Introduction
The aim of the Media Typology Survey is to explore the attitudes and perceptions of public opinion towards the information.In the analysis that follows is attempted the segmentation of the general population, in terms of the consumption and distribution of information, across the various media, in Greece today.
Traditional and new sources of information
The television, the radio and the newspapers are defined as traditional media, while the internet as a new medium. According to the survey findings, the traditional media in Greece, especially the television, are still the main source of information for the citizens. In 2009, the year in which the survey was conducted for the first time, due to lack of longitudinal data, the rate of change in the relationship between traditional media and the internet was not possible to be estimated with precision, because of the recent development of the latter in Greece(1). The Media Typology Survey is conducted for fourth consecutive year. Based on the available time series, the significant increase of the internet’s power in the information habits of the Greeks is confirmed.
Typology of information users
The general population of the country is segmented according to their preferences and practices with regard to information. For this segmentation, the following variables are used:
- The main source of information
- The frequency of the online information, and
- The interest of watching news at four (4) levels: local, national, international and economic.
Nearly 1 in 2 citizens (46%) prefer the traditional media for their information (“traditionalists”). 25% of citizens (1 in 4) use the internet exclusively (“net-newsers”). Nearly 1 in 5 (18%) use, equally, the traditional sources of information and the Internet (“integrators”). In contrast, it turns out from the survey that only 9% (less than 1 in 10) is not at all interested in the news (“disengaged”).
Comparing the population’s segmentation in 2012 with the respective surveys of the last 3 years, it has been observed a significant constant drop in the share of “traditionalists” (46%, from 69% in 2009) and an enduring, equally important, raise in the share of “net-newsers” (25%, from 8% in 2009).
(1) The survey in the U.S., which is conducted by the Pew Research Centre for the People & the Press, confirms that during the last decade, the influence of the more traditional media has dramatically declined, whereas the Internet and the online information have significantly increased.
