Like death and taxes, the digital world has its certainties. One of them – alongside the inevitability of Apple launching yet another higher specification (and more expensive) iPhone – is the prospect that audience trends in other countries will wash up on our shores.

That is why the latest report from Britain’s telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has excited the interest of more than a few media people in New Zealand.

It shows that, for the first time, online has overtaken television as the biggest source of news in the United Kingdom. Broadcast TV had been the leading source of news there since the 1960s, when it overtook newspapers and radio.

The Ofcom survey shows that online – social media, podcasts, messaging and other digital apps – is now narrowly ahead with 71 per cent of adults getting their news from those sources. Television, which a year ago sat at 75 per cent, is now down to 70 per cent. A little over half the adult population get their news from social media alone. Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) now outperforms ITV, while Google is barking at the broadcaster’s heels. Continue reading “TikTok…TikTok…it’s only a matter of time” →