ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM NINFOMANIA?

News Information Mania sweeps the UK
Brits take in a whopping 13 news stories every single day and 275,000 in a lifetime
Internet considered more accurate than newspapers and magazines

A new study1 out today from TalkTalk suggests that Britons are better informed than ever before with millions of us confessing an obsession with keeping abreast of current affairs. And driving this epidemic of NINFOMANIA – that’s News Information Mania – is the internet.

Indeed, the internet’s inherent ability to provide a wealth of accessible and instantaneous news means that the average UK adult will now consume well over 275,000 news stories in their lifetime. The internet is the most frequently checked medium for news stories – with the average Briton checking online for news some 3 times per day – that’s the same amount of times the average Briton switches the kettle on each day to make a brew!2. And, a whopping one-in-ten news-addicted Brits (4.5 million adults), now check the internet 6 times or more to catch up on a news story every day.

The study from TalkTalk, the home phone and broadband company, found that the average UK adult digests 13 different news stories across TV, radio, newspapers and the internet per day. And one in six adults – equivalent to 7.8 million people – are clearly NINFOMANIACS, consuming more than 20 news stories a day. Only 1% said they never catch up with the news.

While home news stories make up the biggest proportion of people’s news consumption (33%), foreign affairs comes a surprise second on 20% – as the internet has made international sources such as Le Figaro, The New York Times and Al Jazeera more accessible than ever before. So much so that international news stories were deemed more popular than sports (16%), entertainment (13%) and health news (8%).

The research also found that people appreciate and understand the different attributes that different media can bring to the news. While the internet was thought best for getting a headline ‘snapshot’ of the news (according to 50%) and for the most up-to-date information (68%), print was considered best for engaging articles (62%) and providing depth of information (53%). TV, meanwhile, was thought best for accuracy of information (65%) and providing commentary (58%) and analysis of the news (65%).

TV news channels were deemed the most reliable medium for providing accurate news reporting, ahead of (in order) national radio, broadsheets, and regional radio. But interestingly, internet news was considered to be more accurate (according to 37%) than both newspapers and magazines (24%), and more engaging than TV (37% for the internet versus 30% for TV).

Dominic Stinton of TalkTalk commented: “Now we are all exposed to a huge wealth of information every day – not just online but across all media – which makes us better informed than ever about what’s going in the world. However the internet does enable us to access so many different interpretations of a news story – from FOX News, to Al Jazeera and the BBC, meaning we can often make a much more informed opinion ourselves.

“Some of the most interesting findings in this research demonstrate how people have come to rely on the internet for news above any other medium, and how much credibility they give it. Despite concerns about misinformation on the web, it seems that people are going to news sources they trust and now view surfing the internet as much a part of their news routine as watching the evening bulletin on TV.”

Commenting on the research, legendary newsreader, John Craven, said:
“It is amazing how news broadcasting has changed since I started Newsround on BBC One in 1972. Hard to believe that at 5pm it was the first television news bulletin of the day. Now we have 24 hour news channels on television and radio, and something we could never have dreamed of only a few years ago – the internet giving us the latest news the instant we want it. I have always been a news junkie waiting for the next big story to break. Now it seems everyone else is, too.”

Notes to editors
1 Research conducted by ICM of 1053 adults aged 18+, August 2008.
2 According to research from the UK Tea Council

For more information please contact:
Lexie Kennedy at Citigate Dewe Rogerson 020 7282 2984
alexandrina.kennedy {at} citigatedr.co(.)uk

About TalkTalk:

TalkTalk, launched in February 2003, is the home phone and broadband company from The Carphone Warehouse. The Carphone Warehouse is the third-largest broadband provider in the UK. It now has 2.8 million broadband customers* signed up to TalkTalk and AOL Broadband, which it acquired in October 2006.

In April 2006, TalkTalk launched the UK’s first ever FREE broadband service. With its Talk Global packages TalkTalk customers can now receive fast broadband of up to 8Mb, along with a great value phone bundle. TalkTalk customers talk to each other for free.

As of April 2008, TalkTalk has unbundled approximately 1700 exchanges, so free broadband is now available to over 80% of UK households.

In uSwitch’s Customer Satisfaction Report in 2008, TalkTalk was voted the best value for money home phone provider and the best value for money bundle (combining home phone and broadband). This is the most comprehensive survey of UK telephone and broadband suppliers, and is based on the verdicts of over 10,000 home phone and 11,000 broadband customers.

TalkTalk is proud to support TreeHouse, the national charity for autism education. Together TreeHouse and TalkTalk are working to transform the lives of all children with autism, raising funds and driving awareness of autism through a variety of fresh, interactive initiatives. TreeHouse is a registered charity, number 1063184. In September 2006, TalkTalk launched a new directory enquiry service, 118111 from which 1p per call is donated to TreeHouse.

* As of financial statement July 2008

Sarah Oliver
MindShare
Digital PR Account Manager
Sarah.Oliver {at} mindshareinteraction(.)com
Office: 020 7969 4320
40 Strand London WC2N 5RF United Kingdom
www.mindshareworld.com

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