Report: Print, Radio Among Media Missed Least

Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget has posted detailed look at where digital business appears to be headed.

The chart, based on Ofcom data charted by BI Intelligence. It shows a major shift in the types of media most important to various generations.

People between the ages of 16 and 24, for example, would not blink an eye if newspapers and magazines went extinct; smartphones are the "must-have" device of the younger generation. The breakdown among all adults shows a much stronger craving for TV over smartphones and computers, and the older generations (those over 75) don't care much about computers and have absolutely no problem living without smartphones.

In his Media Blog, strategist Mark Ramsey asserts the premise question and graph are "extremely" flawed:

According to Ramsey, here's why:

• Hypothetical questions like this one yield hypothetical responses. We could as easily ask what their favorite media would be in the presence of a zombie apocalypse.
• The list of options is anything but comprehensive. “Smartphone,” for example, does not include “tablet,” does it? Whole categories are presumed not to exist.
• What’s being evaluated here are not really “media,” they are media distribution channels. TV content lives on a smartphone as does radio content. So does that qualify as “Smartphone” or “TV”? Where, for example, do Pandora and Spotify live? In the “smartphone” category, right? But why? These are audio platforms that complement or substitute for the distribution channel called “radio.” This is a dumb rookie mistake, if you ask me. Researcher heads should roll.
• “Smartphone” is much more than a media device, so what you “miss” there is much more than media. Ditto for “Computer.” Respondents are reading in layers of value that go well beyond the intent of the crappy question.

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