The Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford has published the twelfth edition of the Digital News Report.
- Economic downturn drives consumer reassessment of news media spending and accelerates media companies’ digital transformation.
- Social media landscape evolves with declining engagement on platforms like Facebook and a rise of newer, video-centric platforms like TikTok.
- Concerns over misinformation and algorithmic bias rise, despite sustained reliance on intermediary platforms for news, particularly among younger generations.
- Across global markets, there’s a declining trend in starting news journeys via a website or app, with a shift towards social media, search, or mobile aggregators.
- Trust in news has fallen, active participation in online news is decreasing, and there’s a rising trend of news avoidance, coupled with a slow growth in online news payment.
In the wake of pressing economic conditions, the research indicates a prevalent trend where individuals reassess their expenditure on news media.
A comprehensive qualitative study carried out in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany provided insight into motivations behind media subscription cancellations, retentions, and new subscriptions over the past year.
Meanwhile, the broader industry trends show media companies navigating the economic downturn by accelerating digital transformation, redirecting resources from traditional print and broadcast mediums.
One of the report’s prominent findings pertains to the evolving social media landscape.
This is defined by a reduction in engagement with established networks like Facebook and an uptick in popularity for newcomers like TikTok, along with other video-centric platforms.
Notwithstanding the increasingly fragmented channels and mounting public concerns over misinformation and algorithmic bias, people’s reliance on these intermediary platforms remains high.
The study shows how younger generations, reared in the era of social media, have largely contributed to this shift, paying more attention to influencers and celebrities than journalists, even concerning news.
This year’s extended analysis chapters shed light on the most popular news podcasts across numerous countries and the platforms most commonly used to access them.
They delve into growing criticism levels targeted at news media, often stoked by politicians and amplified by social media.
Special attention is paid to public service media that are at the criticism forefront, grappling with the challenge of upholding their universal mission amid an increasingly divisive and fragmented media landscape.
This 12th edition of the Digital News Report offers a snapshot of the vastly different conditions under which journalism operates globally, alongside the shared challenges publishers face in engaging audiences and fostering trust in an age abundant with digital and social media.
The most significant findings of the 2023 research indicate that recent shocks, including the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, have expedited structural shifts towards more digital, mobile, and platform-dominated media environments, influencing journalism’s business models and formats.
The study revealed that, across markets, only about 22% of respondents now prefer to begin their news journeys via a website or app – a decrease of 10 percentage points since 2018.
While publishers in some smaller Northern European markets have managed to resist this trend, younger demographics globally show a weaker connection with news brands’ own websites and apps, favoring “side-door” routes such as social media, search, or mobile aggregators.
Although Facebook remains one of the most used social networks overall, its influence on journalism is dwindling as it gradually shifts its focus away from news.
Meanwhile, it faces competition from established networks like YouTube and youth-centric platforms like TikTok, which has achieved a 44% reach among 18–24-year-olds across markets, and 20% for news.
Audiences claim they pay more heed to celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities over journalists on networks like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
This marks a stark contrast with Facebook and Twitter, where news media and journalists remain central to discussions.
Public skepticism towards algorithms used by search engines, social media, and other platforms to curate content is high. However, users still slightly prefer algorithmically curated news over editor-chosen news, indicating a broader concern over news selection.
Despite initial optimism that the internet could broaden democratic debate, fewer people participate in online news than before. Across markets, only 22% are active participants, with nearly half (47%) refraining from news participation altogether. In the UK and US, active participation rates have dropped by over 10 percentage points since 2016. This group is predominantly male, well-educated, and politically partisan.
Trust in news has further fallen by 2 percentage points over the last year, reversing, in many countries, the gains made during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, four in ten of our total sample (40%) say they trust most news most of the time.
Public media brands are among those with the highest levels of trust in many Northern European countries, but reach has been declining with younger audiences. This is significant because frequent users of these services are more likely to regard them as personally and societally important.
Traditional media consumption, such as TV and print, continues to decline in most markets, with online and social consumption not compensating for the loss.
Online consumers are accessing news less frequently than before and are becoming less interested.
Despite the political and economic threats facing many people, fewer than half (48%) of the aggregate sample now say they are very or extremely interested in news, down from 63% in 2017.
Meanwhile, the proportion of news consumers who say they avoid news remains near record highs at 36% across markets. This group is divided between those who periodically avoid all news sources and those who restrict their news usage at specific times or for certain topics.
With household budgets under pressure, signs point to a leveling off in the growth of online news payment.
Across 20 richer countries, 17% paid for any online news – the same figure as last year. Among those canceling their subscription in the last year, the cost of living or the high price was the most frequently cited reason.
Just as in previous years, a significant proportion of digital subscriptions go to a few upscale national brands, reinforcing the winner-takes-all dynamics often associated with digital media.
In terms of news consumption preferences, the majority of online users across countries still prefer to read the news rather than watch or listen to it. However, video news consumption has been growing steadily across markets, with most video content now accessed via third-party platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
News podcasting continues to resonate with educated and younger audiences but remains a minority activity overall. Around a third (34%) access a podcast monthly, with 12% accessing a show relating to news and current affairs. The research identifies a growing popularity of video-led or hybrid news podcasts.