MEDIA MYTHS & REALITIES

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Street Smarts

Compare and Contrast

In its third year, Media Myths & Realities now has enough data to offer year-to-year comparisons of media usage since 2006 in the U.S. and since 2007 in Brazil. At the same time, the addition of the U.K. in 2008 enables a look at the latest media consumption habits among consumers in all three countries. There are many points of comparison and contrast; this section of “Street Smarts” highlights five that are notable.

National newspapers are key information sources in the U.K. and Brazil

• Consumers in Brazil read national newspapers at more than three times the rate of consumers in the U.S. (62 percent compared to 18 percent), and U.K. consumers are close behind (53 percent).

Blogs are gaining traction in the U.S. and Brazil

• Consumers in the U.S. and Brazil reported significant increases in blog use in 2008. In the U.S., 24 percent of consumers used them, compared to 19 percent in 2007 and just 13 percent in 2006, while in Brazil, 52 percent used them, up from 43 percent in 2007.
• In the U.K., just 13 percent of consumers read nonjournalist blogs, and a mere 9 percent read blogs by journalists.

Cable network news is growing in importance

• Use of cable network news rose in both the U.S. (up to 49 percent from 46 percent in 2007) and in Brazil (up to 58 percent from 55 percent). But it is less popular in the U.K., with just 35 percent of consumers using it.

Shopping Web sites are an information destination

• Among U.S. consumers, the use of shopping Web sites for information has doubled since 2006, up to 35 percent from 17 percent. But they are even more popular in the U.K. (46 percent) and Brazil (53 percent).

Magazines are winners in Brazil

• Brazilians read magazines at much higher rates than consumers in the U.S. and the U.K., and news magazines are the biggest winners, with 67 percent of Brazilians reading them. Business and consumer magazines tie for reader attention, with 48 percent of consumers saying they read both.
• In the U.K., 23 percent of consumers read consumer magazines, while just 8 percent and 4 percent read news and business publications, respectively.
• In the U.S., 18 percent of consumers read magazines. (No data are available for business and news publications.)

Where Consumers Turn First for News and Information

Consumers in the U.S., the U.K. and Brazil turn first to television and the Internet to get information. But in Brazil, consumers turn first to the Internet at more than twice the rate of television.