Reuters Institute releases Digital News Report

The Reuters Institute has released the tenth edition of its Digital News Report.

Some items from the executive summary:

• Trust in the news has grown, on average, by six percentage points in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic — with 44% of the total sample saying they trust most news most of the time. This reverses, to some extent, recent falls in average trust — bringing levels back to those of 2018. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of overall trust (65%), and the U.S. now has the lowest levels (29%) in the survey.

• Despite more options to read and watch partisan news, the majority of respondents (74%) say they still prefer news that reflects a range of views and lets them decide what to think. Most also think that news outlets should try to be neutral on every issue (66%), though some younger groups think that “impartiality” may not be appropriate or desirable in some cases — for example, on social justice issues.

• Reuters data suggest that mainstream news brands and journalists attract most attention around news in both Facebook and Twitter but are eclipsed by influencers and alternative sources in networks like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. TikTok now reaches a quarter (24%) of under-35s, with 7% using the platform for news — and a higher penetration in parts of Latin America and Asia.

• There have been significant increases in payment for online news in a small number of richer Western countries, but the overall percentage of people paying for online news remains low. Across 20 countries where publishers have been pushing for more online payment, 17% have paid for any online news in the last year — up two percentage points. Norway continues to lead the way with 45% (+3) followed by Sweden (30%), the U.S. (21%), Finland (20%), the Netherlands (17%) and Switzerland (17%).

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