The Maltese are increasingly switching to news websites to get their daily dose of local stories, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey.
Although the survey still shows the dominance of television as a source of news, the web is increasingly gaining ground, registering the highest growth in popularity in the past 12 months.
According to the study, conducted among 500 Maltese respondents by Misco in November, 97 per cent of those interviewed watched TV at least once a week while 88 per cent said they watched on a daily basis.
TV remains by far the most popular communication medium. However, 76 per cent said they also listened to radio at least once a week followed by 70 per cent who surfed the net.
When it comes to newspapers, 59 per cent of respondents said they read the paper at least once a week, an increase of two per cent over last year.
However, the consumption of daily newspapers – read by 22 per cent of respondents – witnessed an eight percentage point drop.
Asked which medium they used to get their daily updates, 86 per cent said they watched the news on TV, an increase of one per cent over 2012.
35%
per cent used social networks to get the news
However, the biggest increase – nine per cent – was registered for online news, provided mainly by specialised websites connected with newspaper publishers.
According to the survey’s results, the internet has become the second preferred medium for Maltese seeking news stories, reaching 44 per cent last November compared to just 35 per cent in 2012.
Newspaper portals are by far the most popular source among the Maltese, and perceived to be the most credible.
Asked which type they followed and preferred for news, 76 per cent of respondents – an increase of 10 per cent over 2012 – said they followed newspaper websites, while 35 per cent said they used the often-not-so-reliable social networks.
The least popular online news sources in Malta are blogs, which have a following of just 17 per cent among those seeking news updates from the web.
Newspapers have long recognised the increasing influence of the net to get across to a wider audience. Apart from timesofmalta.com – Malta’s leading news portal – other newspapers have recently followed suit.
All national media houses are present on the web through dedicated news portals.
Streaming of news videos is also becoming popular with more portals introducing such services, including live streaming.