Smartphones Leading for Access to Online News Kieran Guilbert - Reuters
go to original June 18, 2015

Studies show that people like using smartphones to read the news but do not want to pay for subscriptions. (MCT/Tom Wallace)

A surge in the use of smartphones as the leading device for accessing online news and the growing influence of social media could lead to an uncertain financial future for news organizations worldwide, a think tank said this week.

Many news outlets are struggling to profit from smartphone content as more people discover news through search engines and popular social media outlets rather than the front page of a news website, said the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ).

Online advertising revenues are falling as smartphone users, who spend half of the time on their devices reading news, become increasingly frustrated by advertisements and so-called sponsored content, the RISJ said in its annual Digital News Report.

“Most people like news and use news, but they don’t want to pay for it, don’t want to see advertising around it, and don’t want to see it mixed up with sponsored content,” said RISJ Director of Research Rasmus Kleis Nielsen.

“This means sustainable business models remain elusive even for those who succeed in building an audience,” Nielsen said in a statement as the report was released.

Only the most loyal smartphone users are using news apps, as others rely on social media, messaging apps, email and mobile notifications to read online news, the RISJ said.

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