A White Paper on the findings of the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey 2013
IN-DEPTH INSIGHTS
As the Arab Spring fades from memory, news consumption has declined; newspaper and magazine readership, in particular is plummeting.
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While still high by global standards, the percentage of Arab youth who say they update themselves on news and current affairs on a daily basis – which spiked from just 18% in 2011 to 52% in 2012 – declined to 46% in 2013. Television remains the primary source of news for 72% of regional youth (up from 62% in 2012), followed by online news sources (59% compared to 51% in 2012) and newspapers (24% down from 32% in 2012).
Magazines also continue to face challenges: the percentage of young Arabs who say they get their news from magazines stood at 8% this year, up marginally from 6% in 2012 but down significantly from 25% in 2010 and 17% in 2011. Radio, too, continues to decline in popularity among Arab youth – cited by just 6% of regional youth as a source of news in 2013 – representing a steady decline from a high of 41% in 2010, then 29% in 2011 and 10% in 2012.
For newspaper publishers, the fact that a quarter (24%) of all Arab youth say they turn to print dailies for their daily news will come as cold comfort, since this represents a steady decline from a high of 65% in 2010, then 62% in 2011 and 32% in 2012.
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