Analysis of Media Usage in the UAE - Report Example

Analysis of media usage in UAE Your name: Institution name: Contents 1.0 Introduction……………..………………………….………………..3 2.0 Readership per Week…………………………..………..…………..3 3.0 Multiplatform Usage.........................................................................5 4.0 Print and Online Circulars…………………………………….…….7 5.0 Newspaper Platform Users…………………………………………..8 6.0 The News Environment…………………………………………….10 7.0 Multitasking……………………………………….………………..13 8.0 Conclusion …….……………………………………………………15 9.0 References…………………………………………………………...16 1.0 Introduction The preliminary results from a Pan-Arab research showing that although media users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) support the freedom to express opinion, they also believe the media in general should be tightly regulated. This research surveyed 50 adults in UAE shedding light on how people in the region use media, and whether they trust news or information that originate from the media. Dennis E. Everette, Dean and CEO of NU-Q said, “This study considers how people in UAE use of media is closely connected to what they think about the media and how important various outlets of information are to readers in their daily lives (Dennis & Merrill, 2006). This report pulls together findings from surveys, syndicated research and customs conducted across UAE in 2014. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires given to different people (Dubai School of Government, 2011). The aim of this report will therefore analyze similarities and differences among media usage across UAE and offer a glimpse of the early behavior and demographic trends associated with media in Australia. 2.0 Readership per Week Interview Question: How many times do you read a newspaper/week? How many times do you read a newspaper/Week 7 Times 6 Times 5 Times 4 Times 3 Times 2 Times 1 Time No of Respondents 20 9 6 5 6 3 1 Newspaper remains the most form information dissemination, according to data from the National Readership Survey. a poll of 50 respondents found that 20 respondents read their newspaper 7 times per week either in online or print. Nine respondents read 6 times/week, 6 people read at least 5 times/week, 5 respondent read at least 4 times/week, 6 respondent read at least 3 times/week, 3 respondent read at least 2 times/week, and 1 respondent read at least 1 time per week Figure 1: Readership per week 2.1 Average Weekly Bill across 50 newspaper Respondents How many times do you read a newspaper/Week 7 Times 6 Times 5 Times 4 Times 3 Times 2 Times 1 Time No of Respondents 20 9 6 5 6 3 1 Total Cost* 1400 540 300 200 180 60 10 *The cost of a newspaper is Dhs 10 ( or 3 dollars) Mean=2690/50=53.8 Dhs The mean also referred as the average, is used to measure the center of a numerical data set. In other words, mean is commonly used method of describing central tendency (Dubai School of Government, 2011). The mean may not be a fair representation of the data, because the average is easily influenced by outliers (large or very small values in the dataset that are not typical). The weekly average cost of buying a newspaper is 53.8 Dhs (ECSSR, 2011). 2.2 Variability Variability refers to how “spread out” a group of scores is (in our case monthly bill). As seen in fig 2 below variability is more spread out. The difference among customers is much greater (ECSSR, 2011). 2.2.1 Range The range is the simplest measure of variability. The range is simply the highest score minus the lowest score. In the dataset the range is 70-10=60 Dhs . 2.2.2 Variance Variability can also be defined in terms of how close the scores in the distribution are to the middle of the distribution. The variance can be defined as the average squared difference of the scores from the mean (Dennis & Merrill, 2006). 3.0 Multiplatform Usage Interview Question: which platform do you use to access news? Among the 7 in 10 respondents who use the internet to access information, 75% of the respondents read local daily newspapers on one or more of these channels in an average week (ECSSR, 2011), including: 44 per cent using a laptop or desktop computer 60 per cent reading print editions. 48 per cent reading any digital editions 19 per cent using a Smartphone to access news. 9 per cent using a tablet device (Android or iPad) (Media usage is estimated to be conservative. For example, NAA’s 2013 “How people in UAE shop and spends” survey found that 14 per cent of respondents not counted as “readers” in standard readership questions but still consult newspapers for information relating to entertainment planning, shopping information, weather and the like). Figure 2: Platform usage Platform Print & one or more digital platforms read the printed newspaper only read only digital versions multiple platforms Use three platforms Use four platforms Respondents 17 13 7 16 8 2 Many respondents have been found to use a combination of platforms: About 27 per cent of respondents read using both print media and one or more digital platforms (Dubai School of Government, 2011); 21 per cent of the respondents have been found to read the printed newspaper only; and 11 per cent of the respondents have been found to read only digital versions; 25 per cent of the respondents have been found to use multiple platforms to read news (Kirat, 2005). 13 per cent use three and 3 per cent use all four platforms to access news (ECSSR, 2011). Demographically, respondents vary by age ( print-only user are older, while smartphone users are younger on average) and income. Multiplatform newspaper reading is additive: those respondents using one platform average 3.7 days a week for that platform. Frequency increases at the same rate with each additional platform. The respondents in the study have been found to navigate a crowded media environment for news, leisure, and social benefits (Dennis & Merrill, 2006). Most respondents have been found to frequently multitask using many media; many of these respondent combine news consumptions with other activities. This research has also found that newspaper consumer follows an organized routine for staying informed (Dubai School of Government, 2011). Respondent’s routines are framed by informational needs and the mix of brands and platforms consulted during particular day of the week, time and location. Most consumers regular consult news brands, which also may include radio or television brands and websites, pure-play internet new sites, national newspapers (Kirat, 2005), and regular news brands posting on Twitter and Facebook (Dubai School of Government, 2011). The number of brands for regular checking typically is limited, averaging around four on tablets and fractionally less for smart phones and computers (ECSSR, 2011). Making the consumer’s list of go-to news sources is one of the fundamental challenges of newspaper marketing, but the print platform. 4.0 Print and Online Circulars Interview Question: what experience do you get between online and print circulars? Circulars give a different advertising experience, readers have more control compared to pop-ups, banners or video pre-rolls. NAA’s “How UAE Shops and Spends” (Kirat, 2005), the research found that circular media is more reliable among the highest-read content categories, and their appeal carries across demographic categories. According to the research, digital circulars have been found to be widely used, netting 70 per cent from the respondents over a 30 day period. Most online circulars are sourced via e-mail (38 percent) or store websites (43 percent of total sample). Specialty sites (9 percent) and Newspaper websites (14 percent) have been found to be much less reach in this distribution (Dubai School of Government, 2011). Most respondents use mobile platform to access online circular from laptops or computers, although other respondents use mobile devices (Nahawi, 2011). The respondents who have been found to have tablet have been found to lead other platforms, with 80 per cent reading online circulars and they are more likely to get circular from websites (32 per cent) (ECSSR, 2011). But online circular appears to increase, but digital circular respondents still prefer print versions by 48 per cent vs. 25 per cent purchasing (60 per cent). General ease of use (46 per cent) and ease of scanning (45 per cent) also favor print media. The two platforms (i.e. Digital and print media) are about the same on having preferred stores and ease of finding things. 5.0 Newspaper Platform Users UAE’s media houses and smart phones (Kirat, 2005). The largest set of respondents has been found to use both print and digital media platforms throughout the week, but small group prefer digital only or print only (ECSSR, 2011). 5.1 Platform Distribution This part of the research has focus on U.A.E adults on weekly basis. The study found that six out of 10 respondents read print in the previous week (ECSSR, 2011). Among online options, 45 per cent of the respondents use websites to read their dailies. 19 per cent of the respondents did used their smart phones to access their daily newspapers (Kirat, 2005). While 9 per cent of the respondents were found to use Android-based tablets or iPad to access their daily newspapers. Figure 3: Base: print and digital newspaper reader sample 5.2 Multiple Platforms Respondents have been found to use different combinations of one, two, three or four platforms as show in figure 4 below. This mix has continued to evolve as more consumers buy smart phones and/or tablets and use these platforms to read their newspaper (Dubai School of Government, 2011). The path for most respondents is to go from print to computer/laptops to smart phone to tablet. The respondents who read their newspapers by tablets, only half also use a smartphone (Kirat, 2005). Some 60 per cent of the respondent read sector (Dubai School of Government, 2011). This group of respondents has been found to lack that affect the public compared to traditional print newspaper customers (ECSSR, 2011). The 46 per cent of the participants in the survey have been found to the respondents have been found to employ print media, while the rest of the respondents read their news on a computer or laptops. Smartphone usage has become important at 20 per cent among the one-third of the respondent who use two media platforms. One in 5 (17 per cent of the respondent) have been found to use three platforms, with 77 per cent of the respondent and 32 per cent on the tablets. Only 4 per cent of the respondents have been found to employ all four media platforms throughout the week. 6.0 The News Environment The respondents while access news. Seven in 10 respondents stated that they choose local news based on reliability and credibility. In addition, they have (Dubai School of Government, 2011). Two thirds of the respondents stated they keep up to speed with the news daily and 34 per cent of the respondent strongly agrees respondents that use respondents are in agreement that they make a point of checking local new in the morning (ECSSR, 2011). This behavior has been found to be higher for those respondents with multiple media platforms. It is hard to avoid watch local news, but 26 per cent of the respondents agree that they try their best to do that at certain times of the day and 54 per cent of the respondents agree that they do so at least somewhat (Dubai School of Government, 2011). In the study, some of the respondent stated that early evening as family time when local media are turned off, and some of the respondents stated that other times of the weekends (ECSSR, 2011). Digital device platforms have been noted to drop off on weekends. The factor that drives the respondent to check on their news, beside following a big existing news story, 57 per cent of the respondent stated that they were looking at newspapers on mobile devices (Dennis & Merrill, 2006). Those respondents that use three media platforms have been seen to have large number of usage occasions as compared to those respondents with one or two media platforms (Nahawi, 2011). While, 50 per cent of respondents who own smart phone, strongly agree that they frequently check their mobile devices to avoid boredom when they are not busy with something constructive. A strong motivation for 25 per cent of respondents is their desire to know first when some big event has just happened. The respondent cited the ‘Arab spring’ as imprinting this mindset for them. References Dennis, E., & Merrill, J. (2006). Media Debates: Great Issues for the Digital Age. Belmont, CA,USA: Thompson Wadsworth. Dubai School of Government. (2011). Arab Social Media Report 2 (Vol. 1). Dubai, UAE: Dubai School of Government. ECSSR (2011). Education in the UAE: Current Status and Future Development. ISBN 978- 9948-14-427-4. Abu Dhabi: Emirates Center for Strategic Studis and Research. Kaplan, M A & Haenlein, M 2010, ‘Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media’, “Business Horizons”,Vol. 53, No.1, pp 59—68 , accessed 20/7/2012 Kirat, M. (2005). Virtual Public Relations in the United Arab Emirates. Public Relations Review,381-388. Nahawi, M. (2011). Social Media in the Arab World. Presention to Zayed University College of Communication and Media Sciences. October 18, 2011. Read More

48 per cent reading any digital editions 19 per cent using a Smartphone to access news. 9 per cent using a tablet device (Android or iPad) (Media usage is estimated to be conservative. For example, NAA’s 2013 “How people in UAE shop and spends” survey found that 14 per cent of respondents not counted as “readers” in standard readership questions but still consult newspapers for information relating to entertainment planning, shopping information, weather and the like). Figure 2: Platform usage Platform Print & one or more digital platforms read the printed newspaper only read only digital versions multiple platforms Use three platforms Use four platforms Respondents 17 13 7 16 8 2 Many respondents have been found to use a combination of platforms: About 27 per cent of respondents read using both print media and one or more digital platforms (Dubai School of Government, 2011); 21 per cent of the respondents have been found to read the printed newspaper only; and 11 per cent of the respondents have been found to read only digital versions; 25 per cent of the respondents have been found to use multiple platforms to read news (Kirat, 2005).

13 per cent use three and 3 per cent use all four platforms to access news (ECSSR, 2011). Demographically, respondents vary by age ( print-only user are older, while smartphone users are younger on average) and income. Multiplatform newspaper reading is additive: those respondents using one platform average 3.7 days a week for that platform. Frequency increases at the same rate with each additional platform. The respondents in the study have been found to navigate a crowded media environment for news, leisure, and social benefits (Dennis & Merrill, 2006).

Most respondents have been found to frequently multitask using many media; many of these respondent combine news consumptions with other activities. This research has also found that newspaper consumer follows an organized routine for staying informed (Dubai School of Government, 2011). Respondent’s routines are framed by informational needs and the mix of brands and platforms consulted during particular day of the week, time and location. Most consumers regular consult news brands, which also may include radio or television brands and websites, pure-play internet new sites, national newspapers (Kirat, 2005), and regular news brands posting on Twitter and Facebook (Dubai School of Government, 2011).

The number of brands for regular checking typically is limited, averaging around four on tablets and fractionally less for smart phones and computers (ECSSR, 2011). Making the consumer’s list of go-to news sources is one of the fundamental challenges of newspaper marketing, but the print platform. 4.0 Print and Online Circulars Interview Question: what experience do you get between online and print circulars? Circulars give a different advertising experience, readers have more control compared to pop-ups, banners or video pre-rolls.

NAA’s “How UAE Shops and Spends” (Kirat, 2005), the research found that circular media is more reliable among the highest-read content categories, and their appeal carries across demographic categories. According to the research, digital circulars have been found to be widely used, netting 70 per cent from the respondents over a 30 day period. Most online circulars are sourced via e-mail (38 percent) or store websites (43 percent of total sample). Specialty sites (9 percent) and Newspaper websites (14 percent) have been found to be much less reach in this distribution (Dubai School of Government, 2011).

Most respondents use mobile platform to access online circular from laptops or computers, although other respondents use mobile devices (Nahawi, 2011). The respondents who have been found to have tablet have been found to lead other platforms, with 80 per cent reading online circulars and they are more likely to get circular from websites (32 per cent) (ECSSR, 2011). But online circular appears to increase, but digital circular respondents still prefer print versions by 48 per cent vs.

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