The OC&C Digital Media Index: Poles apart

Fake news, Twitter bots, and the Great Divide. Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z. Polarisation remains the core topic of the news world in 2019 as the political landscape remains fractured, and as differences in news consumption behaviour becomes still more pronounced across generations. As the news media landscape responds to these forces OC&C ran its Digital Media Index survey, asking 22,000 consumers about their views on different brands and their opinions on the hot button issues of 2019.

The key findings from our news report:

• Polarisation was the major theme – the news landscape is becoming more divided reflecting the political backdrop (especially in the US)
• Fake news concern is widespread. Facebook take the blame, and many think they should take responsibility
• Younger generations are turning away from social feeds as their primary source of news and in general are trying to spend less time on social media
• Gen Z are the most demanding generation – brands must pair trustworthiness with entertainment
• A new generation of digital native brands are achieving cut-through (for younger groups) with experimental approaches.