An exploration of Generation Z’s habits and needs considering news consumption : A case study in the Swedish and Finnish market

Abstract: In today’s media landscape news consumption is characterized by the consumers’ reliance on multiple platforms, which has led to the rapid expansion of availability of the news sources on different platforms. Despite this increase, studies show a consistent decrease in news consumption. Even though the time people spend consuming news is decreasing, the interest towards the news has remained somewhat the same. This indicates the market is not offering the consumers what they expect to get. In order to find out what the audience expects, this exploratory study aims to gain better understanding of the news consumption habits of Generation Z in the Finnish and Swedish market by using an online survey (N=219) and semistructured interviews (N=10). This study indicates that Generation Z is highly dependent on their phones when it comes to their news consumption. Contrary to their other media needs, Generation Z prefers text as a news format, and formality and transparency from the content. The news sites and the stories should be as simple and condensed as possible in order to limit Generation Z’s information overload. On the other hand, customization, adjustable platforms and high-quality content are expected from the news as from any other media product. According to the research findings it can be stated that there is a mismatch with what the audience wants and what the media houses are offering them. In order for the media houses to grow their market share among Generation Z, they should better know the needs of their audience.