Over the past three years we have been tracking a range of participation metrics around online news. The next two figures show the overall percentage of respondents who interacted with news in one of twelve different ways.
Here, we see different participatory cultures at play. Latin and Mediterranean countries actively engage far more often and in a greater range of ways. Northern Europeans tend to be more reserved while Japanese respondents are even less likely to share or comment directly on news online.
Key news participation indicators by country
Q13. During an average week in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage? Base: All markets 2014 – UK=2082, Germany=2063, Spain=2017, Italy=2010, France=1946, Denmark=2036, Finland=1520, USA=2197, Urban Brazil=1015, Japan=1973 Participation = % doing at least one of 12 types of news activity
Splitting this down further we can see this national effect clearly for each of our twelve participation types.
Types of news participation by country
Scroll data area to see more
| US | UK | Germany | France | Denmark | Finland | Spain | Italy | Urban Brazil | Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share via SN | 22% | 12% | 13% | 11% | 17% | 20% | 30% | 35% | 42% | 8% |
| Share via email | 20% | 6% | 8% | 13% | 7% | 6% | 18% | 16% | 24% | 3% |
| Rate or like story | 15% | 8% | 17% | 10% | 17% | 13% | 25% | 31% | 22% | 6% |
| Comment in SN | 21% | 13% | 11% | 11% | 14% | 16% | 25% | 23% | 39% | 6% |
| Comment on news website | 14% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 5% | 8% | 7% | 13% | 19% | 3% |
| Write news blog | 3% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 6% | 6% | 3% |
| Post picture to SN | 10% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 11% | 11% | 17% | 2% |
| Post picture to news sites | 4% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 2% |
| Online vote | 25% | 11% | 16% | 11% | 17% | 17% | 16% | 24% | 22% | 4% |
| Campaign online | 5% | 5% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 2% |
| Talk friends online | 29% | 16% | 13% | 15% | 8% | 17% | 24% | 19% | 33% | 7% |
| Talk about news face to face | 44% | 39% | 41% | 30% | 51% | 46% | 48% | 40% | 44% | 14% |
Q13 During an average week in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage?
Base: All markets 2014 – UK: 2082; Germany: 2063; Spain: 2017; Italy: 2010; France: 1946; Denmark: 2036; Finland: 1520; USA: 2197; Urban Brazil: 1015; Japan: 1973
Although the UK and US have the same language and similar levels of internet access, Americans are twice as likely to participate online – to like, share, recommend, and to post pictures, videos, or comments. There is a similar willingness to talk about news to friends offline so this may be explained by different attitudes to privacy and transparency.
British people seem more reluctant to expose their views and opinions openly and this hypothesis is backed up by a question we asked in the UK and Spain about posting to news websites. British commenters were more reluctant to use real names and more likely to post anonymously when compared with their Spanish counterparts.
Posting to a news website in the last year: UK vs. Spain
Q13c. During the last year, have you posted a comment, question, picture or other content to a news website? (Please select all that apply.) Base: UK=2082, Spain=2017
For news providers, engagement and participation are becoming central to the news business. For some, like Buzzfeed, notions of virality define success, while for others participation helps drive better editorial content and brand loyalty. As competition intensifies, the focus will inevitably switch from simple measures of reach and frequency to a more nuanced picture where meaningful engagement becomes the key factor.