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African-Americans No. 1 in Media Consumption


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Nielsen reports that African-Americans outpace all groups when consuming media through multi-platforms.  According to the audience measurement company, African-Americans watch more television, access their favorite websites, many of which feature financial or career content, through apps and/or mobile browsers.   

"On a monthly basis, blacks spend close to 56 hours using apps or mobile Internet browsers on their smartphones and about two and a half hours watching videos on their smartphones. Additionally, 81% of African-Americans are more likely to show support for a favorite company or brand using social media, and 76% are more likely to share opinions by posting reviews and ratings online." ~nielsen I MULTIFACETED CONNECTIONS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEDIA USAGE OUTPACES ACROSS PLATFORMS

Other Nielsen findings conclude  African-Americans :

  • "flock to best-fit media outlets for news-gathering and entertainment"
  • Watch 200 hours of television per month - choosing live programming and video-on-demand 
  • prefer print and still choose a variety of newspapers and magazines featuring heritage and cultural content 
  • continue to connect through radio with more than 70 % listening to Urban Contemporary, Adult Urban Contemporary, RnB contemporary, and 90 % tuning in for the Gospel and Urban Oldies format
  • are likely share opinions for their favorite brand (81%) through social media and 76% likely to leave an online review/ratings. 
  • are avid users of popular social media and blogging channels
  • smart phone penetration is at 81%  - 7% higher than the rest of the groups. 

One more thing of note; Nielsen reports that mainstream media outlets establish niche websites that have culturally rich content.  Translation:  PWM (Predominately White Media) create websites that cater to African-Americans in an effort to advertise to the purse holders of that est. 1.7 trillion dollar purchasing power.  

 

 

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200 hours is more time than someone working 40 hours a week would spend on their job.  

There are many homes I visit where the TV is playing and no one is watching it.  I know a lot of people who sleep with the TV on--one lady I talked to about this needs the TV on to fall asleep. Some people still keep TV's one to even when they are not home to give potential burglars the impression someone is home.

This is purely anecdotal of course, but since Nielsen no longer hands out surveys I presume they are collecting the data by monitoring our viewing habits which is data that is easily obtained now that we all use view TV broadcasts over some digital network. The article did not discuss the methodology used to collect the information.

I suspect what Nielsen is capturing is a cultural bias, where Black folk happen to have the TVs on longer, and not being watched, so the perspection is we are watching them longer.

As far as smart phone usage is concerned that makes sense because for many Black folks the cell phone is there only form of Internet access.  We don't talk about it much any more but there are A LOT of Black people who don't have PC's or laptops at home, and their cell phone is their primary method for access the internet. Which may explain why Black folks disproportionately use Twitter.

The stats about newspapers readership baffles me. I subscribe to newspapers and read them, but I don't know very many other people who do.  They read, but it is typically online...

 

 

 

 

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Here it is: 

"METHODOLOGY

The insights in this article were derived from three sources.

Nielsen+ESSENCE Custom Survey 2014: The custom data used in this report is composed of a collection of surveys. 1.) Survey of Adults 18+ that was collected from a nationally representative online panel, plus an additional oversample of African-Americans. 2.) Survey collected in person at the 2014 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans. 3.) Interviews conducted in person at the 2014 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans.

Television Methodology: “On Traditional TV” includes live usage plus any playback viewing within the measurement period. Third-quarter 2014 television data is based on the following measurement interval: 06/30/14-09/28/14. As of February 2011, “DVR Playback” has been incorporated into the Persons Using Television (PUT) statistic.

Mobile Methodology: Nielsen’s Electronic Mobile Measurement (EMM) is an observational, user-centric approach that uses passive metering technology on smartphones to track device and application usage on an opt-in convenience panel. Results are then reported out through Nielsen Mobile NetView 3.0. There are approximately 5,000 panelists in the U.S. across both iOS and Android smartphone devices."

 

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OK It must be getting late I read the article twice and completely missed the methodology so prominently placed at the end of the article I'll look at this again tomorrow.

I will say any data collected at an Essence Festival would be VERY biased.  Have you ever been to an Essence Festival? LOL!

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While it was not my observation regarding the ownership of media outlets Sara, I do wholeheartedly agree with the idea.  

Of course the the notion that we "...move from being a race of consumers to one that produces..." is predicated up the fact they we do not produce, nor control the production of wheat we consume, so I'm 100% in line with that idea.

 

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I am presumably what you all would refer to as a consummate consumer, a status I acquired about 10 years ago.  I no longer own anything, which means that I am not burdened with high property taxes or utility bills,  I do not have to worry about maintenance and repairs on my yard and my house,  The same with a car; no note, no repair bills, no insurance payments, no output for gas.  I do pay rent, but at a price I can afford at a place which supplies free heat and air conditioning, Transportation?  it's just a phone call away.  I am catered to by those who want me to buy what they are selling and I luxuriate in all the conveniences that have replaced the hassle of the ownership which entailed having to do for myself.  The pension I collect  is a result of the money I worked to earn and now use to finance the things that take the drudgery out of life.  When I die, my children will not be fighting over property, they can divide up whatever money I will leave to them.  There is something to be said for simply being a consumer. 

If we somehow become a race of producers instead of consumers, will this really benefit the average black person?  Or will it just create black capitalists to ascend into the one percenter ranks as the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. (We are already a race of producers, our product being a surplus supply of fatherless babies that will grow up to meet the demands of the prison industry.)

LOL.  I say all of this because it is my nature to question everything. Why? Because Life is so uncertain. :huh:

 

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Cynique in this context I'm talking about media consumption, who produces it, who profits, how the consumer (Black folks benefit).

We are all consumers, and a small percentage are also producers.  Sure producers stand to benefit financially, but if they care about the consumer, the consumer will benefit in many ways too.  They will benefit from content that serves them, they can even benefit from employment by the producer, I can go on an on.

In today's world media production is coalescing into the hand of a few multinational corporations not only don't care about us but don't like us.  Who else would publish a book, for your children where a grown black man is skurrying about the kitchen to make a cake for his slavemaster, the "father" of our country.  

In the book world most of the top selling Black books aren't even owned by Americans.

There is not one Black owned publisher that can produce a book that will Black people will support, in the same way that they support a book from Spiegel and Grau published title. 

So yes, if they were more Black media, the average Black person would benefit. In fact all you have to do is look at what we have lost over the last 20 years.

The following cartoon was published in the NY Post, a major newspaper, in one of the world's great cities, New York City.  The paper is owned by Rupert Murdoch who owns more media properties than I can count including HarperCollins one of the planet's largest publishers.

Murdoch has used his newspaper to advance his businesses.  Do you think he give a crap about Black people, poor people...  

2009-02-18-cartoon.jpg.fd3f5a53b255f8e77

 

  

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No,Troy, I don't think Rupert Murdoch gives a damn about black people. And neither did black billionaire, Robert Johnson who sold BET. Ebony Magazine is black-owned, Blacks still hold the controlling interest in the all-black Chicago Defender newspaper, Oprah is a media mogul  and owns a magazine, and Tyler Perry has his own movie studio.  Has any of this made a big difference??   

And the reason why I roll my eyes about this "next step being a race of producers instead of one of  consumers" postulation  is because this totally unoriginal idea apparently has no legs. For me, it dates back 60 years ago when Malcolm X was repeating what his leader Elijah Muhammad said it about blacks creating their own businesses.   And Elijah  was echoing what blacks who came before him said.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize the importance of blacks controlling what other blacks consume, including the printed word. Perceptive black thinkers have even applied this principle to Christianity and the role it played in slavery, arguing that no people should've worshiped a savior who looked like their oppressor, or revered a bible not written by their own hands.

Money, of course is the bottom line so the immediate goal for blacks is to get rich enough to become movers and shakers who will channel some of their wealth into the publishing media.   Black people do have a monopoly on hoping things will get better.  So hope on.  

 

  

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On 2/15/2016 at 10:50 PM, Troy said:

 Have you ever been to an Essence Festival? LOL!

I haven't... ever.   The last  time I attended a "black fest"  I was college-aged...and it was the Greek picnic at Fairmount park in Philly.    Since then. I'm more likely to gravitate to "cerebral" conferences w/swag such as the NABJ (National Association of Black Journalists)

Aside: Nielsen should definitely do research there.  

As I mentioned if  you find me in a crowd - we are there to expand our minds.   As for concerts I like small intimate venues such as the Mayne stage in Chicago,  or Chicago Theatre, or here in the ATL at the Atlanta Symphony hall; any type of theatre  set up for acoustic music.

22 hours ago, Cynique said:

And neither did black billionaire, Robert Johnson who sold BET.

Speaking of BET's Bob Johnson, looks as if he's trying to disrupt the cable industry with his pitch for  Universal Set-Top Box .  

From a 02/16/2016 Press Release:

Statement By Robert L. Johnson In Response To Comments Made By Alfred Liggins And Michael Powell On The Universal Set-Top Box

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "As the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), I know how difficult it was to get distribution over cable. But with the support of the cable industry and the African American community, I and others, turned BET into the success it is today.  The universal set-top box, unlike the leased cable box, opens up the unfettered opportunity for hundreds of minority programming aspirants who would like to create content success of their own, similar to what I enjoyed with BET.  With all due respect to my good friends Alfred Liggins, Founder and CEO of TV One, and Michael Powell,  CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), it is not the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) role or obligation to force Black Americans who have a median net worth of $13,000 to spend an average of $231 a year to lease a cable box so TV One and the cable industry can make billions of dollars off of working class Black Americans, to only have access to four Black-oriented channels out of over 500 choices that principally show network reruns.  Furthermore, there is nothing in the FCC's proposed rulemaking that would allow technology companies to infringe on TV One's advertising revenue and relationships.  On the other hand, my company, RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), is well on the way to proving that programmers do not have to be totally dependent on advertising models.  RLJE operates two over-the-top (OTT) subscription streaming channels, both of which depend on direct subscriber revenue.  Acorn TV, which produces countless hours of original British mysteries and dramas, and UMC - Urban Movie Channel, through its parent company RLJ Entertainment, acquires more minority and independent films than any minority programmer on cable. And by the way, we have licensed content to both TV One and BET.  UMC, as a minority targeted program channel, is a perfect example of the opportunity that hundreds of other minority programmers will have when the universal set-top box is implemented and their content is given equal access to the subscriber on any viewing device, particularly the television set.  Finally, the FCC should not protect minority incumbents, but should encourage new minority entrants, and that is what the universal set-top box does. Most minority programmers I know, unlike TV One, are not asking the FCC to protect them from competition but are simply seeking an opportunity for a fair chance and a fair shot to have their content seen and their voices heard!"

 

Edited by Mel Hopkins
Typo
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Cynique, you and I both know Ebony and the Defender are a shell of what they once were.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the people of Chicago?

I'm not going to suggest that Bob Johnson was a conscious Brother.  But I do know that before BET launched you could not find a Black music video on TV.  Even as BET ultimately began broadcasting hours of gansta rap they did also have a few hours of valuable news.  BET's presence was certainly better than nothing, which is what we had at the time.  

Of course we are better off with Oprah and Perry. Forget the movies do you know how many jobs Perry is responsible for creating?

Johnson is late to the game.  People are already ditching their set-top box and paying content providers directly for content or streaming it for free.  What we should be fighting for is making internet access a utility.  Far too many poor people, school age children in particular, are at a disadvantage because they lack access

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He may be a bit too late as there are countless YouTubers who have been able to transition from the computer screen to mainstream, or they have been able to build a solid enough following to generate their own outlets. Some of these are already linked to a variety of new services...but at the end of the day if his goal is to create another outlet and make a killer profit it's all good.

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Meanwhile, over at American Broadcasting Company - Black women "stay winning" ( welll maybe not on Once Upon A Time..:D )  But.... https://www.yahoo.com/tv/channing-dungey-named-abc-entertainment-president-replacing-paul-192035548.html

Ms Channing Dungey is reported to have made so many right moves - She's now in a top position at the network.   

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20 hours ago, Troy said:

Cynique, you and I both know Ebony and the Defended are a shell of what they once were.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the people of Chicago?

Unfortunately, I no longer subscribe to either because I'm too jaded for them to command my interest any longer. Ebony's subscription rates are very low and the introductory offers include bonus copies which turn out to be back issues.  When their iconic red and white name banner started appearing in different color combinations, I knew John Johnson had to be rolling over in his grave.

I don't think either of these publications represent anything but a blip in the radar when it comes to Chicago's African American community in terms of jobs or politics.  

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On 2/17/2016 at 9:58 AM, Mel Hopkins said:

Statement By Robert L. Johnson In Response To Comments Made By Alfred Liggins And Michael Powell On The Universal Set-Top Box

Looks like FCC agreed with Bob Johnson

FCC MOVES TO “UNLOCK THE BOX” TO SPUR COMPETITION, CHOICE, & INNOVATION IN SET-TOP BOX AND APP MARKETPLACE Proposal will protect copyright agreements, channel-lineups while giving consumers options"

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