Intrigued, But Not Immersed: Millennial Students Analyze the iPad's Performance as a News Platform
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Transcript of Intrigued, But Not Immersed: Millennial Students Analyze the iPad's Performance as a News Platform
Intrigued, But Not Immersed:Millennials Analyze the iPad’sPerformance as a News PlatformInternational Symposium on Online JournalismAustin, Texas – April 1, 2011Jake Batsell, assistant professorSouthern Methodist University@jbatsell
MethodologyThe ground rules• iPad pilot program• Two classes • 4-day checkouts• Assigned ratings
√ Immediacy√ Non-linear
presentation√ Multimedia√ Interactivity
• Blogged reviews
MethodologySample overview• 26 female, 2 male• 27 in 20s, 1 in 40s• 27 U.S., 1 Bulgarian• 3 Hispanic• 1 Asian-American• 1 African-American• Typical participant was
white, female American millennial college student
Caveats• Small sample (28)• Millennials aren’t the
news industry’s target consumer for iPad apps – yet
FindingsImmediacy• Avg score = 3.1/5• Surprisingly stale• “Old news”• Updated once
dailyStandouts• ESPN ScoreCenter• GlamourLaggards• New York Post• ABC NewsImage credit: American Journalism
Review
FindingsNon-linear presentation• Avg score = 3.4/5• Passing grade• Good customization• Awkward navigation• Limited optionsStandouts• ESPN ScoreCenter• New York TimesLaggards• Fox4 News (Dallas)• Washington Post Image credit: Sports
Illustrated
FindingsMultimedia• Avg score
= 3.7/5• Occasionally
dazzling qualities
Standouts• Time Magazine• New York Times• Ebony’s 65th anniv.• ESPN ScoreCenter
Laggards• New York Post• GQ
Image credit: American Journalism Review
• New York Times: “The picture is unbelievably clear (much better than that on the iPhone), and the sound isn’t muffled like it can be on the iPhone”
• New York Post: “Interactivity and multimedia content were very minimal (huge bummer).”
FindingsInteractivity
• Avg score
= 3.3/5• Largely
disappointing
Standouts• Esquire• New YorkerLaggards• MTV News• People Magazine
Image credit: American Journalism Review
• Ebony: “I think they should look into expanding readers’ options even further, and they might consider linking to some of their sources for those readers who want more.”
• MTV News: “Don’t bother, MTV. Just stick to your website.”
Conclusions• First wave of iPad
News apps weren’t immediate or interactive enough for this group of millennials
Image credit: American Journalism Review
• Students said premium apps aren’t worth the extra money yet
• Too many news apps resemble shovelware
• Students generally prefer websites to apps
Closing Thoughts• Millennials’ iPad
news experience differs from the GenX & Baby Boomers in Reynolds iPad study
• Why important? 50 million millennials age 18-29 forming lifelong habits
• Future research: 2nd wave of tablet apps (Xoom, Galaxy, Playbook, iPad 2)
Image credit: Texas Monthly
Thanks!
[email protected]: @jbatsell