet in the last year, with a certain difference between men (11%) and women (6%). In fact, the Internet users most likely to pay for online information are men between 25 and 34 years of age; one in four respondents in this segment say they have paid for news in the last year. In Spain, almost half of the users who buy news content do so under modality subscription, and six out of ten have made at least one occasional purchase of issues or applications in the last year. Among those users who have not purchased news in digital media, one in five considers it likely that they will do so in the future.                             

As far as news formats are concerned, Internet users in Spain are increasingly receptive to multimedia and interactive content. Some 22% say they listen to current affairs audios, 19% watch news photo galleries and 17% watch journalistic videos on a regular basis. Likewise, in the ten countries studied, Spain stands out as one of the countries where users are most inclined to participate in a wide variety of ways. Four activities on social networks stand out: disseminating news (30%), commenting on it (25%), rating it (25%) and talking about it with friends and colleagues (24%). In contrast, only 7% of respondents say they comment on news in digital publications, and only 5% post photos or videos on journalistic websites.

Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life

This third edition of the Digital News Report has been made possible thanks to the partnership of several academic partners, led by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. In addition to the Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life at the University of Navarra, the Hans Bredow Institute in Hamburg (Germany), the Sciences Po School of Journalism (France) and Roskilde University (Denmark) have also participated. The study was sponsored by Google, BBC Global News, Ofcom, Newsworks, Edelman, France Télévisions and the Foundation for research in the Media Industry (Finland).

The Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life, associated with the School of Communication at the University of Navarra, was founded in September 2013 with the mission statement to foster research on the forms and impact of digital activity in the complex and changing field of communication. The creation of the Center is another milestone in the academic trajectory of School, in which digital media have been addressed at teaching and research since the internet emerged as a global medium in the mid-1990s. More than 30 faculty currently work in the Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life, which comprises three areas: people, content and business. Each area in turn comprises several fields of research, such as the use of social networks, digital journalism, interactive advertising , new business models for communication companies, and the impact of the Internet on electoral campaigns, among others. The Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life's website research and publications are available at unav.edu/web/digital-studies and on Twitter: @digitalunav.