This blog post is based on the findings of the Reuters Digital News Report 2024.
The Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute provides a comprehensive look at how people consume and engage with digital news worldwide. Covering topics such as trust in journalism, attitudes toward AI in newsrooms, news avoidance, and shifting social media trends, the report offers valuable insights into the evolving relationship between audiences and news.
The public’s trust in news is quite low. There are variations across markets, but across all surveyed countries, only 40% of respondents trust most news most of the time. Age, income, and education level influence how much a person trusts news, with younger people, those with lower incomes, and those with lower education levels having less trust in news. However, these differences account for only a few percentage point variations.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Contrary to what one might assume, political leaning has little to no impact on how much a person trusts the news. However, in some countries with heightened political polarization (e.g., the US, France, and Argentina), political leaning has a greater effect on trust levels, especially when authoritarian leaders, such as Donald Trump, undermine traditional media outlets, further eroding their supporters' trust in the news. Trust also varies at the brand level. Conservative readers are less likely to trust left-leaning outlets than right-leaning ones, and vice versa for liberals. The group that trusts the news the least, however, consists of those who are undecided about their political leanings and have no interest in politics, a phenomenon common in journalism.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Different factors influence how much people trust various media outlets. Among the most influential are transparency, high journalistic standards, fair representation, and freedom from bias. Less influential but still important to about half of the respondents are shared values, proneness to exaggeration, established history, and level of negativity. The degree to which these factors affect trust varies from market to market; however, transparency, high standards, and fairness have a more universal influence.
Age, gender, income level, and education have minimal effect on which factors people deem important to trustworthiness. While these factors shape how people consume and interact with news, they appear to have little effect on determining which news outlets people trust. Once again, those who are undecided politically differ, as they are less clear than other groups on which factors would engender trust in news outlets.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Interest in news is declining across all markets except Finland, where interest levels have remained remarkably high and stable over the past decade. In other countries, interest has dropped significantly over the last ten years, though the decline stabilised somewhat last year. Demographically, women and young people account for a large portion of this decline in interest.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
News avoidance has increased since last year, with 39% of people reporting that they sometimes or often avoid the news. This figure is up by 10 percentage points since 2017. News avoidance has risen significantly in Ireland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Finland, the United States, and Denmark. Reasons for avoiding news include perceptions of it being repetitive and boring, as well as feelings of anxiety, powerlessness, and news fatigue. News fatigue has risen by 10 percentage points since 2019, with 39% of individuals stating they feel overwhelmed by the volume of news today. Women (43%) are significantly more likely to experience news fatigue than men (34%).
With the rise of AI in newsrooms, understanding public perceptions of its use in producing news is crucial. Only a minority of respondents (36%) feel comfortable with AI being used as an assistant, and even fewer (19%) are comfortable with primarily AI-produced news content. Comfort levels vary between those familiar with AI and those who are not. People familiar with AI are twice as comfortable with its use compared to those with no experience. Therefore, it is possible that greater exposure to AI may lead to increased comfort over time.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Comfort levels also vary depending on the specific use cases for AI. People are most comfortable with backend tasks, such as transcription or proofreading. Delivering news in new ways (e.g., via chatbots) generates less comfort, while content creation faces the most opposition, as people prefer consistent human involvement. The type of news also influences comfort levels. Hard news topics, such as politics and crime, make people more uncomfortable with AI use, whereas soft news (e.g., entertainment) tends to reduce discomfort.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Audiences prefer that the use of AI is always disclosed, particularly in public-facing content, but consider it less important when AI is used solely for backend tasks. Disclosing AI use is a delicate balance; while transparency helps maintain audience trust, the very use of AI can reduce trust in your content. However, people who already trust a news outlet are more likely to feel comfortable with AI use. If your organisation plans to use AI or is already doing so, transparency is essential.
Beyond pure facts, people seek a variety of things from the news. Keeping readers up-to-date, educating them on various topics and events, and offering new perspectives are regarded as the most important user needs, while entertainment is considered the least important. For younger demographics and news-avoidant individuals, inspiring and diverting content is slightly more important than for other groups. While audiences feel the news effectively fulfills their need to stay informed, there is a gap between the desire for perspective and inspiration and how well the news meets those expectations.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Different topics generate varying levels of interest. In positive news for local media, local news remains the most engaging topic across age groups. However, the percentage of young people interested in local news is about half that of those aged over 55. International news follows, then science and technology, and crime. Older demographics show greater interest in political news, while younger audiences are more drawn to topics related to the environment and climate change. Women tend to be more interested in mental health and wellness, whereas men are more engaged with sports news.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Although the number of people paying for online news has doubled in ten years, only 13% of people overall have active news subscriptions. There has been little to no growth in new subscriptions, with levels remaining steady for a few years following a surge during the Coronavirus pandemic. Nordic countries have the highest proportion of people paying for news subscriptions, with Norway leading at 40%. A significant share of new subscriptions goes to popular national news outlets rather than smaller media houses, putting the latter at a disadvantage.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Across all markets, 41% of people do not pay full price for a subscription, as discounts are an effective marketing strategy to encourage sign-ups. Among non-subscribers, a majority (57%) are unwilling to pay anything for a news subscription. However, there is potential for growth, as the remaining non-subscribers would be willing to pay up to 10 €/£/$ per month for a subscription
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Social media is undergoing significant upheaval. Video content, particularly short-form, has surged in popularity. Changes in trends and algorithms have also transformed how people consume news on social media. While most individuals still prefer text for news, 66% report watching short news videos weekly. Audiences are drawn to videos because they appear more authentic and unfiltered, are convenient to consume on platforms they already frequent, and offer diverse perspectives.
TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp have grown in popularity as news sources, while Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads) recently updated its algorithm to deprioritise news and political content. Referral traffic has declined significantly due to the emphasis on video content and these algorithm changes. If implemented as planned, the proposed TikTok ban in the United States could lead to further disruptions.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
The authority of news media on social media platforms has recently been challenged by the growing influence of content creators and online personalities, particularly on newer networks and video platforms. Mainstream media retains a stronger presence on legacy platforms such as Facebook and X (Twitter).
Some of the most popular creators are openly partisan and have been criticised for spreading misinformation or conspiracy theories. Many present themselves as free speech advocates operating outside legacy media, which they claim is driven by corporate interests. Others focus on engaging younger audiences with content centred on social justice, mental health, and climate change. Populist politicians are also leveraging social media to build their base and spread their message, bypassing traditional media entirely.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Concern about false information on social media has risen across markets to 59%, although most people remain confident in their ability to identify trustworthy news sources. This percentage may increase further now that Meta has announced plans to end fact-checking and adopt a more community-driven approach, similar to X. Political leaning influences levels of concern about online misinformation; people on the left tend to be more uncomfortable with it. The growing use of AI technologies, such as deepfakes, has further heightened fears about the spread of false news.
Finland boasts the highest trust in the news globally, at 69%. Interest in news has remained stable over the past decade (65%), though the percentage of people who report avoiding the news has increased by 5 percentage points.
In Finland, 20% of people pay for online news, and among non-subscribers, half would consider paying up to 10€ per month. While print revenues continue to decline, digital subscriptions are experiencing little growth. Among digital subscribers, 51% are subscribed to Helsingin Sanomat, and 38% pay for regional or local news online.
Yle is the most trusted media outlet, followed by Helsingin Sanomat, local newspapers, MTV News, and Talouselämä. Yle leads in reach on TV and radio, while Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti dominate online.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Most people now get their news online, with social media becoming an increasingly popular source, while print newspapers have lost half their popularity since 2015, and television viewership continues to decline. In Finland, the top social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp. However, Facebook’s popularity is waning, while TikTok’s is on the rise, reflecting global trends.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.
Image source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024.