News from children's perspective - WHAT DO CHILDREN THINK IS NEWS AND HOW DO THEY USE THE NEWS? - BR
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RESEARCH
News from children’s perspective
WHAT DO CHILDREN THINK IS NEWS AND HOW DO THEY USE
THE NEWS?
Saskia Weisser
The article summarises current much more. Children grow up with Youth, collects basic data on media use
study data on the topic of children’s these offers and experience them either and the lifeworlds of children and ado-
news and uses a current qualitative with guidance or entirely intuitively. lescents once a year. The study includes
study to explore the question of what But to what extent do children watch, questions on news usage, which were
children in Germany think the news listen to or read news? What exactly supplemented by exclusive questions
is and to what extent they use it. is news from a child’s point of view? in the 2020 survey; the German broad-
Which offers or which platforms are casting stations KiKA, MDR/ARD and
used by children in today’s changing ZDF commissioned these additional
CURRENT STUDY DATA media landscape? The following gives questions.
a brief overview of the results from 3 According to TTK 2020, 38% of 6- to
News is part of the core mission of recent representative studies. 13-year-olds in Germany used electron-
many media providers: Users can ic media to watch or read news, e.g.,
choose from a vast array of established TrendTrackingKids® about world events or sports, at least
programmes on TV and radio, in daily once a month. In general, it was found
newspapers and magazines, as well as The market media study TrendTrack- that the older the children, the more
various news feeds and apps, online ingKids® (TTK for short), which likely they were to consume current
headlines and articles on search en- is representative of the German news: 68% of the 11- and 12-year-olds,
gines, email portals, on social media population and is conducted by the but only 15% of the 6- and 7-year-olds
platforms, messenger services and market research institute Iconkids & informed themselves about the news
Source: Trend Tracking Kids® 2020 © Iconkids & Youth
Ill. 1: 2020: Electronic media: Frequency of various activities by age (6-9 years old/10-12 years old)
4 34/2021/ERESEARCH
using electronic media children and young
(see also Ill. 1). How often people use digital
children read or watch media to participate
the news also increased in society. News usage
with the age of the re- – surveyed based on
spondents: 56% of 12- and reports about Germa-
13-year-olds, but only 11% ny or other countries
of 6- and 7-year-olds con- or one’s own region/
sumed news at least once location as well as other
a week. A noteworthy current events that can
Ill. 2: The term “news”: children’s definitions (age 8-13)
proportion of daily users be found on the radio,
could be seen from the on TV, in newspapers or
age of 12. on the Internet – was
Differences in usage could also be seen wide range of topics, most frequently low, similar to TTK, but increased with
in the devices surveyed: 6- to 9-year- current world events (84%), sports age.
olds watched or read news primarily (40%), science/environment/technology When asked about different types of
on the TV set, secondarily on a desktop (24%), culture/celebrities/entertainment news, only a minority (RESEARCH
JIM Study news. Participants used classic news a 7-day online diary phase in which
formats, but at comparatively low every “informational moment” of the
The 2018 wave of the German JIM rates. In contrast, there was widespread child – every topic and every possible
study, a telephone survey conducted use of other offers that reflect this source – was documented. Finally, a
regularly on media use among 12- to broad understanding – as well as the 90-minute parent-child interview was
19-year-olds, focused on young peo- heterogeneous market situation. conducted via video call, in which the
ple’s trust in various news sources and previously reviewed informational
programmes, among other things. Ger- moments, identified topics, sources
man public broadcasting offers enjoyed QUALITATIVE STUDY and channels were discussed in depth.
a particularly high level of trust, above This resulted in a deeper understand-
all ARD’s daily news programmes Based on the representative findings, ing of the definition and relevance
Tagesschau/Tagesthemen. With in- the German channels KiKA, MDR/ of messages and the resulting usage
creasing age, respondents also judged ARD and ZDF decided to find out more patterns – the customer journeys –
the print and online editions of the about topics that interest children, in this target group, which are briefly
German news magazines SPIEGEL and their understanding of news and their presented below.
Focus to be increasingly trustworthy, use of news within the framework of a
but decreases in trustworthiness were qualitative baseline study. What is news from the perspec-
reported for the news programmes
tive of 8- to 13-year-olds?
ProSieben Newstime, RTL Aktuell Method
(both offered by commercial broad- “News is information that everyone should
casting stations) and news offered by The research questions were: know about (...) because it’s about important
the tabloid newspaper BILD (print/ • What is news from the perspective topics that people are concerned about, and I
don’t think that how to teach your dog tricks
online). Young people with a higher of 8- to 13-year-olds? belongs in a news programme.” (girl, age 13)
formal education trusted most of the • What factors influence interest and
programmes more than those with a relevance of news? When asked about the term “news”,
lower education; ProSieben Newstime, • Access points: How do children the vast majority of children primarily
RTL Aktuell and BILD-Zeitung, on the learn about news? associated it with information about
other hand, received better marks 36 children between the ages of 8 and events and happenings which above
from young people with a lower formal 13 with varying degrees of affinity all have a certain topicality and af-
education. for news and media and one parent fect a large number of people or are
In the 2019 JIM, it was also found that each were surveyed at 3 locations in relevant for many. From a child’s point
just under one-fifth of 12- to 19-year- Germany in a multi-stage process: of view, anything can be news at first;
olds watched videos of YouTubers talk- First, there was a preliminary video what matters is its relevance to a wide
ing about breaking news. Boys watched call interview, which was followed by range of people (Ill. 2). At the same
these videos slightly more
often than girls (22% vs.
15%). However, similar to
the findings of the TTK
and with the younger
target group, the priority
here also tended to be on
other genres: YouTube
was primarily used for
music videos, funny clips,
Let’s Plays, etc., rather
than news content.
All these studies provide
Screenshot from logo! © ZDF
evidence that no uniform
understanding of news
can be assumed among
children, but that this
target group has a very Ill. 3: News as an impetus for further research, e.g. on how to avoid plastic in everyday life
broad and vague idea of
6 34/2021/ERESEARCH
time, the children interviewed set a “My dad often watches the news and catches ered by chance that there were logo! reports
up on some things and tells us in the family [German children’s news programme] on the
certain limitation that classic YouTube
what’s going on.” (boy, age 13) topic. Then she started researching plastic-
topics such as celebrities/stars and free living.” (mother)
entertainment were not necessarily 1. The more news-savvy the parents,
to be defined as news. It was also strik- or the greater the interest of older 3. Several news items that the children
ing that the youngest respondents siblings, for example, or the school experienced in the course of the day
recognised news as significant and lessons – and thus the resulting did not catch on due to speed, pres-
important, but were unable to name presence or discussion of news in entation that was not appropriate
the added value it provided for them everyday life – the more news-savvy for children, or a lack of connecting
personally. the children surveyed appeared to points to their lives. At best, they
“I’m interested in what’s happening in Ger- be. acted as an impetus for further
many, so I’m also interested in other cities, “Sometimes I watch some videos on corona- research (Ill. 3).
but when it’s in Hamburg, it’s especially virus, how it’s going now, because my mom “When he heard the news that this mother
interesting.” (boy, age 9, living in Hamburg) always tells me it’s important for health and killed her 4 children, he couldn’t stop thinking
stuff.” (boy, age 8) about it. I also felt like he got a little scared; he
They also perceived most news offers
was asking questions for quite a while ‘Why
as something geared toward adults. 2. The more the respective news item
would a mother do that?’ ‘What did the kids
Only among respondents aged about coincided with the child’s personal do that was bad?’ We talked about that a lot
10 and older a certain understanding areas of interest or the more a com- in the family.” (mother of boy, age 9)
and relevance of news to them person- prehensible reference to the child’s
ally could be assumed. In this group, personal situation was evident in the Tabloid reports are a special case:
it was actively demanded that news news item, that is, if the news item Regardless of the age of the children,
contain true content – a distinction was perceived as being “close” to the unusual news and news that was
from “fake news” became more impor- child’s own reality, the more that experienced as particularly bizarre
tant. Regardless of their own interest in news item was perceived as relevant. aroused the interest of many children,
certain topics, the group of 12/13-year- The strongest example during the as did unusual events in what they felt
olds was the most likely to recognise survey was certainly the topic of to be their region. Depending on the
that news also has a certain relevance the coronavirus because it directly extent of the report, this gave reason
for them personally. Likewise, interest affected their own everyday lives: to discuss it with the parents.
in political issues and socio-political Compulsory masks at school, meet-
topics increased; for the children, it ing with friends and much more. Access points: How do children
was important to know what was Political processes and decisions,
learn about news?
happening in the world. Accordingly, otherwise largely perceived as ab-
offers on these topics were used more stract or distant, became very con- News is not automatically inherent in
frequently, and contexts and relation- crete here from the respondents’ everyday life from a child’s perspective:
ships among topics in these areas were perspective. Children often take over the routine
also understood. Another example – that of climate access paths to news from their par-
change – illustrated how differently ents; if parents are less interested in
What factors influence interest a topic could be perceived in terms news, the access paths to news are
of personal relevance and investi- clearly limited for children as well. In
and relevance of news?
gated by age groups: While the topic line with the representative data, the
Based on the diary documentation and was almost exclusively understood qualitative study also found that televi-
the survey, it became clear that very as environmental protection by sion news programmes in particular
different influencing factors played a the youngest children with specific were an established and highly relevant
role in the understanding and relevance aspects such as animal welfare and news source that was often watched
of a news item. Besides the children’s waste, the oldest children were able together with parents, especially in
parental home, key factors were the to make links with topics such as news-savvy households. The main
living environment and personal inter- Fridays for Future, global warming programmes identified here were the
ests as well as the comprehensibility and the situation in the rainforests German children’s news programme
of the news item in terms of language, or were already actively researching logo!, but also adult programmes and
presentation and dramaturgy. these topics. some entertainment/infotainment and
In concrete terms, this means that “At the very beginning when it started, she tabloid magazines.
regardless of age and cognitive devel- had a magazine and there the main topic was “If I don’t know how to do something or
opment: ‘living without plastic’ and there she discov- would like to know a piece of information,
34/2021/E 7RESEARCH
I go to YouTube, enter the topic there and any information that was current and knew or used news services which from
then just watch more detailed information
true and was important and relevant their point of view are primarily aimed
about it.” (boy, age 13)
for at least the person using it, or even at adults or at least older children. With
As age increased, online sources and for a large group of people, can in logo! on TV, for example, but also with a
platforms became more relevant. A principle become news. few offers on the radio or in print, there
whole range of usage patterns can For successful news communication, are a few formats for the children’s sec-
be identified in this context: In some it is important to note that the un- tor. Judging by the interest of the target
cases, the children entered a search derstanding of news as well as the per- group, however, there is a great deal of
term – often triggered by a topic or a sonal interest in (news) topics strongly potential for further offers, especially
news question, e.g., a radio report or a depended on the children’s age and online. This is currently served primar-
school topic – and oriented themselves cognitive level. Certain assumptions ily by news aggregators and offers not
on the first 3 to 5 headlines. From a about the understanding of news in geared toward children.
child’s point of view, the comprehen- general and concrete contexts, for ex-
sibility of the headline was particularly ample, about climate change, as they
relevant. The sender or the source was are presupposed in the usual news
not decisive at first. The older the chil- offers, can in part only be assumed for NOTE
dren, the more established patterns of the oldest children.
use became apparent: they selectively “I have to watch news at least twice a week
1
Journalismus macht Schule, Hamburg. Available at:
www.journalismus-macht-schule.org [30.4.20]
accessed network offers, and in some for the subject Home and Society because we
cases also used news apps or aggrega- always talk about it in class. I usually watch
the [adult news programme] Tagesschau at 8,
tors, e.g., to scan local events or news.
but sometimes I watch [the children’s news]
One aspect was particularly striking: logo! on YouTube – it’s always explained a REFERENCES
Many of the children aged 11/12 and little easier there.” (boy, age 13)
older said that the depth of informa- AGF Videoforschung GmbH in cooperation with Kantar
tion at headline level was enough for Another factor to be taken into ac- (2020). AGF GenZ-Videostudie. Bewegtbildnutzung im
Wandel. Kinder und Jugendliche gehen voran. Frank-
them and that they felt sufficiently count is the children’s home and living furt: AGF Videoforschung.
informed, even without having read environment: If children grow up in a Iconkids & youth (2020). TrendTracking Kids® 2020.
more on the topic. Looking at the en- home with an affinity for news, or if Munich: Iconkids & youth.
tire age segment – 8- to 13-year-olds such offers are a topic at school, they KiKA, MDR/ARD and ZDF (2020). Kinder und Nach-
richten. Unpublished study conducted by Rich Harvest.
– social media news offers played a role are at least more likely to learn about Hamburg.
only very sporadically. these offers and how to deal with them. Leibniz Institut für Medienforschung/Hans-Bredow-
“I happened to see on TikTok that a TikToker Otherwise, the children cannot be as- Institut (HBI) (2019). EU Kids Online. Hamburg: Hans-
Bredow-Institut.
woman was saying something about racism sumed to already have this knowledge,
in America. I watched that, but otherwise I Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest
even if they do in parts express interest (mpfs) (2019). JIM-Studie 2018. Stuttgart: mpfs.
don’t watch news on TikTok.” (girl, age 12)
in such support. Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest
2 conclusions emerge from the results (mpfs) (2020). JIM-Studie 2019. Stuttgart: mpfs.
presented: First, there appears to be a Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest
(mpfs) (2019). KIM-Studie 2018. Stuttgart: mpfs.
CONCLUSIONS lack of systematic engagement with
Medienpädagogischer Forschungsverbund Südwest
news offers in childhood. This could (mpfs) (2021). KIM-Studie 2020. Stuttgart: mpfs.
In summary, all of the studies presented be remedied, for example, by a school Pörcksen, Bernhard (2019). Lecture at re:publika19.
not only show great overlap in results, subject called “media studies”, as called
but also provide valuable insights into for, for example, by communications
children’s understanding and use of scientist Prof. Pörcksen (re:publika19),
news. which would help explain the origins THE AUTHOR
The quantitative results showed that and evaluation of news. The German
children had a very broad understand- initiative “Journalismus macht Schule”
ing of news, not only in terms of topics, [Journalism provides education],1
Saskia Weisser is
but also in terms of providers, playout which is aimed at older children, takes market and me-
channels and forms of presentation. a similar direction. dia research con-
This was further specified in the Second, looking at the study data, there sultant at KiKA
qualitative study, which looked in more is evidence that there is a need for more Erfurt, Germany.
detail at children’s understanding of children’s news offers in Germany. To
news: From the child’s point of view, a large extent, the children surveyed
8 34/2021/EYou can also read
