Journalism has faced many challenges in 2023, including the changing nature of social media, a declining press freedom in many countries and a growing distrust of news media around the world. Despite these trends, so many brave reporters have kept doing their jobs even under the worst possible circumstances, as we have seen in Gaza in the last few weeks. The research team of the Reuters Institute has documented the changes in the news ecosystem in seven reports, two factsheets and several peer-reviewed articles in academic publications. Here are 20 findings from our research in 2023 which will still be relevant in 2024.
1. More and more people say that search and social media is their main way of getting news.
According to survey data from Digital News Report 2023, only around a fifth of respondents in our global sample (22%) now say they prefer to start their news journeys with a website or app, down 10 points since 2018. Publishers in a few smaller Northern European markets have managed to buck this trend, but younger groups everywhere are showing a weaker connection with news brands’ own websites and apps than previous cohorts – preferring to access news via side-door routes such as social media, search, or mobile aggregators.
2. We see big differences in the level of news ‘platformization’ in different markets
In a piece of peer-reviewed research published earlier this year in the European Journal of Communication, we found that although over 90% of internet users use at least one social platform, there are large differences by media market in the proportion that use them to access news. These differences at least partly reflect path dependency, more specifically the historic strength of the newspaper market leading to lower levels of news platformization and continued high levels of direct access. | Learn more
3. Visual networks such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram are increasingly important for news.
Facebook remains one of the most-used social networks overall, but its influence on journalism is declining as it shifts its focus away from news. It also faces new challenges from established networks such as YouTube and vibrant youth-focused networks such as TikTok. The Chinese-owned social network reaches 44% of 18–24s across markets and 20% for news. Those figures are even higher in some Global South countries. Up to 30% of the online population use it for news now in Peru and Thailand, 29% in Kenya and 24% in Malaysia. | Learn more
4. These visual networks were a key focus of newsroom leaders in 2023.
When we surveyed 275 newsroom leaders about their priorities as they headed for 2023, they said they’d be paying much much less attention to Facebook and Twitter and putting much more effort into TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, all networks that are popular with younger people. The increased interest in TikTok reflects a desire to engage with people under 25 and experiment with vertical video storytelling, despite concerns about monetisation, data security, and the wider implications of Chinese ownership. | Learn more
5. Twitter’s user base is not representative of the wider population.
A minority in all the countries we survey use the platform now known as X either for news or for any purpose. Twitter users are more likely to be men than users of other social media platforms. They also tend to be more well-off and well-educated, as well as more interested in news and politics. Use of Twitter for news is proportionally higher in markets in Asia and Latin America, and lower in mainland Europe. Even though the platform has undergone many changes, Twitter use for any purpose and for news has remained remarkably stable in our data over the last 10 years. | Learn more
6. Fewer people are commenting on news stories in public.
Our survey data show that the proportion of people that share news stories or post comments on them in public (e.g., on social media or news websites) has gone down in the past few years. According to our global sample, the percentage of people commenting on the news has gone down from 33% in 2018 to 22% in 2023. This decline has been even more pronounced in countries going through polarising events such as Spain, the UK and the US. | Learn more