Reuters Institute Digital Report

Overview

This year's report reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 80,000 online news consumers in 40 markets including Kenya and the Philippines for the first time.

The report looks at the impact of coronavirus on news consumption and on the economic prospects for publishers. It looks at progress on new paid online business models, trust and misinformation, partisanship and populism, and the popularity of curated editorial products like podcasts and email newsletters.

Key findings

Video summary in two minutes

Impact of coronavirus

Television news and online sources have seen a surge in demand, and more people identify television as their main source of news, providing temporary respite from a picture of steady decline.

Paying for news

We have seen significant increases in payment for online news in a number of countries including the United States 20% (+4) and Norway 42% (+8). But across all markets most people are still not paying for online news

Resurgence of email news

In the United States one in five (21%) access a news email weekly, and for almost half of these it is their primary way of accessing news. Northern European countries have been much slower to adopt email news channels, with only 10% using email news in Finland.

Local newspapers and their websites remain the top source of news about a particular town or region, reaching four in ten (44%) weekly. But Facebook and other social media groups are now used on average by around a third (31%) for local news, putting further pressure on companies and their business models.

Overall, almost seven in ten (69%) think climate change is a serious problem, but in the United States, Sweden, and Australia a significant minority dispute this. Younger groups access much climate news from social media and by following activists like Greta Thunberg.