Research Reveals Lasting Impact of NOTW Hacking Scandal and Closure

LONDON, July 7, 2011 -

- Lasting Impact of
Scandals Will be More Balanced
Media Diet for Consumers Says
Populis

Emerging new media brands look set to benefit from a growing
consumer backlash against ‘traditional’ media outlets in the wake
of the NOTW hacking scandal and subsequent closure of the
publication, according to research released today by online
publisher, Populis.

Populis interviewed 2,025 UK consumers via pollsters Opinium and
found that 44% said their trust in traditional media in general had
been ’significantly undermined’ by the continuing scandal 35% said
they were more likely to explore newer publishers as a result of
the scandal with just under 1 in 5 (18%) saying this was likely to
permanently affect the media they choose to consumer on a regular
basis.

Luca Ascani, Co-Founder and Chairman, Populis, said: “Rightly or
wrongly, we’re clearly seeing the broader traditional media
establishment being tarred with the same brush as the NOTW on this
issue and, even with the announcement of the closure of the NOTW,
we expect to see a lasting impact on the authority of many media
brands that have been around for decades, or even hundreds of
years. Conversely, the authority of new media outlets has been
growing for some time, with consumers welcoming the fresh voices
and a broader range of specialist content that bloggers and
independent publishers can provide. We’re not predicting the death
of media as we know it - there will always be a role for
established players to report breaking news - but I do think we’re
reaching a tipping point where more and more people begin to
explore a wider media diet, especially when it comes to feature
content.”

He continues: “As media consumption continues to fragment across
a wider range of smaller independent publishers, we’re seeing the
advertising money follow too. This has got to be good news as it
stimulates new publishing ideas and gives consumers more choice,
more voices, and a healthy plurality of media.”

About Populis

Populis is one of Europe’s fastest growing digital media
companies (GP Bullhound Media Momentum 2010) and European leader in
the production of multilingual content on demand. Created in 2004
the Group crowdsources, distributes and monetizes over 35,000 items
of compelling content in 8 languages per month for a vibrant
network of 550 fully owned and operated websites including Excite
Europe, Better Deals and Nanopublishing. The media properties
generate over 26.1 million unique monthly users (Source: Comscore
January 2011).

Populis is a pan-European company with a team of over 125
working across offices in Ireland and Italy, active in the UK,
Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, US, Australia,
Russia and Brazil.

www.populis.com

For further information please contact: Natalie Godsell - +44(0)20-7592-1200 / +44(0)7983-591-999, natalie.godsell at brands2life.com ; Gareth Thomas - +44(0)20-7592-1200 / +44(0)7793-597-406, gareth.thomas at brands2life.com