The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025, released yesterday, reveals a media landscape at a pivotal point in its inevitable evolution.
Based on a survey of almost 100,000 people across 48 markets, the report details an accelerating shift away from traditional news sources towards a fragmented, personality-driven, and video-centric ecosystem dominated by social media and online creators.
According to the report’s authors, we are living through a period of intense global turmoil, defined by political and economic volatility, realigning geopolitical partnerships, a worsening climate crisis, and devastating wars.
In theory, this challenging environment should create a high demand for evidence-based, analytical journalism. However, the report reveals a different reality: traditional news media are finding it challenging to engage with large segments of the public, a struggle marked by falling engagement, low levels of trust, and a plateau in the growth of digital subscriptions.
While overall trust in news has stabilised at a low 40%, the industry is grappling with declining engagement, stagnating digital subscriptions, and the rise of artificial intelligence as both a tool and a direct source of information.
This new environment presents profound challenges for institutional journalism, even as audiences continue to value trusted brands for verification in a world rife with misinformation.
Key findings from the report
The decline of traditional media and the “second Trump bump”
A primary finding of the report is the continued decline in engagement with traditional media sources, including television, print, and established news websites. This trend is starkly illustrated in the United States, where social media and video networks (54%) have, for the first time, overtaken both TV news (50%) and news websites/apps (48%) as a source of news.
The report highlights a “second Trump bump” that, unlike the first, which raised engagement for all media, has exclusively benefited social and video platforms. While social media news use in the US surged by six percentage points, there was no corresponding lift for traditional news outlets. This pattern is echoed elsewhere, with TV news audiences declining in countries such as France and Japan.
The rise of the creator and the fragmentation of platforms
The vacuum left behind by traditional media is being filled by a vibrant and fragmented “alternative media ecosystem” of YouTubers, podcasters, and TikTokers.
These personalities and influencers are commanding significant attention:
- In the United States, podcaster Joe Rogan was seen discussing the news by 22% of the sample, with a disproportionate reach among younger men.
- In France, news creator Hugo Travers (HugoDécrypte) reaches 22% of people under 35, primarily through YouTube and TikTok.
- In Thailand, influencers like Kanchai Kamnerdploy are reshaping information consumption with more informal and outspoken content.
This shift is happening across a splintered landscape of platforms. Six online networks now reach more than 10% of the global sample for news each week, compared to just two a decade ago.
- Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) remain the largest platforms for news.
- TikTok (16%) is the fastest-growing network for news, adding 4pp across markets. Its news usage is particularly high in Thailand (49%) and Malaysia (40%).
- X (formerly Twitter) has not lost its overall reach for news (12%) despite a significant political realignment. Since Elon Musk’s takeover, the platform has seen an influx of right-leaning users, particularly in the US and the UK, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently.
The video and audio revolution
The move toward personality-led media is fuelling a massive shift in format preference.
- Video dominance: The consumption of social video news has surged from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025 across all markets. In countries such as the Philippines, Thailand, and India, an increasing number of people now prefer to watch news rather than read it.
- The podcast boom: News podcasting is a key channel for reaching younger, well-educated audiences. The United States leads with 15% of respondents accessing a news podcast on a weekly basis. The landscape is evolving, with a split between analysis-led shows from legacy brands (e.g., The Daily from The New York Times) and personality-driven commentary often distributed as video on YouTube. The potential for monetisation is notable, with 42% of news podcast listeners across 20 countries saying they would be willing to pay for content they like.
The challenge of trust and the misinformation maze
In this complex environment, public concern about misinformation remains high.
- Widespread worry: 58% of the global sample is concerned about their ability to distinguish true from false news online. This concern is highest in Africa (73%) and the United States (73%).
- Who’s to blame? The public points fingers at online influencers (47%) and politicians (47%).
- Which platforms are seen as the most significant threats?: Facebook and TikTok.
- How do people check facts? Crucially, they turn to trusted news brands (38%) and official sources (35%). This is a crucial counterpoint and a glimmer of hope for journalism. Public service broadcasters, such as the BBC and ARD, are top choices for verifying facts.
The dawn of AI in news
For the first time, artificial intelligence has emerged as a direct source of news.
- Emerging usage: 7% of the global sample use AI chatbots for news each week, a figure that jumps to 15% among those under 25.
- Public scepticism: People are more comfortable with AI assisting humans rather than running the show.
- What do they think AI will do? Make news cheaper (+29 net) but less trustworthy (-18 net).
- Personalisation is a key application: Audiences are interested in summaries (27%) and translations (24%), but wary of missing important stories.
The business model conundrum
The financial model for digital news remains challenging, with growth in key areas hitting a wall.
- Subscription plateau: The proportion of people paying for online news remains stable at 18% in richer countries. Norway leads (42%), while Croatia and Greece are very low (6-7%).
- News avoidance: A significant portion of the public is actively tuning out. Four in ten respondents (40%) say they sometimes or often avoid the news. The primary reasons cited are the adverse effects of news on their mood, information overload, and feelings of powerlessness.
What’s next?
The Digital News Report 2025 portrays an industry and a public in a profound paradigm shift. The era of traditional media dominance is fading, giving way to a more fragmented, personality-driven, and platform-centric world. This creates significant challenges related to information quality, political polarisation, and the financial sustainability of journalism.
However, the report also offers glimmers of hope. The enduring value of trusted, human-led journalism is still recognised, especially for verification.
The task for publishers is to adapt to new formats and technologies while holding onto the core values that earn public trust.
Download the full report here.