PGDM Executive 2018-19

Term-II

Business Research Methods

Proposal: Research on Newspaper Readership and impact of alternate sources
on reading preferences of Individuals

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Group 1 Prof. Sumit Kumar Maji

Mrunali Shingane (180301005)

Urmila Sundriyal (180301019)
Rachit Mazumdar (180301010)
Saurabh Yete (180301016)

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INDEX
1. ABSTRACT 3
2. INTRODUCTION 4
3. JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY 5
4. LITERATURE REVIEW 6
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7
6. PRIMARY RESEARCH 8
7. KEY FINDINGS FROM PRIMARY RESEARCH 21
8. CONCLUSION 22
9. REFERENCES 23

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ABSTRACT
The print newspaper is one of the most powerful of all the means of expression of the news
and views and plays very important role in our daily life. They are even regarded by
economists as a necessity of modern life. Over the last few decades, the advent of Social
media and Television has been impacting the reading preferences of Individuals. In order to
study changing news readership preferences across individuals in India, this Research was
conducted
Objective of this research is
1. To understand the newspaper readership pattern.
2. To ascertain the reading preferences of the target audience.
With the help of secondary data and Literature reviews, Questionnaires were formulated.
These questionnaires included both descriptive and Exploratory Questions. The respondents
were selected using snowball technique which were then asked about their News reading
preferences. The responses received were then divided into
1. Newspaper Subscribers
2. Non-Subscribers but reading newspaper from other sources
3. Non-Subscribers and not reading newspaper
The Responses were then analysed to understand existing patterns. Although Majority of the
Responses received were either Newspaper Subscribers or were planning to subscribe in the
next year, Online platforms seems to be the most preferred medium for getting News, due to
which print newspaper medium may take a dip in the next 1 year.

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INTRODUCTION
In todays’ digital world every customer is in need for fast delivery of services. The same is true
even for the print media with newspapers in the lead. A newspaper is
a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often
typed in black ink with a white or grey background. It covers a wide variety of fields such as
politics, business, sports and art, and often include materials such as opinion columns,
weather forecasts, reviews of local services, obituaries, birth notices, crosswords, editorial
cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns.
Most newspapers are businesses, and they pay their expenses with a mixture
of subscription revenue, newsstand sales, and advertising revenue. They have traditionally
been published in print (usually on cheap, low-grade paper called newsprint). However,
today most newspapers are also published on websites as online newspapers, and some have
even abandoned their print versions entirely.
This research studies the current state of newspaper industry as perceived by its readers and
non-readers alongside the alternate technology mediums preferred by the individuals.
Though there are readers who still prefer the traditional newspapers over other sources but
there are chances they might as well shift to other news mediums.

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JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Readership of newspapers in India is changing with the advent of technology. The need for
news is incessant. With the Govt. emphasis on Digital India campaigns, ever rising demand for
faster technologies and increasing concerns of environment damage, the news networks are
facing tectonic changes. Furthermore, in today’s fast paced life people want fresh news in
their feed at the click of a button. Novelty has become the need of the hour.
Through this research we have tried to identify the parameters that favour the individuals to
read the newspapers or to abandon it in the near future. A combined approach of both a
quantitative and qualitative research was used to draw inferences from the individual inputs.
The below approach was followed to conduct the research work.
RESEARCH PROCESS
• Defined the research objective
• Defined the hypothesis
• Finalized the research method
• Conducted secondary research to understand the current scenarios
• Devised a methodology for primary research
• Data acquisition through online survey
• Data analysis and visualization
• Noted the key findings and recommendations

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
1. To ascertain the reading preferences of the target audience.
2. To find the reasons for fall in newspaper readership.
HYPOTHESIS
1. Readership of newspaper is falling in India
2. Alternative mediums will suffice to cater the need for news delivery

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LITERATURE REVIEW
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT Print Media: Analyzing Indian
Customers' Perspective & Satisfaction Level Using CSI
Agrawal R (2016) in her research paper concluded that the satisfaction level of newspaper
readers is 74%. Coverage of news was found to be the most important factor influencing
customer’s choice, availability of supplements was the second most important.
Advertisements got the lowest importance and customers perceived it as compromise with
the rigor and coverage of news. Few findings from the research paper are as below.

INDIAN READERSHIP SURVEY-2017 (NIELSEN)

The Indian Readership Survey 2017 found 8% increase in newspaper readership in 2017
against 2014. The urban readership increased by 6%, whereas the rural readership increased
by 9%. As per the survey, Hindi is the most popular language of newspapers.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Initially, secondary data was acquired to understand the current newspaper readership and
gauge the individual inclination from already conducted researches such as the one done by
the Indian readership survey. Basis the secondary research, important parameters to gauge
the newspaper readership or the success of alternate platforms were identified.
Following this a primary research was performed. An online survey was prepared to acquire
the individual responses for further analysis. The survey questionnaire is available for
reference in the appendix.
Extensive analysis was performed on the collected responses to draw meaningful inferences
from the research. All the findings are made available by thorough data visualization
techniques.

SAMPLE SELECTION AND SIZE

Target sample size - 400-600 responses
Sample size achieved - 508 responses (within 2 weeks)
Sampling technique used - Non-probability sampling (Snow ball)
Sample size after data cleaning - 501 responses
A thorough data cleaning was conducted after receiving all the responses. 7 responses had to
be removed from the analysis.

RESEARCH BENEFICIARIES
Newspaper agencies.

DATA ANALYSIS
The research starts with conducting segmentation basis demographics in order to understand
the respondents better and draw meaningful inferences applicable to specific respondent
base. Descriptive research was conducted after segregating the respondents under various
components. This majorly involved quantitative research. An exploratory research was also
conducted through qualitative research method. A step by step approach analysing various
individual parameters is followed to reach to the key findings. The below areas have been
considered detailed analysis:

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1] DEMOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION OF SAMPLE

32% GENDER
Female
Male
68%

2% 1%
AGE- YEARS
15%
30% 19-25 years
26-42 years
43-60 years
above 60 years
less than 18 years
52%

MONTHLY INCOME (INR)

26% 28% 25,001-50,000

50,001-1,00,000
Above 1.00,000
9% Below 25,000
10% 27% Not earning

5%
OCCUPATION
5% 3%
Business/ Self-employed

Housewife

26% Retired
61%
Student

Working

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2] GEOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION OF SAMPLE

11% REGION
7%
South
East
14%
North
68% West

3] PREFERRED LANGUAGE FOR NEWS DELIVERY

11% 16% PREFERRED LANGUAGE

Regional
English
Hindi

73%

English is the most preferred language for the target sample with 73 % individuals preferring
it for news reading. Next in line is regional language at 16 % and Hindi at 11 %.

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Correlating language with individual income and occupation

Consolidated Income-Language

Not earning

Below 25,000 INR/ Month

Income

Regional
Above 1.00,000 INR/Month
English

50,001-1,00,000 INR/Month Hindi

25,001-50,000 INR/Month

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Respondents across income groups prefer English as a medium for reading news followed by
regional language and then Hindi. People especially in the income range of above 1,00,000
rupees per month prefer English the most for news.

Consolidated Occupation-Language

Working

Student
Occupation

Regional
Retired
English
Hindi
Housewife

Business

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Students, Working and Business class prefer English language. Retired respondents prefer
regional languages whereas, housewives are neutral to English & Hindi. Off all the
occupations, students largely prefer news in English

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4] PREFERRED MEDIUM FOR NEWS DELIVERY
Preferred medium for news delivery across age

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
19-25 years 26-42 years 43-60 years above 60 less than 18 19-25 years 26-42 years 43-60 years above 60 less than 18
years years years years
Female Male

Google Newspaper Online Apps- In Shorts, Hike news, etc Online newspapers Radio Social media TV

Newspapers are largely preferred by both men and women in the age group of 43 to 60 years.
But females and males in the age group 19 to 42 prefer news through online mediums. Very
few people above the age group of 60 years read news and the ones reading prefer it through
a newspaper only.

Preferred medium for news delivery across zones

100

80

60

40

20

0
South East North West South East North West
Female Male

Google Newspaper Online Apps- In Shorts, Hike news, etc Online newspapers Radio Social media TV

Females in the west zone prefer newspapers while females in the south, east and north
zones prefer news through online mediums. Males in the west, south and east prefer
newspaper while the ones in north prefer news through online apps.

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Preferred Medium for news delivery across occupation

Consolidated Gender-Occupation-Medium
80
60
40
20
0
Business Housewife Retired Student Working Business Retired Student Working
Female Male

Google Newspaper Online Apps- In Shorts, Hike news, etc Online newspapers Radio Social media TV

Housewives and working females prefer newspaper. Businessmen, retired and working males
also prefer newspaper. But students across gender prefer online apps.

IMPORTANT PARAMETER
The research highlights a few parameters important to the customers in the news world. Four
important parameters were identified from the secondary research and the importance of
these parameters from the customers perspective have been ranked in order. The analysis
suggests that “trustworthy news” is the most important parameter across all ages and gender
in the sample population. Content and timely updates are the other important parameters
important to the individuals.

Consolidated Gender-Age-Parameter
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
19-25 26-42 43-60 above 60 less than 19-25 26-42 43-60 above 60 less than
years years years years 18 years years years years years 18 years
Female Male

Content Ease of access Timely updates Trustworthy news

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 Consolidated Gender-Occupation-Parameter
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Business Housewife Retired Student Working Business Retired Student Working
Female Male

Content Ease of access Timely updates Trustworthy news

Trustworthy news is also the most important parameter across all occupations of individuals
in the above sample.
In order to understand the individual behaviours better and to be able to understand their
requirements, we divided the sample in three large groups namely – Newspaper readers and
subscribers, newspaper readers but non- subscribers and non – readers and non- subscribers.
Important parameters specific to the three groups are as highlighted below.

For Newspaper readers and subscribers

• Trustworthy news most imp across all age groups and occupations
• Content 2nd most important for age 19-42
• Timely updates 2nd most important for age 43-60

For newspaper readers but non-Subscribers

• Trustworthy news most imp in age group 26-42 and females in age group 19-25
• Timely updates most important for males in age group 19-25
For Non-Readers and non-subscribers
• Trustworthy news most imp in age group 26-42 and males in age group 19-25
• Ease of access most important for females in age group 19-25

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READING FREQUENCY
Considering the entire sample, the individuals across all age groups and gender prefer reading
news daily followed by reading the news 1-2 days per week and 3-4 days per week. Females
in the age group 19-25 years mostly prefer reading the news 3-4 days per week. Individuals
across occupation and gender also refer reading news daily and majorly by the working
people.

Consolidated Gender-Age-Frequency
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
19-25 26-42 43-60 above 60 less than 19-25 26-42 43-60 above 60 less than
years years years years 18 years years years years years 18 years
Female Male

1-2 days/ week 1-2 days/week 3-4 days/week 5-6 days/week Daily

Readers across age group and gender read newspapers daily. Except females 19-25 who
mostly read 3-4 days per week.

Consolidated Gender-Occupation-Frequency
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Business Housewife Retired Student Working Business Retired Student Working
Female Male

1-2 days/ week 1-2 days/week 3-4 days/week 5-6 days/week Daily

Readers across occupations and gender read newspapers daily except for females who run
their own business.

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For newspaper readers and subscribers

• Majority of respondents across age groups read newspapers daily

• Majority of respondents across occupations read newspapers daily except students

For Non – readers and Non-Subscribers- Readers

• Majority of Females prefer to read Newspaper 3-4 days a week and equal number of
Females read either daily or 1-2 days a week
• Male Students prefer to read newspaper 1-2 days/week
• Equal percentage of Working males prefer reading newspaper Daily, 3-4 days/week or
1-2 days/week

READERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION
It can be said with 95% confidence that 69-77% of smartphone users have a subscription at
their place.

SUBSCRIBTION READERSHIP Calculation

Subscribers- Readers
P= 0.73
12% Sample σ = 0.45
Non Subscriber- Readers
Using 95% Confidence level
15% Non Readers
Z= 1.96
Confidence interval = p ± zσ/
73% sqrt(n)
Upper limit- 0.77
Lower limit- 0.69

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It can be said with 95% confidence that 85-92% of subscribers will continue their subscription
for next 1 year

CONTINUE SUBSCRIPTION Calculation

P= 0.89
7% Yes
6%
Sample σ = 0.32
5% No Using 95% Confidence level
Maybe-1-4 Z= 1.96
Maybe 5-7 Confidence interval = p ± zσ/
sqrt(n)
82%
Upper limit- 0.92
Lower limit- 0.85

It can be said with 95% confidence that 22.9-43.8% of Non-subscriber readers will take a
newspaper subscription in next 1 year

NEW SUBSCRIPTION Calculation

6% P= 0.333
Yes Sample σ = 0.47
27%
28% No Using 95% Confidence level
Maybe 1-4 days Z= 1.96
Maybe 5-7 days Confidence interval = p ± zσ/
sqrt(n)
39%
Upper limit- 0.438
Lower limit- 0.229

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IN DEPTH COVERAGE
The responses were taken on a scale from 1 to 5. 1 being least preferred and 5 being most
preferred.

Consolidated Age-Occupation-In-depth coverage

1 2 3 4 5
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Business

Business

Business

Business
Working

Working

Retired

Working

Retired
Housewife

Student

Housewife

Student

Housewife

Student
19-25 26-42 43-60 Above 60 Below
18

Both students and working-class individuals enjoy in-depth coverage of news.

Consolidated Gender-Age-In-depth coverage

1 2 3 4 5

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
19-25 26-42 43-60 above 60 less than 19-25 26-42 43-60 above 60 less than
years years years years 18 years years years years years 18 years
Female Male

For Newspaper readers and subscribers

• Students, working and business class across all age groups enjoy in-depth coverage

For Newspaper readers but non-subscribers

• Respondents across all age group Enjoy in depth Content in Newspaper
• Working people of all age group and Retired people enjoy in depth Content in
Newspaper

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For non-readers and non-subscribers
• People across gender, age groups and occupation prefer in depth coverage of news
except for the working population in the age group of 19-25 & 43 -60 years, males in
age 43-60 and females in age 19-25

IN-DEPTH Calculation
Sample mean x = 3.786
4%6% 1 Sample σ = 1.075
2 Using 95% Confidence level
32%
3 & z= 1.96
30% Confidence interval = x ±
4
5
zσ/sqrt(n)
28% Upper limit- 3.881
Lower limit- 3.692

It can be said with 95% confidence that the population mean for in depth reading is between
3.692 ~ 3.881.

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AGE-FREQUENCY-PREFERRED MEDIUM
SUBSCRIBERS

50 Subscribers
40
30
20
10
0
1-2 days/ 3-4 5-6 Daily 1-2 days/ 3-4 5-6 Daily 3-4 5-6 Daily
week days/week days/week week days/week days/week days/week days/week
19-25 years 26-42 years 43-60 years

Google News Newspaper Online Apps- In Shorts, Hike news, etc Online newspapers Radio Social media TV

Daily readers prefer newspapers across all age groups. People reading 5-6 days a week prefer
Newspapers except for 26-42 who prefer online apps. People reading 1-4 days a week prefer
online apps except 26-42 reading 3-4 days a week who prefer Newspapers

NON-SUBSCRIBER- READERS

Non Subscriber- Readers

10
8
6
4
2
0
1-2 3-4 5-6 Daily 1-2 3-4 5-6 Daily Daily
days/week days/week days/week days/week days/week days/week
19-25 26-42 43-60

Google Newspaper Online Apps- In Shorts, Hike news, etc Online newspapers TV Twitter

People in 26-42 prefer Online apps, online newspapers is 2nd preferred. People in 19-25
reading 1-2 days a week and 5-6 days a week prefer Online apps and people reading 3-4 days
and daily prefer Online newspapers

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SENTIMENT ANALYSIS – MOST DESIRED CHANGES IN NEWSPAPER

CHANGES SOUGHT IN NEWSPAPER

A - Authenticity 44

B - Less Advetisiment 36

C - No changes 17

D - Facts over opinions 11

E- Positive news 6

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

When asked about the changes in newspaper that the respondents would like to have,
authenticity of news came out as the most important aspect. People perceive newspapers as
biased and politicised. Advertisement was the second most important aspect. People are not
interested in advertisements and are disappointed that on occasions the front page is full of
ads.

PURPOSE OF READING NEWSPAPERS

Consolidated Purpose
Developing language skills

2% Careers
6% 14%
10%
Local/National/International
news
12%
Entertainment
15%
Editorials

Advertisements
41%
Others

The purpose of 41% of readers is to stay acquainted and updated with

Local/National/International news, followed by entertainment 15%, developing language
skills 14% and career 12%.

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KEY FINDINGS (From Primary Data)

• Online platforms are most preferred medium followed by newspapers.

• Newspaper subscriptions may take a dip in the next 1 year.
• English is the preferred language across income and occupation groups except retired
respondents and housewives.
• Trustworthy news is the most important parameter for respondents.
• Respondents wish to see less advertisements in newspapers.
• Respondents perceive newspaper to be biased in delivering news.
• 60% of the respondents enjoy reading in-depth content.
• 41% of newspaper readers read for purpose of local /national / international news.
• 73% of respondents have a newspaper subscription at their place.
• 65% of respondents plan to continue their subscription for next 1 year.
• 5% of respondents plan to take a new newspaper subscription in next 1 year.
• Non-readers can be on boarded by providing authentic and unbiased news with less
advertisements.

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CONCLUSION
Through this Research we can conclude that online platforms are catching up with Print
newspaper media at a much faster pace and people are getting more inclined towards them
because of easy availability and quick updates. Due to this the Newspaper subscriptions may
take a dip in the next 1 year.
Although there are readers who have been preferring the traditional print newspapers over
other sources till now, but there are chances, they might as well shift to other news
mediums.
As per the Research conducted, most important factor for news readers while selecting the
preferred medium for news turned out to be Trustworthy news. Thus, in order to retain its
customer base, Print Newspaper media needs to improve its image in public as Respondents
perceive newspaper to be biased in delivering news. Also Print Newspaper media can on
board more Non-readers by providing authentic and unbiased news with less
advertisements.
This Research can further be expanded throughout India and the results obtained can be
used to better understand the Newspaper Readership pattern on a large scale.

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REFERENCES
1. Indian Readership Survey 2017 (Nielsen)
2. Agrawal R,. 2016. Print Media: Analyzing Indian Customers' Perspective & Satisfaction
Level Using CSI. The international journal of business & management

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