Reuters Institute (Oxford)

LIVE: Launch of the Digital News Report 2026

The Reuters Institute unveiled its 15th Digital News Report, highlighting a seismic shift in how audiences worldwide discover and consume journalism. The 2026 edition underscores platformization: social media and video networks have overtaken traditional TV, news websites, and apps as the primary news sources, while AI chatbots are emerging as a new gateway, now used by one in ten respondents and growing rapidly in markets such as South Korea, Greece, and Spain. Key data points reveal a generational divide and a trust crisis. Younger users, especially under 35, are abandoning TV and owned news apps altogether, with over a third of U.S. adults 18‑24 never regularly watching TV news. Trust in news brands fell to its lowest level since the report’s inception, with 29 of 48 surveyed markets showing statistically significant declines. Meanwhile, AI‑driven news access remains modest, hampered by low confidence in chatbot accuracy and a lack of clear use cases. Jill Webster emphasized that “people still believe in impartial journalism” even as they turn to video, creators, and AI for depth and context. Jim Egan warned that platform‑driven discovery erodes direct audience relationships, citing the U.S. shift from broadcast to social feeds. The report also notes that Reuters is investing in AI tools to boost journalist productivity without compromising the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. The findings compel newsrooms to rethink distribution strategies, prioritize video and social formats, and rebuild trust through transparent, neutral reporting. For advertisers and media investors, the data signals where audience attention—and revenue—will flow in the coming years, while Reuters positions itself as a technology‑enabled, trust‑focused partner for the evolving ecosystem.