Eyetracking 2015

Decision on the first information level Information saturation Discriminating readers

Taking different target groups into account

Image/text scissors

Celebrity eye-catchers

Eye-track recording: Research into readers‘ behaviour The headline as a brainteaser

An old rule tested The lead flops

Navigation via the page heading

Greed for the news

The lead story with image has advantages Kicker or subheadline: The subheadline wins

The large image attracts attention The small image brings 20 percent Ideal sequence: Image – Headline – Text

Simple visualisation works

Dropping quota in the lead

Murder case with high quota

Exclusive topic – exclusive quota

The alternative story form is used intensively The number of the day works well

Emotion wins

155

Test structure

Eye-tracking

The eye-track recording camera is integrated into a pair of spectacles, so that reading is not hampered. A newspaper was produced for the test in Berlin Format (a medium newspaper format) with current real text. The newspaper can be held freely in the hands and flipped through.

About the current study The results of a current eye-tracking study by me is published on the following pages. A highly modern instrument is implemented, in which the test persons only wear spectacles, which measuring instruments are integrated into.

The reading behaviour is recorded and evaluated.

It can be precisely determined which articles are utilised how.

From this, implications can be drawn for the design and content of newspapers.

Studies about the utilisation of news websites and iPads have likewise been made by us.

Media usage of the test persons The most-used medium (multiple answers possible) to gain information about current events is the internet with 95 percent.

The newspaper follows with 55 percent and radio/television likewise with 55 percent. 25 percent of the test persons called the newspaper a current news source. The newspaper is read seldom by 50 percent of the test persons, frequently by 30 percent and daily by 20 percent.

Test persons Taking part in the eye-track recording study were 20 persons, of whom 60 percent were female and 40 percent male. The test was conducted in Bonn.

n General-Anzeiger (Bonn) 25 % n Frankfurter Allgemeine 15 % n faz.net 5% n SĂźddeutsche Zeitung 15 % n sĂźddeutsche.de 5% n Rheinische Post 10 % n Der Spiegel 10 % n spiegel.de 5% n Rhein-Sieg Anzeiger 5%

Age The test persons were between 18 and 45 years of age, the group of the 18 to 25-year-olds being the best represented with 60 percent.

156

The following print and on-line media are used by the test persons (multiple answers possible): n Frankfurter Rundschau 5 % n fr-online.de 5% n taz, die Tageszeitung 5% n taz.de 5% n KĂślner Stadt-Anzeiger 10 % n Rheinischer Merkur 5% n Stern 5% n National Geographic 5%

Test newspaper 1: Reading quotas front page

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 1, Front page n The newspaper has six columns and is furnished with real text.

■ n “Bonner Nachrichten” is not an existing newspaper title.

The name was chosen, because the test was conducted in Bonn. n A regular newspaper was not used, because in this test many details concerning the contents and design were to be checked which would not be found in this way in a regular newspaper. n The test persons had 30 minutes‘ time to read the newspaper.

This falls in line with the average reading duration.

n The importance of the grey gradation The darker the surface, the greater attention is paid to the image or text. Example: 60 percent of the participants look at the newspaper title. 100 percent look at the lead picture.

60 5 75

65

25

50

75

80

n Consumption of the image and lead Consumption of the image and lead is good, the reports to the left and right decline noticeably. This is normal. Due to the size and positioning in the middle of the page, large pictures and large articles get constantly better values than small articles in the margin.

100

20

n Very good value: The lead with the headline “Mirco‘s mother in the witness stand” is read to the end by 35 percent.

90

85

70

65 65

75

40

40 35

75

15 45

10

50

80 35

20

25

n There is a quotation with picture in the middle of the lead story serving to provide relief. Less attention was paid to it than to the text of the article. Implication: The portrait was probably too small.

75

n Article at the foot of the page The article with the headline “Why the mole has 12 fingers” was read to the end by 25 percent. Many readers found this topic interesting, above all else, through the illustration.

75 25

10

10

50

30

15

50 25

n Quotation in the column on the left Very good values for the quotation in the column on the left. When pondering on revamping, such relief elements should be taken into good account in any case. Such elements are like chocolates that one lays aside. To take up again whenever. n The reports at bottom left remain practically unnoticed. Here, it should be borne in mind whether to use larger headlines or to place fixed columns.

157

Reading quotas inside pages

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 1, Page 8 Panorama n “How J. R. Ewing transformed television” was the lead on this page. The article is structured by two six-line quotations. n Under the lead, there are four statements from editors. The headline runs: “What editorial staff recall”. n An old rule tested The rule: Persons should not look out of the page.

To be tested here is what happens if somebody does actually look out from the page. This is why a portrait in a report to the left outside is placed in such a manner that the person looks out from the page.

n Content for older readers The lead story “How J. R. Ewing transformed television” was uninteresting for many test persons, because they are simply too young. The series started 30 years ago and most of the participants in the test are under 30 years old.

5 65 45

85

65

15

5

95

5

10

20

5

5

15

20

5

15

15 60

15

30

30

45

30

25

35 25

30

10

30 10 5

15 15

164

55

5

n In order to determine that the article is uninteresting, it has to be known to begin with what it is all about. 95 percent paid attention to the lead picture, 85 percent read the headline. Only 15 percent read the lead. Readers notice immediately that the topic was not meant for them. n The box under the lead story: “Dallas: What editorial staff recall” therefore remained completely unused as well, apart from the portrait images, which were well observed. n An old rule tested: The result Persons should not look out of the page, but nothing negative happens. The test persons looked at the image quite normally and also read the text underneath.

“Persons should not look out of the page” – because it looks aesthetically unsatisfactory, if the illustrated persons turn away from the article. It is merely a problem of aesthetics.

Reading quotas inside pages

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 1, Page 9 Panorama n The lead story deals with motorway illumination in Belgium, which is to be switched off in future for cost reasons. n The article starts as follows: “When the Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne on his stay in space wants to take a look at home, all he had to do up till now is orientate himself on the motorways – provided that down below in Europe night has fallen”. The lights of the motorways cause Belgium to be ablaze with light from space, as indeed the lead picture shows.

20 80

40

85

40

50 50

35

10

25 30

20 20 15 35

10

10

10 5

5

15 10

n The lead story flops Considerable attention is paid to the lead image and headline. After the lead, however, interest in the topic rapidly disappears. The reason is simple: The news has been told after the first paragraph.

Any number of lines follow with explanations as to expenses, and explanatory notes on the historical development of road lighting in Belgium, which, however, only meets with slight interest. n The multiline breaker in the lead story still gets a 20 percent quota – double as much as the text itself. n The reports in the outside column are relatively well observed, whereby utilisation from top to bottom drops from 40 to 10 percent. n The greed for news When reading a newspaper, the reader orientates him or herself on headlines and images. It is the greed for news that he or she pursues. If the start appears interesting, then the reader begins to read the article. Once curiosity is satisfied, reading is stopped, and the user turns to other contents.

165

Reading quotas inside pages

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 1, Page 10 Cultural magazine n Visualisation The topic: The novel “Gone with the Wind” was published 75 years ago. Used as visualisation is the typewriter the novel was typed on. This image idea is not enthralling. The photograph has a documentary and quiescent effect. A cover of the first edition or a photo from the renowned motion picture would possibly have provided better visualisation. n Rule about visualisation The quieter and more inconspicuous the visualisation, the fewer readers one has.

n Navigation via the page title Due to the fact that the image and headline do not reveal much about the contents on this page, more attention is paid to the page title here than on the previous pages. It is not observed at the beginning of information assimilation, but only then when the reader wants to know where he or she is inside the newspaper.

25 5 65

70

15 50

80

10

45

15 35 25

55 10

10

25

25

5

25 40 15

50

25

5

20

166

15

25 30

10

5 10

5

10

10

n After the lead, the quota rapidly dwindled The lead headline “Tomorrow is a new day” with the subheadline “75 years ago, Margaret Mitchell‘s Dixieland novel ‘Gone with the Wind’ was published for the first time” was well observed due to the large photograph and large headline. After the lead, however, the quota rapidly dwindled from 45 to 15, 10 and then finally to 5 percent. n Because of the image, the fact box in the lead story was better observed than the basic text.

10

n Taking target groups into account In the CD tips in the left column, the illustrations were much more intensively used than the texts.

Classical CDs were dealt with. The young test participants were, it is true, interested in music, but not in classical. n Implication: One should deliberately try to place topics on every page that are also of interest to young people. Newspapers are, as far as content is concerned, frequently too very much oriented on middle-aged male readers. Quite different target groups can be addressed than has been the case hitherto.

Reading quotas inside pages

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 1, Page 12 Topic: Harry Potter n A few days before the test, the second part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” appeared in the cinemas. n This monothematic page without breakers was placed to fit in with the film start. What was to be determined was whether long texts without segmentation are consumed by younger readers at all. Result: Harry Potter hit upon great interest even without any interruption in the text.

10 40

25

75

15

25 35

45

30

25

30

30

n Big picture – greatest attention Although the lead picture was placed too low, it received the greatest attention. n As on all pages, the caption is less greatly observed than the image itself. Ultimately, however, this picture is self-explanatory anyway. n Article begin tested In the lead story, the text begin is placed to the left of the headline in order to test whether readers have a problem with it. Some test persons started reading the text on the left under the headline. This means they started right in the middle of the article.

Implication: The text should always begin on the left under the headline and not at another place on the page.

30

80

n Conclusion: One should not intentionally destroy the functionality of the layout.

25 55 15

50 15

15

10

10

10

5

n Information saturation In the article at the foot of the page it can be seen that the readers‘ interest is more saturated column for column. Finally, the quota declines to a mere 5 percent.

5

167

Test newspaper 2: Reading quotas front pages

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 2, Front page n This test was conducted one year after the first, likewise with 20 participants and likewise in Bonn.

This newspaper is designed in five columns. n Two front pages in comparison n Lead story with and without image These two pages have the same lead topic: „Too many extreme obese“, as in the headline. The article is tested once with and once without the image. (Illustration on the opposite page.)

Question: Have the two identical articles a different quota or are are they read equally well? n Varying image sizes at the foot Placed at the foot of the one page is a very large upright format image, on the other a normal picture.

Question: Does reading progress, i.e. the sequence of information assimilation, change if there is a particularly large image at the bottom? n The importance of small images Placed on a test page is a small article with image, on the other without an image.

Question: Is an article with image better used than the same article without image?

n The lead story with image has advantages Comparing these two pages directly enables us to clearly recognise that the lead story with image has distinctly more readers than the same article without image. n Kicker or subheadline: The subheadline wins The kicker – that is the line above the headline – has a quota of 30 percent, the subheadline 80 percent.

For this reason, the subheadline should be used.

It forms a harmonious transition from the headline to the text. n The large image attracts attention The one image at the bottom of the page has 85 percent consideration. It attracts a great deal of attention from the lead story. This is why the largest image should always be placed at the top.

It would be ideal if it belonged to the lead story. n The small image brings 20 percent Without any image, the article at the foot of the page has a quota of 20 percent – with an image the same text gets 40 percent. The big lead image should therefore be contrasted by a small image at the foot of the page.

50

60

60

70

40

100 5 60 50 20

30 80 60 50 40

20 80

85 85

30

30 20

30 20 80 30

50

30 10

30 20

60

80

80

90

40

5

60 30

60

70

40

40

30

60

10 06

168

Test newspaper 2: Reading quotas front pages

Eye-tracking

n Newspaper title positive or negative?

The test pages were designed with the title positive and then negative.

Question: Is one of the two titles taken into more account? n Simple visualisation A tape measure was used for visualisation of the topic overweight. Here the topic is represented very objectively. A very much adipose person could have been shown in order to create an emotional introduction to the topic.

Question: Can an objective photo also be a good eye-catcher?

50

60

60

70

n The newspaper title is in any event conspicuous No matter whether the newspaper title is positive or negative, it is conspicuous in any case. 100 percent attention cannot be excelled.

40

100 10

5 60

90

50

80

20

60

70

100

50

30 70 20

60

50

50

40

50

10

60

70 30 60 20

20 70

60

40

40

80 5

30

n Generating hierarchy of the topics It is the editors‘ job to generate a hierarchy of the topics for readers. Readers are best guided as follows: – Placing at the top of the page clearly shows: Here is the most important topic.

– Articles with image enjoy more attention than articles without image. The editorial staff must therefore provide important topics with an image and place less important ones without an image.

– More attention is paid to multi-columns than to single-columns. In other words, single-columns can never be so important as multi-columns in terms of content.

30

20 80 50

n Simple visualisation works The tape measure to the topic overweight receives 100 percent attention. Placing at the top front page certainly contributed to this quota.

20

20 5 07

169

Reading quotas infographics

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 2, Page 7 Infographics I n The embedded headline A mistake was incorporated on this test page: The headline stands under the image, and the article begins at the top left with a large initial letter.

Question: What kind of an effect does this layout have on the utilisation of the article?

n Utilisation of simple infographics With this infographic, size comparison is conducted.

Cologne Cathedral and the Brandenburg Gate are compared to two wind power plants in order to document the dimensions.

35

75

5

n The embedded headline mars the quota The headline below the image only receives a quota of 60 percent. The headings at the top of the page tend towards 80 to 90 percent.

45

n Introduction to the article is interrupted While with many other articles the sequence – image – headline – text – occurred from the top to the bottom, on this page the reader must, after the headline, move his attention to the top left to find the beginning to the article. Compared to normal articles, this one here receives a 20 to 30 percent worse quota. A high price for a layout error.

90

90

90

25

5

20 45

45

85

n Implication: The headline should never be buried in the article, because the reader will not necessarily pursue this wrong reading sequence.

75

30

n Infographics is used well Overall attention paid to these infographics lies at 75 percent. Even 90 percent of the test persons read the detailed information in the graphics. n 45 to 85 percent read the small text blocks below the images.

60 25

40 20

20

20 15

10 5

10

035

176

Reading quotas infographics

Eye-tracking

Test newspaper 2, Page 12 Infographics II n Combination of infographics and reportage The page describes the situation of users of the Berliner S-Bahn (Berlin commuter railway). In July 2010, instead of 505 S-Bahn trains, only 165 could be used. For many months on end, there were delays and overcrowded trains in Berlin. The headline “Ooohhhh, when are you coming?” is very fittingly selected for the topic.

Question: To what extent are infographics, the article and the fact box used?

10

5

n Reportage without regional reference The test was conducted in Bonn, and the readers were not interested in problems of S-Bahn users in Berlin. For this reason, the article experienced freefall, after the lead, down to 25 percent.

During the further sequence, the quota sinks anew to 5 percent. This means that more than half of the article was not read.

75 65

75

70

85

80

75

75 85

75

75

85 85

n Implication: Articles with local or regional reference always have a better quota than articles, describing events at greater distance.

80 55 25

10

10 5

20 15

55 65

n Good values for the fact box “The five problems of the S-Bahn” runs the headline.

The text blocks within the fact box are used well, even if ultimately only a 15 percent quota remains.

50 45

5 20

50 15

15

10

10 5

n Infographics is well used Overall attention paid to these infographics lies at 65 percent. This means that many readers have extracted facts about the topic from the infographics.

75 to 85 percent of the test persons read individual text blocks.

30 15 15

060

n Infographics as a complex information unit Anyone looking at these infographics in detail – many readers did precisely this – will know everything about the problems of the Berlin S-Bahn. It is very good that not the same content is offered in the text as in the infographics. The text offers the emotions of the travellers, the infographics showing the reasons for the disaster objectively.

177