The intended purpose of the annual RJI Mobile Media News Consumption Surveys is to gain insights into who uses mobile media and how their uses for news may change over time.
The latest survey was conducted for RJI in June 2015 by Ipsos, one of the world’s largest market research companies. It included 1,001 U.S. adults. The questionnaire was drafted by Samuel Tham, a graduate student in the Missouri School of Journalism, under the guidance of Esther Thorson, RJI’s director of research.
Unlike the three previous annual RJI Mobile Media News Consumption Surveys, which included users as well as non-users of smartphones and tablets, this survey was confined to those who had standard-size smartphones and phablets — smartphones with screens that measure diagonally 5.1 – 6.99 inches.
Ipsos maintains a database that collects demographic information from commercial list brokers. Individuals in this database are offered incentives to participate in various surveys. For the 2015 survey, Ipsos sought to match respondents as close to the U.S. population as possible.
In 2014, the staff of RJI’s Insight & Survey Center randomly interviewed nearly 1,200 adults 18 years of age or older in all 50 states between Jan. 1 and March 31, using both landline and cellphone frames. More than 1,000 adults were interviewed in the first quarters of 2013 and 2012. No incentives were offered to participate in these surveys.
Respondents who said they used a mobile media device to access digital content from news websites or news apps during the week prior to their participation in the surveys were designated as mobile news consumers.
We have defined mobile media as portable electronic display devices that:
- Can wirelessly connect to the Internet without attaching to another computer;
- Are designed primarily for consuming and interacting with mixed-media content;
- And are lightweight and relatively easy to carry and hold.
For these surveys, we grouped mobile media into five general categories:
Smartphones — Internet-enabled mobile phones that incorporate features associated with portable digital assistants. In 2015 we added a subcategory for large-screen smartphones (phablets).
Large Media Tablets — Internet-enabled tablets with mobile operating systems and 8-inch or larger full-color, multi-touch displays. The Apple iPad, released to consumers in April 2010, was the first large media tablet.
Mini Media Tablets — Internet-enabled tablets with mobile operating systems and full-color, multi-touch displays smaller than 8 inches measured diagonally. The Amazon Kindle Fire, released to consumers in November 2011, was one of the first mini media tablets sold in the U.S.
Wireless E-Readers — Single purpose devices intended for reading that mostly employ gray-scale electronic paper displays.
Other Mobile Computers — Included netbooks, tablet PCs, ultra-light notebooks and Internet-enabled handheld devices.
The analyses of data gathered from these surveys are conducted by Roger Fidler, RJI’s program director for digital publishing, with assistance from graduate students in the Missouri School of Journalism. The phone interviewers for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 surveys were trained and managed by Sarah Jean Samson, RJI-ISC coordinator for program and project support.
The research reports are made available on the RJI website at: www.rjionline.org/research/rji-mobile-media-research-project. For more information, contact Roger Fidler at fidlerr@rjionline.org.
Stories about RJI Mobile Media Research Project
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2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
The staff of the RJI Insight and Survey Center interviewed more than 1,000 individuals randomly selected from phone number lists between January 17 and March 25, 2012 for RJI's 2012 Mobile Media News Consumption Survey.
2012 Mobile survey results
June 4, 2012 -
2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
According to our findings, two-thirds of U.S. adults used at least one mobile media device in their daily lives during the first quarter of 2012. Smartphones and large media tablets are now the preferred mobile media devices.
Q1: Who uses mobile media devices?
June 4, 2012 -
2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
The rapid adoption of Apple iPads and comparable large media tablets is clearly disrupting the way people engage with the digital world. Tablets also are fostering new media habits that are directly impacting news organizations worldwide.
Q2: What are owners doing with their mobile media devices? Part 1
June 19, 2012 -
2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
The rapid adoption of Apple iPads and comparable large media tablets is clearly disrupting the way people engage with the digital world. Tablets also are fostering new media habits that are directly impacting news organizations worldwide.
Q2: What are owners doing with their mobile media devices? Part 2
June 19, 2012 -
2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
For news organizations, the Apple iPad and comparable large media tablets appear to be well on their way to becoming a viable alternative to printing presses, televisions and radios.
Q3: Which mobile devices are owners using most frequently for news?
July 9, 2012 -
2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
While many people have wished for one mobile media device that would do everything and satisfy everyone, their wish is unlikely to be realized. The trend clearly is toward owning multiple mobile devices and using them in different ways.
Q4: How do owners of different mobile media media device brands differ?
July 30, 2012 -
2012 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
A majority of respondents overall — mobile media users and non-users — shared a generally favorable opinion of professional journalists, when asked if they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements on a five-point scale. That’s the good news.
Q5: How do mobile and non-mobile media users perceive the news media and journalists?
August 23, 2012 -
2013 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
Nearly 80 percent of all respondents to our 2013 Q1 phone survey said that they had used at least one Internet-enabled mobile media device in the seven days prior to taking the survey.
News consumption on mobile media surpassing desktop computers and newspapers
April 25, 2013 -
2013 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
In the three years since Steve Jobs introduced the Apple iPad, at least one-third of U.S. adults has acquired media tablets, according to the results of our 2013 survey.
Media tablets now used by at least one-third of U.S. adults
May 15, 2013 -
2013 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
This report examines the use of media tablets and smartphones for news. Respondents who had used a tablet and/or a smartphone during the week prior to taking the surveys increased by only three percentage points overall between Q1 2012 and Q1 2013.
Usage of smartphones together with tablets for news has more than doubled
July 22, 2013 -
2013 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
The percent of all smartphone and/or tablet users who indicated that they had downloaded at least one news app jumped from about 30 percent in Q1 2012 to nearly 60 percent in Q1 2013.
Usage of downloaded news apps reveals some striking differences
August 26, 2013 -
2013 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
More than half of all smartphone and tablet news consumers questioned by RJI in 2013 indicated that they had watched videos within news websites or apps during the week prior to taking the survey.
Age, gender influence how people use smartphones and tablets for news
September 16, 2013 -
2013 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
This report focuses on the use of media tablets and smartphones by newspaper subscribers and non-subscribers. While newspaper subscribers differed from non-subscribers in most demographic categories, age was the most significant.
Newspapers’ mobile products have two distinctly different audiences
November 26, 2013 -
Flipping the model: A contrarian’s strategy for growth in the mobile era
A presentation by Roger Fidler, Program Direction for Digital Publishing
August 18, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
More than half of U.S. households now have tablets and three-quarters have smartphones according to the latest Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) mobile media poll.
Tablets are now commonplace in households with children
April 23, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
While the percentage of U.S. adults who use smartphones and/or tablets continues to grow, the use of mobile media by people aged 55 or older, who now represent more than 60 percent of non-users, will be a critical factor in future growth according to the latest Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) mobile media poll.
Seniors hold key to future growth for mobile media
May 6, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
More than 6 in 10 smartphone owners are now routinely using news apps on their smartphones according to the latest Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) mobile media survey. Nearly 3 in 10 are using smartphone news apps branded by newspapers.
Majority of smartphone owners are now routinely using news apps
May 22, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
Women are much more likely than men to read news stories found within social media on their smartphones according to the latest mobile media survey from the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI).
Women use smartphones more than men to read news found within social media
May 28, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
The pairing of large tablets with smartphones has important implications for news organizations. Nearly 9 in 10 large tablet owners also use smartphones according to the latest mobile media survey from RJI. Only 4 in 10 smartphone owners said they also used large tablets.
Nearly all large tablet owners also use smartphones
June 30, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
Both tablets and smartphones are used by a majority of owners for keeping up with the news, but tablets are used for news by a much higher percentage of owners aged 55 or older than by those aged 18-34.
Seniors more likely to read news on tablets, size appeals to all ages for leisure use
July 17, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
Smartphone owners who also have tablets are much more likely to use their smartphones for consuming news organization content than those who do not have tablets, according to the latest mobile media survey from RJI.
Tablets tend to boost news consumption on smartphones and likelihood of paying for mobile news conte
August 19, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
Newspaper subscribers are increasingly using smartphones and tablets while retaining a strong attachment to print, according to the latest mobile media survey from RJI.
More newspaper subscribers embracing mobile media while retaining their attachment to print
September 15, 2014 -
2014 RJI Mobile Media Research Report
Mobile media users are more likely than nonusers to give higher credibility rankings to national newspapers and most other mainstream news media. They also tend to place greater importance on getting news every day and on the source of news.
Credibility of mainstream news media fares better among mobile media users
October 21, 2014 -
2015 RJI Mobile Media Research
Large-screen smartphone owners between the ages of 25 and 34 are the most frequent news consumers.
News organizations getting significant boost from phablets
February 11, 2016 -
2015 RJI Mobile Media Research
Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of U.S. adults who owned smartphones said they got news and information frequently or very frequently from at least one “old” media source in the week prior to participating in the latest RJI mobile media poll.
Traditional news media still popular with users of mobile media
February 24, 2016 -
2015 RJI Mobile Media Research
Owners of phablets were much more likely to respond to advertisements embedded in news stories and videos than owners of standard smartphones, according to the latest Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute mobile media poll.
Phablets likely to boost responses to ads embedded in news stories and videos
March 10, 2016 -
2015 RJI Mobile Media Research
Owners of large-screen smartphones (phablets) are much more likely than owners of standard-size smartphones to frequently use multiple approaches to access news organization content on their smartphones.
Screen size and age affect how smartphone owners get mobile news stories
March 29, 2016 -
2015 RJI Mobile Media Research
Millennials are more likely than boomers to use smartphones for news, but professional journalism and news sources matter to both.
Attitudes about news transcend technology and generational divide
May 24, 2016