The results show the importance of traditional journalistic values and a high level of media literacy in relation to tabloid reporting and social media. Nevertheless, the challenge for public service media is to build long-term trust among young users in their own media offerings.
In mid-May, Gisela Reiter, Teaching & Research Associate at FHWien der WKW, and Minna Horowitz from the Finnish University of Helsinki presented their findings on media use and trust building among young people in Austria and Finland at the international RIPE conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
In their conference paper “Supporting young audiences? Three questions for PSM from qualitative analyses of young people’s media use and the multidimensionality of trust in Austria and Finland”, the researchers presented a country comparison on the topic of media literacy, media use and the associated trust building of young users in journalism. Country-specific media offerings and usage habits were compared in several qualitative studies conducted simultaneously in both countries.
Focus on innovation and sustainability in public service media
The international RIPE (Re-Invention of the Public Enterprises) conferences are held every two years in cooperation with the respective national public media provider and focus on the development of the sector. This year’s focus was on innovation and sustainability.
Trust and media use among adolescents
The researchers analyzed different strategies of media use and different dimensions of trust. Social media, peer influence and specific knowledge communities played a central role for young people. Other findings of the study showed that, contrary to popular opinion, young people respect traditional journalistic values and are often very media literate. They understand the motives behind market-driven sensationalism and are well aware of the dangers of echo chambers in social media as news sources.
A complex challenge of building trust
The study’s multidimensional concept of trust underscores the difficulty of building trust in media over time, which is particularly relevant for young users. The key recommendations of the researchers are therefore: public service providers should offer relevant content on all platforms, further expand existing offerings to increase media literacy, and seek regular contact with audiences.
Challenges of the Digital Media Landscape
During the conference, the participating experts discussed individual topics intensively in various working groups. In addition to identifying current challenges, the goal was to develop appropriate measures for public service media. Gisela Reiter chaired the working group on “Audiences and Engagement”. The following key findings and recommendations for action were developed for public service media organizations to meet the challenges of the digital media landscape and to strengthen the trust of young target groups in public service media.
- Invest in communication and information about public services
- Increased and regular interaction with audiences
- Involving and encouraging young audiences to create media content
- Rethinking the methodology of measuring reach and the “success” of media offerings
- Discussing the dilemma of risk taking vs. risk mitigation in relation to the content provided
- Embedding public consultation and transparency in law
The study was also presented at #YouthMediaLife 2024 at the University of Vienna.