Results of our studies

MOSCOW, 13 January 2022. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the findings of a survey to mark Russian Press Day.

Who reads newspapers?

Today 14% of Russians read print press publications on a regular basis; a further 21% used to read them but do not read them anymore. More than half of Russians did not read print media before and do not read it now (63%), however it does not mean that there is no one in this group who reads e-versions of periodicals. At the same time, there is a group of respondents who appreciate print media as a major source of information: respondents aged 60 read newspapers and magazines twice as often compared to Russians in general (26%). This percentage is also higher among rural area inhabitants (20%) and active TV viewers (33%, or every third).

  • The highest percentage of those who read newspapers and magazines is in the Ural federal district (20% vs. 10-11% in the Far-Eastern, Southern and North Caucasian federal districts).

Local press vs. Internet

The list of the most popular newspapers that Russians read is headed by local or district newspapers; every third respondent in this group read this type of newspapers (30%). The percentage is higher in rural area and small settlements with under 100 thousands inhabitants (39-40%). Presumably, urban dwellers, young respondents and working-age individuals catch up with the local news using the Internet and social media; whereas older age group and rural area inhabitants still opt for traditional media. Other newspapers mentioned by Russians are “Komsomolskaya pravda” (12%) and “Argumenty i fakty” (10%). The top three most popular periodicals among as viewed by those who abandoned print newspapers looks the same: a district newspaper and federal periodicals, “Komsomolskaya pravda” “Argumenty i fakty” (17%, each).

The main reason why Russians stop reading print newspapers (21%) is that print newspapers are being replaced by online versions: every third respondent in this group adheres to this stance (29%). Another important reason is increasing prices for newspapers and magazines (18%); in total these reasons point to higher Internet availability. And yet another reasons is that “the newspaper and the magazine are not published anymore” (11%).

Screen vs paper

Over the recent eight years the percentage of Russians who would prefer to read an interesting article in a digital format has increased 1.8-fold.  Sixty-two percent of respondents prefer online versions (vs 34% in 2014). Simultaneously, the share of those who choose a paper-based version has decreased from 51% in 2014 to 32% this year. Print versions are popular with respondents aged 60 and older (57% vs. 11% and 12% of the 18-24-year-olds and 25-34-year-olds, respectively), rural area inhabitants (44% vs. 22% and 20% of metropolitan residents and million-plus cities), active TV viewers (76%) and residents of the Russian Far East (44%).

  • Of those who read print media on a regular basis, 80% prefer to read a paper-based version, which is four times as large compared to those who do not read paper-based periodicals (20%).
  • At the same time, evert fifth respondent even among those who do not regularly read print periodicals would choose a paper-based version of the article they are interested in (20%).

Importantly, these trends should not be interpreted as a reduction in the number of the newspaper and magazine audiences; they more likely show the evolution of the reading practices, orientation towards electronic formats of periodicals.   

 

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 23 December, 2023. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted according to social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, December 23, 2022:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.8193; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0200; response rate (RR)*** = 0.1131.  Calculations based on corporate standards: https://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference that the number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.

 

Are there any paper-based newspapers or magazines that you read on a regular basis, or not?  (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents)

 

Total respondents

Men

Women

Ages 14-17

25-34

35-44

45-59

60 +

 

Yes, there are some

14

12

16

1

7

7

15

26

 

There were some, but I do not read them anymore  

21

21

21

10

7

17

26

32

 

No, and there weren’t any

63

65

61

82

85

74

58

39

 

Don’t know

2

2

2

7

1

2

1

3

 

Are there any paper-based newspapers or magazines that you read on a regular basis, or not? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents)

 

Total respondents

Moscow and St Petersburg

Million-plus cities

500-950 thousand inhabitants

100-500 thousand inhabitants

Less than 100 thousand inhabitants

Rural area

 

Yes, there are some

14

15

6

8

12

16

20

 

There were some, but I don’t read them anymore 

21

15

16

26

19

22

26

 

No, and there weren’t any

63

66

77

64

68

60

51

 

Don’t know

2

4

1

2

1

2

3

 

There are some (can you specify them?) (open-ended question, up to 5 answers, % of those who regularly read newspaper and magazines; top 3)

Local/district newspapers

30

 

Komsomolskaya Pravda

12

 

Argumenty i Fakty

10

 

Other

48

 

There were some, but I don’t read them anymore (can you specify them?) (open-ended question, up to 5 answers, % of those who read them before but don’t read paper newspapers and magazines anymore; top 3)

Local/district newspapers

17

 

Komsomolskaya Pravda

17

 

Argumenty i Fakty

11

 

Other

55

 

You’ve said that previously you read this newspaper or magazines but you don’t read it anymore. Why is that?

(open-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who stopped reading; top 3 answers)

I read its online version / everything is on the Internet / electronic version

29

 

Availability / it’s more expensive / no money / it used to be distributed for free

18

 

It was closed / they stopped publishing / not on sale

11

 

Other

61

 

Imagine, an interesting article is going to be published next week. It is available both electronically and in its paper-based version. Which one do you prefer?

(closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents)

 

2014

2017

2018

2022  

To read it in a paper-based version

51

45

44

32

To read it in an electronic version

34

49

51

62

Don’t know

15

6

5

6