Digital News Report 2021 FINAL

Reuters Institute
Digital News Report 2021

10TH EDITION
Reuters Institute
Digital News Report 2021
10TH EDITION
Nic Newman with Richard Fletcher, Anne Schulz,

Simge Andı, Craig T. Robertson, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
Supported by
Spanish translation supported by
Surveyed by
© Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
DOI: 10.60625/risj-7khr-zj06
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Digital News Report 2021
Contents
Foreword by Rasmus Kleis Nielsen 5 3.17 Poland 94
Methodology6 3.18 Portugal 96
Authorship and Research Acknowledgements 7 3.19 Romania 98
3.20 Slovakia 100
SECTION 1 3.21 Spain 102
Executive Summary and Key Findings by Nic Newman 9 3.22 Sweden 104
3.23 Switzerland 106
SECTION 2
3.24 Turkey 108
Further Analysis and International Comparison 33
AMERICAS
2.1 Perceptions of Fair News Coverage
among Different Groups 34 3.25 United States 112
2.2 Impartiality Unpacked: A Study of Four Countries 39 3.26 Argentina 114
2.3 Local News Unbundled: 3.27 Brazil 116

Where Audience Value Still Lies 43 3.28 Canada 118
2.4 How do People Think about the Financing 3.29 Chile 120
of the Commercial News Media? 48
3.30 Colombia 122
2.5 How and Why do Consumers Access News
on Social Media? 52 3.31 Mexico 124
3.32 Peru 126
SECTION 3 ASIA PACIFIC
Analysis by Country and Market 59 3.33 Australia 130
EUROPE 3.34 Hong Kong 132
3.01 United Kingdom 62 3.35 India 134
3.02 Austria 64 3.36 Indonesia 136
3.03 Belgium 66 3.37 Japan 138
3.04 Bulgaria 68 3.38 Malaysia 140
3.05 Croatia 70 3.39 Philippines 142
3.06 Czech Republic 72 3.40 Singapore 144
3.07 Denmark 74 3.41 South Korea 146
3.08 Finland 76 3.42 Taiwan 148
3.09 France 78 3.43 Thailand 150
3.10 Germany 80 AFRICA
3.11 Greece 82 3.44 Kenya 154
3.12 Hungary 84 3.45 Nigeria 156
3.13 Ireland 86 3.46 South Africa 158
3.14 Italy 88
3.15 Netherlands 90 SECTION 4
3.16 Norway 92 References and Selected Publications 161
4 / 5
Foreword
Prof. Rasmus Nielsen,
Director, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ)
This is the tenth edition of our Digital News Report and a milestone Our survey this year covered 46 markets, including 24 in Europe,
for us in that the 46 markets covered this year account for more and six in Latin America where we have added Colombia and
than half the world’s population. We are particularly proud to Peru. In Asia we have added India, Indonesia, and Thailand to our
be able to include more countries in the Global South, primarily existing eight markets, and in Africa we are delighted to include
because we hope the data and analysis we present are useful for Nigeria for the first time, following the inclusion of Kenya in 2020
journalists, editors, and media executives there, but also because and South Africa in 2019.
we strongly believe their colleagues elsewhere can learn a lot
Because we use online polling, we continue to focus on countries
from the situation in countries where news media have long faced
with high internet penetration and which are either broadly
political attacks, financial precarity, and internet users heavily
democratic or generally compare themselves to countries with
oriented towards mobile and social media – some of the realities
a democratic tradition. Even so, the increasing number and
journalists in historically more privileged parts of the world
diversity of markets covered have led us to compare fewer data
increasingly have to deal with.
points across the whole sample and to focus on meaningful
Our findings this year show how, if anything, the Coronavirus comparisons across markets that are broadly similar. We’ve
pandemic has exacerbated many of the long-term trends we have provided more detail about differences in polling samples in both
documented over the past decade, especially the move to a more the methodology pages and the relevant country pages.
digital, mobile, and platform-dominated media environment.
This report continues to benefit from a strong network of partners
Developments this year put further pressure on the business
and sponsors around the world. We are proud to have the
models of many traditional media, but have also reminded
opportunity to work with a number of leading academics as well
at least parts of the public of the importance and value of
as media experts from the news industry. Our partners have helped
trustworthy news from independent news organisations.
in a variety of different ways, checking questionnaires, helping
This year’s survey finds evidence that some brands have benefited with interpretation, and often publishing their own reports.
from a desire for reliable information around the pandemic –
Given the richness of the research, this report can only convey a
both in terms of higher reach, higher trust, and more paying
small part of the data and analysis. More detail is available on our
subscribers. While the effects are uneven, do not apply to all
website https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/2021 which contains
brands or all countries, and may not last after the crisis is over,
slidepacks and charts, along with a licence that encourages reuse,
these are positive findings from publishers’ point of view.
subject to attribution.
Our analysis also shows how the role of different platforms
Making all this possible, we are hugely grateful to our sponsors:
is evolving. We document the roles played by mainstream
the Google News Initiative, BBC News, Ofcom, the Broadcasting
news organisations, individual journalists, and other voices on
Authority of Ireland, the Dutch Media Authority (CvdM), the
different social media, the continuing move to closed messaging
Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland, the Fritt Ord
apps and more visual social media, as well as the continued
Foundation in Norway, the Korea Press Foundation, and Edelman
widespread public concern over false or misleading information –
UK, as well as our academic sponsors at the Leibniz Institute for
especially Facebook and Facebook-owned messaging applications
Media Research/Hans Bredow Institute, Hamburg, the University
including WhatsApp.
of Navarra, the University of Canberra, the Centre d’études sur les
Amid deep divisions within many societies over politics and social médias, Quebec, Canada, and Roskilde University in Denmark.
justice, we ask searching questions about what people expect The Open Society Foundations has played a key role in helping
from their news and examine attitudes to traditional notions of us to expand the report to cover more countries in the Global
journalistic impartiality and objectivity. We also explore how fairly South over the last few years, as has Google’s commitment to
the media are seen as treating different groups including women, a three-year extension of their support for the report. This year
young people, and ethnic minorities. Fundación Gabo has joined the project, and we are delighted
they are supporting the translation of the report into Spanish.
And our report continues to document the economic impact of
digital disruption which has been intensified by the COVID-19
pandemic (even as platform companies including Google and
Facebook reported significant growth last year). Given the
financial challenges the business of news faces, we explore public
attitudes to whether the government should step in to support
commercial media – but find little appetite for this.
Methodology
This study has been commissioned by the Reuters Institute • These differences mean we need to be cautious when
for the Study of Journalism to understand how news is being comparing results between markets, especially on issues
consumed in a range of countries. Research was conducted by where we know that the sample would potentially make a
YouGov (and their partners) using an online questionnaire at significant difference (e.g. paying for news or podcasts).
the end of January/beginning of February 2021. • It is also important to note that online surveys rely on recall,
• Samples were assembled using nationally representative quotas which is often imperfect or subject to biases. We have tried to
for age, gender, region in every market, and education in all markets mitigate these risks through careful questionnaire design and
except Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, testing. Despite other limitations, surveys are able to capture
Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Thailand, and media consumption across platforms, including social media,
Turkey. In the US, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Italy we have messaging apps, and websites. They are also a good way of
applied additional political quotas based on vote choice in the most tracking activities and changes over time in a consistent way.2
recent national election. The data in all markets were also weighted • It is important to note that some of our survey-based results
to targets based on census/industry-accepted data. will not match industry data, which are often based on
• Data from India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are representative different methodologies, such as web-tracking. The accuracy
of younger English-speakers and not the national population, of these approaches can be high, but they are also subject to
because it is not possible to reach other groups in a representative limitations.
way using an online survey. The survey was fielded in English in • In some cases, we have drawn on data from other surveys or
these markets,1 and restricted to ages 18–50 in Kenya and Nigeria. from industry sources and have signalled this in the text or
Findings should not be taken to be nationally representative in as a footnote. We have also used selected quotes from focus
these countries. groups and interviews conducted in four countries (USA, UK,
• More generally, online samples will tend to under-represent Germany, and Brazil) in February 2021. On occasion we have
the news consumption habits of people who are older and less also used quotes from open questions from our main survey,
affluent, meaning online use is typically over-represented and clearly indicating this in each case.
traditional offline use under-represented. In this sense, it is better • A fuller description of the methodology, panel partners, and
to think of results as representative of the online population. a discussion of non-probability sampling techniques can
In markets in Northern and Western Europe, where internet be found on our website along with the full questionnaire
penetration is typically around 95%, the differences between the https://digitalnewsreport.org/2021-methodology.
onlineINSTITUTE
REUTERS population FORand
THEnational
STUDY OFpopulation
JOURNALISM will be small, but
/ EXECUTIVE in
SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 1
South Africa (58%) and India (54%), where internet penetration
is lower, the differences between the online population and the
national population will be large.
Market Sample Population Internet Market Sample Population Internet Market Sample Population Internet
size penetration size penetration size penetration
Europe Poland 2,009 38m 78% Asia Pacific
UK 2,039 67m 95% Portugal 2,101 10.2m 78% Australia 2,034 26m 84%
Austria 2,000 9.0m 88% Romania 2,010 19m 74% Hong Kong 1,501 7.6m 89%
Belgium 2,008 11.6m 94% Slovakia 2,024 5.5m 85% India 2,049 1393m 54%
Bulgaria 2,018 7.0m 67% Spain 2,019 46m 93% Indonesia 2,007 276m 71%
Croatia 2,008 4.1m 92% Sweden 2,005 10.1m 96% Japan 2,004 126m 95%
Czech Republic 2,007 10.6m 88% Switzerland 2,000 8.6m 94% Malaysia 2,019 33m 89%
Denmark 2,005 5.8m 98% Turkey 2,022 83m 83% Philippines 2,029 111m 78%
Finland 2,009 5.6m 94% Americas Singapore 2,034 5.9m 88%
France 2,012 65m 92% USA 2,001 327m 96% South Korea 2,006 51m 96%
Germany 2,011 82m 96% Argentina 2,007 45m 93% Taiwan 2,042 24m 92%
Greece 2,017 11.1m 73% Brazil 2,009 211m 71% Thailand 2,015 70m 82%
Hungary 2,032 9.7m 89% Canada 2,036 37m 90% Africa
Ireland 2,031 4.8m 92% Chile 2,009 18m 78% Kenya 2,005 55m 85%
Italy 2,010 59m 93% Colombia 2,046 49m 63% Nigeria 2,051 211m 73%
Netherlands 2,006 17m 96% Mexico 2,036 131m 65% South Africa 2,009 60m 58%
Norway 2,010 5.4m 98% Peru 2,010 33m 68%
Source: Internet World Stats (http://www.internetworldstats.com).

In the Netherlands we conducted a repoll of brand reach numbers in late March 2021 due to a scripting error in the original poll. All other numbers are taken from the January/February poll.
1
Respondents in India could choose to complete the survey in Hindi and respondents in Kenya could chose Swahili, but in both cases the vast majority selected an English survey.
2
From 2012 to 2020 we filtered out respondents who said that they had not consumed any news in the past month. From 2021 we included this group, which generally has lower interest
in news. In previous years this group averaged around 2–3% of the starting sample in each market, meaning that the decision to include it has not affected comparative results in any
significant way. Some figures have been affected by one or two points in the UK, USA, and Australia, and we have taken this into account when interpreting year-on-year change.
6 / 7
Authorship and Research

Acknowledgements
Nic Newman is a Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for
the Study of Journalism and is also a consultant on digital media, working
actively with news companies on product, audience, and business
strategies for digital transition. He writes an annual report for the
Institute on future media and technology trends.
Dr Richard Fletcher is a Senior Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute

for the Study of Journalism and leads the research team. He is primarily
interested in global trends in digital news consumption, the use of social
media by journalists and news organisations, and more broadly, the
relationship between computer-based technologies and journalism.
Dr Anne Schulz is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute

for the Study of Journalism. She is researching questions surrounding
news audiences and digital news with a focus on local news, social media,
news literacy, and trust. Her research is anchored in the fields of
journalism studies, political communication, and media psychology.
Dr Simge Andı is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters

Institute for the Study of Journalism. Her doctoral work explored online
misinformation, mainly focusing on the sharing of false information via
social media. She uses survey and experimental data to study the
consumption and sharing of news.
Dr Craig T. Robertson is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters

Institute for the Study of Journalism whose interests include news trust
and credibility, fact-checking and verification, and how both partisan
attitudes and epistemic beliefs factor into these domains.
Prof. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is Director of the Reuters Institute for

the Study of Journalism, Professor of Political Communication at the
University of Oxford, and served as Editor-in-Chief of the International
Journal of Press/Politics from 2015 to 2018. His work focuses on changes
in the news media, political communication, and the role of digital
technologies in both.
Market-level commentary and additional insight around media developments

have been provided by academic partners and by our network of Reuters
Journalist Fellows around the world.3 RISJ Senior Research Associate Dr David
Levy did invaluable work editing and developing many of the country profiles
in this year’s report. Additional expert analysis and interpretation of the survey
data were provided by the team at YouGov, in particular, Charlotte Clifford,
Lucie Larboulette, David Eastbury, Mark Pellatt, and Kulvir Channa.
3
Reuters Fellowships offer an opportunity to mid-career journalists to spend time researching an aspect of journalism for one or more terms at the Institute in Oxford.
8 / 9
S E C T I O N 1
Executive Summary
and Key Findings
Nic Newman
Senior Research Associate,
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
More than a year after it began, the Coronavirus A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
pandemic continues to cast a dark cloud over the FINDINGS FROM OUR 2021 RESEARCH
health of our communities – as well as that of • Trust in the news has grown, on average, by six percentage
the news industry. The crisis – complete with points in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic with 44% of our
total sample saying they trust most news most of the time. This
lockdowns and other restrictions – has hastened
reverses, to some extent, recent falls in average trust bringing
the demise of printed newspapers, further levels back to those of 2018. Finland remains the country with
impacting the bottom line for many once proud the highest levels of overall trust (65%), and the USA now has
the lowest levels (29%) in our survey.
and independent media companies. Our country
pages this year are full of stories of journalistic • At the same time, trust in news from search and social has
remained broadly stable. This means that the trust gap
lay-offs as advertisers take fright in the face of a between the news in general and that found in aggregated
global economic downturn. New business models environments has grown with audiences seemingly placing
such as subscription and membership have been a greater premium on accurate and reliable news sources.
accelerated by the crisis, as we document in this • In a number of countries, especially those with strong and
year’s report. But in most cases, this has still independent public service media, we have seen greater
consumption of trusted news brands. The pattern is less clear
not come anywhere near making up for lost outside Western Europe, in countries where the Coronavirus
income elsewhere. crisis has dominated the media agenda less, or where other
political and social issues have played a bigger role.
And yet this crisis has also shown the value of accurate and
• Television news has continued to perform strongly in some
reliable information at a time when lives are at stake. In many
countries, but print newspapers have seen a further sharp
countries we see audiences turning to trusted brands – in
decline almost everywhere as lockdowns impacted physical
addition to ascribing a greater confidence in the media in
distribution, accelerating the shift towards a mostly
general. The gap between the ‘best and the rest’ has grown, as
digital future.
has the trust gap between the news media and social media.
Of course, these trends are not universal and this year’s report • While many remain very engaged, we find signs that others
also exposes worrying inequalities in both consumption and are turning away from the news media and in some cases
trust with the young, women, people from ethnic minorities, avoiding news altogether. Interest in news has fallen sharply
and political partisans often feeling less fairly represented in the United States following the election of President Biden
by the media. – especially with right-leaning groups.
The Capitol Hill riot in the United States and the global spread • Elsewhere, we find that the media are seen to be representing
of false information and conspiracy theories about Coronavirus young people (especially young women), political partisans,
have further focused minds on where people are getting their and – at least in the US – people from minority ethnic groups
news, which is why we have undertaken detailed research this less fairly. These findings will give added urgency to those who
year on understanding the role of different social networks for are arguing for more diverse and inclusive newsrooms.
news and the complex ways in which they are being used to • Despite more options to read and watch partisan news, the
spread misleading and false information around the world. majority of our respondents (74%) say they still prefer news
that reflects a range of views and lets them decide what to
This tenth edition of our Digital News Report, based on data
think. Most also think that news outlets should try to be
from six continents and 46 markets, aims to cast light on the
neutral on every issue (66%), though some younger groups
key issues that face the industry at a time of deep uncertainty
think that ‘impartiality’ may not be appropriate or desirable
and rapid change. Our more global sample, which includes
in some cases, for example, on social justice issues.
India, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Colombia, and Peru for the
first time, provides a deeper understanding of how differently • The use of social media for news remains strong, especially
the news environment operates outside the United States with younger people and those with lower levels of education.
and Europe and we have tried to find new ways to reflect this, Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram have become
whilst recognising that differences in internet penetration and especially popular in the Global South, creating most concern
education will make some comparisons less meaningful. The when it comes to spreading misinformation about Coronavirus.
overall story is captured in this Executive Summary, followed by
• Global concerns about false and misleading information have
Section 2 with chapters containing additional analysis and then
edged slightly higher this year, ranging from 82% in Brazil to
individual country and market pages in Section 3 with extra data
just 37% in Germany. Those who use social media are more
and industry context.
likely to say they have been exposed to misinformation about
Coronavirus than non-users. Facebook is seen as the main
channel for spreading false information almost everywhere
but messaging apps like WhatsApp are seen as a bigger problem
in parts of the Global South such as Brazil and Indonesia.
10 / 11
• Our data suggest that mainstream news brands and CHANGING NEWS CONSUMPTION AND THE
journalists attract most attention around news in both IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS
Facebook and Twitter but are eclipsed by influencers and
alternative sources in networks like TikTok, Snapchat, and The pandemic has affected markets at different times and to
Instagram. TikTok now reaches a quarter (24%) of under- different degrees. Our polling was conducted when the UK and
35s, with 7% using the platform for news – and a higher Ireland were in full lockdown, the United States and Brazil were
penetration in parts of Latin America and Asia. operating under state-by-state rules, while Australia, Taiwan, and
Japan were mostly free of internal restrictions. Common patterns
• We have seen significant increases in payment for online
may be hard to discern, but it is instructive to look at parts of
news in a small number of richer Western countries, but the
the world that have been badly and collectively affected. In this
overall percentage of people paying for online news remains
respect, Western Europe provides a good case study.
low. Across 20 countries where publishers have been pushing
for more online payment, 17% have paid for any online news Across a number of European countries we find that consumption
in the last year – up two percentage points. Norway continues of television news is significantly higher than a year ago when no
to lead the way with 45% (+3) followed by Sweden (30%), restrictions on movement were in place. This is not surprising,
100%
the United States (21%), Finland (20%), the Netherlands
D
given that so many people have been stuck at home, but has
(17%), and Switzerland (17%). There has been less progress in reaffirmed the importance of a medium that is accessible, easy to N
France (11%), Germany (9%), and the United Kingdom (8%). consume, reaches a wide range of demographics, and is mostly
S
• In most countries a large proportion of digital subscriptions well trusted. Twenty-four-hour news channels such as Sky News
go to just a few big national brands, reinforcing the winner (+5
75%percentage points) in the UK and n-tv (+6pp) in Germany are Ir
amongst the brands to have benefited.
takes most dynamics that we have reported in the past. But F
in the United States and Norway we do find that up to half
I was watching the press conferences on n-tv almost G
of those paying are now taking out additional subscriptions,
every lunchtime. And, okay the Corona thing has calmed
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
often to local or regional newspaper brands. down a bit, but just being in my home-office means you U
• More widely, though, we find that the value of traditional
Slide
50%
2 opportunities to have a quick look.
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
have more
local and regional news media is increasingly confined to a F, 56, Germany focus group
small number of subjects such as local politics and crime.
Other internet sites and search engines are considered best
for a range of other local information including weather, PROPORTION THAT USED TV NEWS IN THE LAST WEEK
(2013-21) – SELECTED MARKETS
housing, jobs, and ‘things to do’ that used to be part of what
local news media bundled together. UK Germany France Ireland Spain Norway Denmark
• Access to news continues to become more distributed. Across 100%

85%
Coronavirus D
all markets, just a quarter (25%) prefer to start their news 84%
journeys with a website or app. Those aged 18–24 (so-called 82% 69% N
75% 79% 68% 68%
Generation Z) have an even weaker connection with websites 72% 67%
64% S
and apps and are almost twice as likely to prefer to access 63%
60%
news via social media, aggregators, or mobile alerts. 50% Ir
• While mobile aggregators play a relatively small part in the F
media eco-system of Western countries, they have a powerful 25%
G
position in many Asian markets. In India, Indonesia, South
Korea, and Thailand a range of human- and AI-powered U
0%
apps like Daily Hunt, Smart News, Naver, and Line Today are 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
playing an important new role in news discovery.
Q3. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week as a source of news? Base:
• More widely, the use of smartphone for news (73%) has Total 2013–21 samples in each market (most n ≈ 2000). Note: No data for 2014 due to a scripting
error in the survey.
grown at its fastest rate for many years, with dependence
also growing through Coronavirus lockdowns. Use of laptop
and desktop computers and tablets for news is stable or In some of these countries, there has been an even bigger switch
falling, while the penetration of smart speakers remains in underlying preference (main source) towards TV and away from
limited in most countries – especially for news. online. In the UK, the proportion selecting TV news as main source
• Growth in podcasts has slowed, in part due to the impact of was up to 36% (+7pp) and in Ireland 41% (+8pp). In both countries we
restrictions on movement. This is despite some high-profile see increased TV reliance across age groups, though older people, of
news launches and more investment via tech platforms. Our course, still have a much greater underlying preference for TV news.
data show Spotify continuing to gain ground over Apple and
It would be wrong to over-emphasise any temporary bump
Google podcasts in a number of countries and YouTube also
in TV consumption given the longer term shift towards digital
benefiting from the popularity of video-based and hybrid
sources but it is a reminder of the continuing draw of video-based
podcasts.
storytelling as well as the strength of traditional news brands. But
perhaps the most striking finding around consumption has been
the extent to which people have placed a premium on reliable
news sources in general, not just on TV.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Digital News Report 2021 REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 4
Trusted brands also do better online PROPORTION THAT USED SELECTED PSBs ONLINE IN THE
LAST WEEK
It is important to note that our last survey captured a moment
in time pre-pandemic (January 2020), and a year later in January Online 2020-2021
2021 we captured another, when the impact of Coronavirus reach change
varied across countries. In the intervening time we know that
most news brands reported at various times vastly increased NRK News (Norway) 42% +8
usage – especially during the first months of the crisis. Our data,
a year on, perhaps show which brands may have held onto those YLE (Finland) 44% +5
gains most effectively, giving a hint of more lasting changes.
In our analysis of fourteen European countries (listed underneath SVT (Sweden) 34% +3
the chart below), we note that some of the most trusted news
organisations – including commercial and public media brands –
RTÉ News (Ireland) 41% +8
have retained quite significant extra online audiences in terms
of online reach. On average, brands with lower trust scores have
done less well by comparison. This trend is strongest in Sweden, BBC News (UK) 46% +1
Austria, Ireland, and Norway, a little less so in Finland – perhaps
because all big brands are relatively well trusted there. Average of 18 PSBs across 14 countries 28% +3
Looking across our data, although the overall link between trust Q5b. Which of the following brands have you used to access news online in the last week (via
and increased reach is weak, the key beneficiaries in terms of websites, apps, social media, and other forms of internet access)? Base: Total samples 2020-21
samples in each market (n ≈ 2000).
weekly use seem to be big commercial and public service news
brands – especially those that already had a reputation for reliable
online news. This means brands like VG in Norway (+9pp), TV2 These gains have not been generally reflected in countries
in Denmark (+8pp), and MTV News (+7pp) in Finland. Others where public broadcasters are less well trusted. Outside Europe
that have done better than average include The Irish Times (+7pp), we also find examples of PSBs that have enhanced their reach
Der Standard in Austria (+5pp), and Le Soir in Belgium (+4pp). during this crisis, including ABC in Australia. This has given
Many of these changes have come in markets where the overall a boost to a sector whose legitimacy and funding have been
consumption of online news has not increased overall year-on-year. threatened by a combination of changing consumer behaviour
and attacks by populist and right-wing politicians. Before the
Public service media websites have performed particularly well, crisis, for example, Boris Johnson’s Conservative government
perhaps because they have been able to use their reach via TV in the UK was considering turning the BBC into a subscription
REUTERS INSTITUTE
and radio FOR THE
to promote moreSTUDY OF JOURNALISM
detailed / EXECUTIVE
information SUMMARY GRAPHS
online. Public operation, now MPs are recommending any change to funding
Slide 3
media websites have provided extensive local breakdowns of arrangements should be shelved until at least 2038.4
Coronavirus data, alongside fact-checking and other explanations.
CHANGE IN ONLINE REACH FOR SELECTED OUTLETS BY AUDIENCE TRUST – SELECTED MARKETS
Change in online reach (2020-21)

Higher trust:
often public
broadcasters or SRF (CHE)
+10pp commercial brands VG (NOR)
with long history of Irish Times (IRL)
accurate news
Observador (PRT)
Yle (FIN)
+5pp
Lower trust:
-5pp often popular
brands or those
with partisan
reputation
% that trust 2021
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Q5b. Which of the following brands have you used to access news online in the last week (via websites, apps, social media, and other forms of internet access)? Q6_2018_trust. How trustworthy would you
say news from the following brands is? Base: Total 2020–21 samples in selected markets (n ≈ 2000). Note: The association between 2021 trust and change in online reach (2021-20) was tested using a multilevel model
to account for clustering within countries (b = .06, p = .01). Included markets are UK, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
4
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/mar/25/television-licence-fee-preferred-option-fund-bbc-2038-mps
12 / 13
INTEREST FLAGS IN ‘DEPRESSING’ CORONAVIRUS More than a year on, intense interest in the subject appears to be
NEWS FOR SOME waning, with many in our focus groups saying they often find the
news repetitive, confusing, and even depressing.
Interest in news has risen in some countries that have been badly
affected by the crisis. It is also higher in people whose lives have I must admit that first of all I started watching it, really
been directly impacted, but on average across countries we find
engrossed in it, and then as time went on, I found it
quite depressing so I just cut it off.
Slide 5
that levels of interest (59%) have not risen over the last year –
with young people and those with lower education still paying F, 30, UK focus group
less attention.
I’ve consumed less TV and radio because if it’s
consistently COVID, COVID, COVID, or consistently
PROPORTION VERY OR EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN NEWS political fluff, then I just turn it off.
BY COVID-19 IMPACT, AGE, AND EDUCATION – ALL MARKETS
M, 58, US focus group
100% Impacted Under 35 Low
Little impact 35 and over Medium
United States a special case
High Little impact
75%
In some Impacted
countries, lower interest may be as much to do with
67
61 63 changed politics as the Coronavirus crisis itself. Interest in the
50% 56 55
52 51 news in the United States has declined by 11 percentage points in
the last year to just 55%. To some extent this is not surprising as
25% our poll was conducted after the turbulent events on Capitol Hill
in January
REUTERS and theFOR
INSTITUTE departure of Donald
THE STUDY Trump./ But
OF JOURNALISM our data
EXECUTIVE show GRAPHS
SUMMARY
0% Slide 7
signs that many former Trump supporters may be switching away
from news altogether. Almost all of this fall in interest came from
Impacted by By age By education
COVID-19 those on the political right.
Q1c. How interested, if at all, would you say you are in news? Coronaimpact. Thinking about
all aspects of your life, how much, if at all, has the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation changed
things for you personally? Education. What is your highest level of education? If you are
PROPORTION VERY OR EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN NEWS
currently in full-time education please put your highest qualification to date. Base: Impacted BY POLITICAL LEANING (2020-21) – USA
by COVID-19/Little impacted; U35/35+; Low education/Medium/High: All markets = 67,342/20,444;
29,137/63,235; 13,056/39,945/39,371.
100% 2020 2021
If we take a longer term perspective, we actually see a decline in 75% 78 77 -17

74
news interest in a number of countries – despite the turbulent
Many on the right
times in which we live. The proportion that says they are very or 50% 57 have lost interest in
extremely interested has fallen by an average of five percentage news after the end
of Donald Trump’s
points since
REUTERS 2016 FOR
INSTITUTE – with
THEa STUDY
17 percentage point /drop
OF JOURNALISM in Spain
EXECUTIVE and GRAPHS
SUMMARY presidency
Slide 6
the UK, 12 points in Italy and Australia, and eight in France and
Japan. There has been little or no decline in countries such as
25%
Germany and the Netherlands. 0%

Left aligned Right aligned
PROPORTION VERY OR EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN NEWS Q1c. How interested, if at all, would you say you are in news? Base: Left/Right in the US: 2020 =
507/458; 2021 = 429/446.
(2016-21) – SPAIN, GERMANY, AUSTRALIA, 24 MARKETS
Germany Spain Australia 24 markets
100% Since January,
All right-leaning TV networks in the US such as Fox
84% News have lost a significant chunk of their audience but so too
Australia
75% 71% 67% have liberal outlets like CNN. Some commentators have long
63% 67% Spain
predicted that ‘Journalism’s Trump bump might be giving way to a
63% 58%
50% 51% slump’, as online ratings also fell dramatically in February 2021.5
Germany
Decline in interest in mainstream news remains a huge challenge
25% at a time when societies are facing such a set of existential threats
to health and prosperity. The challenge for media companies
0% is how to re-engage that interest without dumbing down or
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
resorting to sensationalism, which in turn can damage trust.
Q1c. How interested, if at all, would you say you are in news? Base: Total 2016-21 samples in
each market (most n ≈ 2000). Note: Includes 24 markets that were part of our survey in 2016,
excluding Turkey and Brazil due to changes in panel composition in that time.
5
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/media-trump-bump-slump/2021/03/22/5f13549a-85d1-11eb-bfdf-4d36dab83a6d_story.html
CORONAVIRUS ANOTHER ‘NAIL IN THE COFFIN’ PAYING FOR NEWS AND THE SHIFT TO READER
FOR PRINT REVENUE
Print publications have been badly affected by COVID-19, partly The last year has also seen more quality journalism go behind
due to restrictions on movement and partly due to the associated paywalls, as print and digital-born publishers turn to subscription,
hit to advertising revenue. Countries that have traditionally membership, and donations to reduce their reliance on
had highINSTITUTE
REUTERS levels of FOR
circulation,
THE STUDYsuch as Germany,
OF JOURNALISM Austria, and
/ EXECUTIVE advertising – which online continues to go primarily to Google
SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 8
Switzerland, have seen some of the biggest falls. Concerns about
contamination from printed copies sold at newsstands affected
and Facebook. El País in Spain, El Tiempo in Colombia, and News
24 in South Africa are amongst those to have started their paywall
daily sales in many countries. journeys in the midst of the pandemic.
Overall progress remains slow. Across 20 countries where

PROPORTION THAT USED PRINTED NEWS IN THE LAST WEEK publishers have been actively pushing digital subscriptions, and
(2016-21) – SELECTED MARKETS that we have been tracking since 2016, we find 17% saying that
Switzerland Poland Portugal Brazil Germany
they have paid for some kind of online news in the last year (via
75% subscription, donation, or one-off payment). That’s up by two
Coronavirus Germany
percentage points in the last year and up five since 2016 (12%).
63% Despite 27%
Brazil it is important to note that the vast majority of
this,
consumers in these countries continue to resist paying for any 24%
50% 47% onlinePortugal
news.
40%
38% 37% Poland
32% We find most success in a small number of wealthy countries
27%
25% 26% with aSwitzerland
long history of high levels of print newspaper subscriptions,
17% such as Norway 45% (+3), Sweden 30% (+3), Switzerland 17%
12% (+4), and the Netherlands 17% (+3). Around a fifth (21%) now pay
0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Slide 9
for at least one online news outlet in the United States, 20% in
Finland, and 13% in Australia. By contrast, just 9% say they pay in
Germany and 8% in the UK.
SELECTED OTHER CHANGES (2020-21):
Market
US 16% (-4) Sweden 26% South Korea 18%
PROPORTION THAT PAID FOR ANY ONLINE NEWS
IN THE LAST YEAR – SELECTED MARKETS
UK 15% (-7) Finland 31% (-6) Taiwan 19%
France 14% Austria 45% (-6) Philippines 16% (-6)
Italy 18% (-4) Argentina 20% (-3) Kenya 36% (-11)
Spain 26% (-8) Mexico South Africa 32% (-5)
28%
21% (-5)
Ireland 28% (-4) Australia 20% (-5)
(+2)
Norway 21% (-4) Japan 27% Netherlands
17%
Average in Nordic
Q3. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week as a source of news? Base: Total countries pay
2013–21 samples in each market (most n ≈ 2000). Note: If no year-on-year change is shown there is no (+3)
statistically significant difference between 2020 and 2021.
USA Norway 45% (+3)
The crisis has had a devastating impact on freesheets that are 21% Sweden 30% (+3)
mainly distributed to commuters on public transport. In the Finland 20%
UK, for example, distribution of both Metro and the Standard Denmark 16%
fell by around 40% year-on-year according to industry data.
More widely, the impact of Coronavirus is driving more industry
consolidation but also accelerating plans for digital and workflow SELECTED OTHER MARKETS:
transformation.6 As one example, News Corp Australia suspended Poland 18% Canada 13% France 11%
the print editions of 112 suburban and regional mastheads, axing
Switzerland 17% (+4) Italy 13% (+3) Japan 10%
almost 1,000 jobs. Our country pages document how both local
Belgium 16% (+4) Spain 12% Germany 9%
and national publications have been affected by furloughs, layoffs,
and closures, reducing the ability to inform citizens at a time of Ireland 16% (+4) Austria 12% UK 8%
greatest need. Q7a. Have you paid for ONLINE news content, or accessed a paid for ONLINE news service in
the last year? (This could be a digital subscription, combined digital/print subscription or one-off
payment for an article or app or e-edition). Base: Total 2021 sample in each market (n ≈ 2000).
For further information on the impact on jobs and mastheads Note: If no year-on-year change is shown there is no statistically significant difference between 2020
and 2021.
see section 3: Country and Market Data
6
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/journalism-media-and-technology-trends-and-predictions-2021
14 / 15
The following chart provides more background on the development In Germany, which has long had a more competitive market with
of paid content in some of these 20 markets. It shows, for example, strong regional titles reaching a significant national audience,
how divisive elections can produce a bump in subscriptions; the pie is more evenly split between a range of national titles,
after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, we saw a surge of including the tabloid Bild as well as the up-market Der Spiegel,
new subscriptions to publications like the New York Times and Die Zeit, FAZ, and Süddeutsche Zeitung, while in Spain we find a
Washington Post. Progress has been faster in Norway and Sweden, mix of national titles and smaller digital-born outlets pursuing
partly because they are small markets protected by language, but membership models.
also because a limited number of digitally committed publishers
have almost all sought to charge for online news. More recently, One striking finding from our survey this year is the difference
across countries, publishers have added or tightened paywalls, in contribution made by local and regional publications across
countries. In Norway, 57% of subscribers pay for one or more local
using data to target new customers and linking messaging to
the importance of trusted content. These approaches may have Slide 11
outlets in digital form. This compares with 23% in the United
helped drive recent increases in countries such as Switzerland States, but just 3% in the United Kingdom.
and the Netherlands. COVID-19 may also have contributed to the
perceived
REUTERS value ofFOR
INSTITUTE some
THEquality journalism.
STUDY OF JOURNALISMBut in countries
/ EXECUTIVE such GRAPHS
SUMMARY
PROPORTION OF ONGOING DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS THAT PAY
Slide 10
as France and the UK the headline rate has been hard to shift,
even if a handful of publishers are attracting new subscribers FOR SELECTED BRANDS – USA, UK, NORWAY
running into tens of thousands.
USA
PROPORTION THAT PAID FOR ANY ONLINE NEWS IN THE LAST New York Times 31
YEAR (2016-21) – SELECTED MARKETS
Washington Post 24
USA UK France Japan Netherlands Wall Street Journal 7
Norway Sweden 20 Market Average
Local, regional and
city papers/websites
23
Coronavirus bumps 0% 25% 50% 75%
in some countries
Median number of subscriptions = 2
50% More/tighter Average age of subscribers = 50-55
paywalls 45% Sweden
27%
Swedish Norway
Trump elections UK 24%
bump
30% 20 Market Average
27%
25% The Telegraph
Netherlands 20
20% 21%
The Times 19
17%
17% Japan
12% 12% 12% The Guardian 16
11% 11%
9% 10% France
7% 8%
Local, regional and
3
UK
city papers/websites
0% 0% 25% 50% 75%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
USA Median number of subscriptions = 1
Q7a. Have you paid for ONLINE news content, or accessed a paid for ONLINE news service Average age of digital subscribers = 50-55
in the last year? (This could be a digital subscription, combined digital/print subscription, or
one-off payment for an article or app or e-edition.) Base: Total 2016-21 samples in each market
(most n ≈ 2000). Note: 20 market average includes USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal,
Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Norway
Australia, Japan, Poland.
VG (Verdens Gang) 19
Aftenposten 16
Subscription winners around the world
Dagbladet 13
This year we asked respondents in a number of countries to tell Local, regional and
57
us how many subscriptions they have taken out and which news city papers/websites
brands they pay for. 0% 25% 50% 75%
Median number of subscriptions = 1
We have previously highlighted a winner takes most dynamic and Average age of digital subscribers = 50-55
it is a similar story this year. Getting on for half of all subscribers
Q7_subs_name. You said you have paid a subscription/membership to one or more digital news
in the United States (45%) pay for one of the New York Times, services in the last year … Please enter the name of the news subscription you value most,
Washington Post, or Wall Street Journal, according to our data. In followed by your supplementary subscriptions. Base: All that paid for a subscription/membership to
a digital news service in the last year: Norway = 656; USA = 336; UK = 125.
the UK, The Times, Telegraph and Guardian account for over half
(52%) of those who currently pay, while in Finland, we find that
almost half of subscribers (48%) pay for just one publication,
the leading broadsheet Helsingin Sanomat.
Sweden (37%) and Finland (31%) also have a high take-up for Multiple subscriptions are becoming more common in mature
local publications amongst subscribers. These data give us much markets
better insights into why subscription levels in Nordic countries,
and to some extent in the United States, are so much higher than Across our sample, the majority of those paying take out just one
elsewhere – namely the contribution of local and regional news. subscription, but in the United States the median is now two.
In English-speaking countries such as Australia and Ireland we This means just over half of those paying take out subscriptions
find a significant proportion of subscribers paying for foreign to more than one title. This may be because in the US there is
titles such as the New York Times and The Times of London, often now an increasingly wide range of subscription and membership
at a discounted
REUTERS rate.
INSTITUTE FORIn terms
THE ofOF
STUDY demographics, those taking
JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE options
out GRAPHS
SUMMARY from large publishers and local papers – as well as for
Slide 12
online news subscriptions tend to be richer, more educated, and
older, with an average age ranging from 40-45 in Spain to over 55
individual journalists (e.g. Substack newsletters or ‘channel
memberships’ to YouTube creators). A growing minority of
in Denmark. Americans, we find, now combine a national publication with
a local provider or with a specialist publisher of some kind.
Aggregators like Apple News+ are also playing a part.
PROFILE OF ONGOING DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS – Elsewhere, we find respondents combining a national title
SELECTED MARKETS
with an international one such as the New York Times, often
at a discounted price.
Country Median Average age Subscribe Subscribe
Example number of subscriber to local to foreign
subscriptions (ongoing titles titles If I want to live in a free and democratic society,
national titles payment) I believe it is my duty as a citizen to support a free,
independent, and fact-based press and media.
Australia
Sydney Morning Herald, 1 50-55 30% 15% M, 58, US
Herald Sun Subscribes to nine publications including the New York Times,
the Washington Post, the Indianapolis Star, The Economist,
Austria
Kronen Zeitung, 1 45-50 13% 11%
ProPublica, and the Guardian
Der Standard
Each provides a different perspective about different
Canada topics and fills different needs. They tend to provide
Globe & Mail, 1 50-55 9% 27% accurate or alternative viewpoints.
Toronto Star
M, 58, US
Denmark Subscribes to Wall Street Journal, The Athletic (Sport)
Berlingske, 1 55-60 25% 5% Centre Daily Times (Pennsylvania), and the National Review
Politiken
(conservative opinion magazine/website)
France
Le Monde, 1 45-50 15% 7% Different [publications have different] strengths –
Mediapart Daily Telegraph for sports, New York Times for US news.
Finland
M, 62, UK
Helsingin Sanomat, 1 45-50 31% 4%
Aamulehti The pattern of multiple subscriptions seems similar to the way
in which video-on-demand streaming services have developed,
Germany with a minority of the most interested taking out multiple
Bild, 1 45-50 31% 8%
Der Spiegel
subscriptions, or combining a dedicated premium subscription
product (e.g. Netflix, Disney+) with a subscription to an aggregator
Ireland or bigger bundle (e.g. Amazon Prime or YouTube Premium).
Irish Times, 1 40-45 1% 20%
Irish Independent
Future prospects
Italy
Corriere della Sera, 1 50-55 14% 3%
Subscriptions are beginning to work for some publishers but it is
La Repubblica
not clear that they will work for all consumers. Most people are
Netherlands not interested enough in news, or do not have sufficient disposable
De Telegraaf, 1 45-50 16% 5% income to prioritise news over other parts of their life. Others may
AD, Volkskrant
resist because they enjoy being able to pick from multiple sources
Sweden and do not wish to be confined to one or two publications.
Aftonbladet, 1 50-55 37% 2%
Dagens Nyheter It’s online now. You’ve got Apps. It’s literally everywhere
so the need to pay for it, I don’t really see it.
Spain
El Pais, El Mundo, 1 40-45 15% 11% F, 25, UK focus group
elDiario.es
Q7_subs_name. You said you have paid a subscription/membership to one or more digital news
services in the last year … Please enter the name of the news subscription you value most,
followed by your supplementary subscriptions. Base: All that paid for a subscription/membership
to a digital news service in the last year; range: Germany = 143 to Sweden = 431.
16 SUMMARY
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE / 17 GRAPHS
Slide 14
I can get all the information that I need with the PROPORTION OF LOCAL NEWS USERS THAT THINK EACH
aggregator App that I use. My life revolves around IS BEST FOR THAT TOPIC – UK
my phone and whenever I have a free moment, I
quickly check the news and don’t see the need for any Local TV Local Newspaper Social media
subscriptions. Local Radio Search/other website Local govt./politician
M, 54, Germany focus group

Local 16
There are a few places lately where I’ve wanted to look crime
[news] up, but it’s locked [behind a paywall]. But I’m 6 Loc
not tempted to pay for it. I’ll just not read it. 35
M, 26, US focus group 10
22
Amongst those who are not paying, just a small minority say 0
they are likely to do so in the future for online publications that
they like. Rates are higher in countries that are already some
way down the line (16% in Norway) when compared with those Local 16
Soc
that aren’t (8% in the UK) which suggests that (a) there is still politics
5
some room for growth even in mature markets, and (b) abundant 30
supply of free news, whether from commercial or public service 14
providers, is a key factor for some of those not currently paying.
14
12
THE FUTURE OF LOCAL MEDIA

Inte
Covid-19 22
The finding that some people in some countries are prepared
to pay for local news in digital form will be encouraging to 8
those who worry about the sustainability of local news media. 17
A Poynter analysis found that, since Coronavirus began, more 26
than 60 local news organisations in the United States have 12
shuttered or temporarily closed.7 But our survey also shows 4
the extent of the disruption suffered by local media driven
Loc
in large part by internet platforms – and the scale of the
challenge they now face. Things 6
to do
3
While people still think of newspapers as the best destination 18
for local politics, in other areas search engines, internet
29
marketplaces, or social media are now considered better or
26
more convenient. Looking at the UK as one example (see chart
right), audiences are more likely to use search engines and 1
Loc
other internet sites as the best place to access weather or local
jobs information, along with social media for recommendations
Weather 23
about ‘things to do’. Newspapers are not even the primary
7
location for information about COVID-19, which has become
easily accessed via a data visualisation in Google search results, 8
from a social media feed, or from an official government 47
website. By contrast, in Norway, local newspapers are seen as 6
the ‘go-to’ source for politics (71%), crime (73%), Coronavirus 1 Loc
news (53%), and things to do (46%). Only for weather and local
jobs do Norwegians find greater convenience with internet
sites or search engines (see chart overleaf). By this measure, Local 7
jobs
Norwegians value their local newspapers more than twice as 3
much as the British in every category. 14
57
11
1
0% 25% 50% 75%
L7_sources_2021. You said you have accessed local news and information about the following
topic in the last week … Which sources offers the best information for you on this topic? Base:
All in each market that follows each topic; UK range: Things to do = 151 to Local weather = 1,101.
7
https://www.poynter.org/locally/2021/the-coronavirus-has-closed-more-than-60-local-newsrooms-across-america-and-counting/
Reuters Institute
REUTERS for theFOR
INSTITUTE Study of Journalism
THE / Digital News
STUDY OF JOURNALISM Report 2021 SUMMARY GRAPHS
/ EXECUTIVE
Slide 13
PROPORTION OF LOCAL NEWS USERS THAT THINK EACH Our research this year also shows a link between how attached
IS BEST FOR THAT TOPIC – NORWAY people are to their local community and levels of local news
consumption. Respondents in both Austria and Switzerland
Local TV Local Newspaper Social media are amongst those countries that feel most strongly attached
Local Radio Search/other website Local govt./politician and – like Norway – these are also countries where local
news consumption tends to be higher and the value of local
newspapers is more keenly felt. There may be many reasons for
Local 8
crime this, including geography, language, demographic make-up, or the
3 Local
extent
REUTERS government/politician
ofINSTITUTE
political FOR
control that isOF
THE STUDY exercised at a/local
JOURNALISM level.SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE It is a GRAPHS
6
73
Slide 15
different story in the UK (48% attached) and Japan (37%), which
both have more centralised political systems and where more
6 people live in big cities.
1
PROPORTION THAT FEELS VERY OR SOMEWHAT ATTACHED
TO THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY – SELECTED MARKETS
Local 7
Social media
politics More attached Less attached
4
71 Austria 76% UK 48%
5 Switzerland 70% Japan 37%
4
Norway 69% Colombia 33%
5
Germany 64% Peru 32%
L5_attached_2021. In general, how attached do you feel to your local community, that is, the
peopleInternet
who live site/search engine
in your city district, town, or village? Base: Total sample in each market (n ≈ 2000).
Covid-19 8 Note: Showing ‘Very attached’ and ‘Somewhat attached’.
3
53
16 None of this is to suggest that publishers in countries with more
8 attachment are not also suffering from the impact of digital
4 disruption. We see blind spots and decline in most markets, but
the fact that local newspapers in Norway are still valued for a
Local newspaper
bundle of different information services gives them a stronger
Things 5 chance of persuading people to pay for online news. In the UK, by
to do
2 contrast, where internet and social media sites play a bigger role
46 in media diets, there is more competition from local TV, and
14 getting people to pay has proved much harder.
24
For further analysis see section 2.3: Local News Unbundled:
3 Where Audience Value Still Lies
Local radio
10
Weather SHOULD GOVERNMENTS STEP IN?
5
28 Though many publishers, policy makers, and academics worry
46 about the future of local (and national) media, our report this year
5 suggests that most ordinary people don’t share these concerns.
Across countries,
Local TV only around a third (31%) were aware that many
1
commercial news outlets were less profitable than they were a
decade ago and the majority (53%) are not worried about this.
Local 3 Just a quarter (27%) would support any government intervention
jobs
4 to help commercial media, with another three in ten (29%) not
having a view on the issue.
33
40 Only in a very small number of countries, such as Portugal, where
10 the media have been especially hard hit by structural change, do
2 we find more support than opposition (41%/35%) to the use of
public money to help commercial media. Support is particularly
low in Denmark (16%) and Sweden (22%), two countries with
0% 25% 50% 75%
longstanding government subsidy schemes for commercial
L7_sources_2021. You said you have accessed local news and information about the following media. It is lowest in the UK (11%) – which may help explain why a
topic in the last week … Which sources offers the best information for you on this topic? Base:
All in each market that follows each topic; Norway range: Local jobs = 320 to COVID-19 = 1,173. review proposing more funding for public-interest journalism has
effectively been shelved.8
8
The Cairncross Review (Feb. 2019) made nine recommendations about the sustainability of the UK news industry. https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/government-response-cairncross-
review-institute-news-save-uk-journalism/
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS 18 / 19
Slide 16
PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMMERCIAL MEDIA We can speculate that this higher trust in the news – and in the
FINANCING – 33 MARKETS sources people use themselves – could be related to extensive
coverage of Coronavirus. This may have made the news seem
more straightforward and fact-based at the same time as
squeezing out more partisan political news in some countries.
REUTERS
The UnitedINSTITUTE
StatesFOR THE STUDY
is clearly OF JOURNALISM
an exception / EXECUTIVE
following SUMMARY GRAPHS
deep divisions
Slide 18
over a ‘stolen election’ and the aftermath of the killing of George
31% 53% 27% Floyd. The US is one of the few countries not to have seen an
increase in trust this year.
are aware that news are not concerned would support
is less profitable about financial state government
these days of commercial stepping in to help PROPORTION THAT TRUSTS MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIME
news media – ALL MARKETS
Q. Financing1_2021. How concerned are you, if at all, about the financial state of commercial
news organisations in your country? Financing2_2021. To the best of your knowledge, which of Northern Finland 65
the following best describes the financial state of commercial news organisations in your country? Europe Denmark 59
Q. Financing3_2021. Should the government step in to help commercial news organisations that
can’t make enough money on their own? Base: Total sample in 33 markets: 66,120. Note: We did not Norway 57
ask questions on commercial news media financing in Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, South Ireland 53
Africa, Kenya, Philippines, Colombia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Peru and Thailand.
Sweden 50
UK 36
Some governments have offered temporary support for publishers
Western Netherlands 59
during the Coronavirus crisis in the form of furloughs, handouts, and Europe Belgium 54
tax relief, but it is not clear that there is currently public support for Germany 53
larger and more permanent interventions. There will be pressure Switzerland 51
to support many different parts of the economy over the next few Austria 46
years, especially health systems and education. Given the low France 30
levels of public awareness of the challenges facing the business of Southern Portugal 61
news, and low levels of support for government intervention – and Europe Croatia 45
more broadly low levels of trust in news in many countries – it is not Turkey 41
clear that it will be politically attractive to prioritise supporting Italy 40
journalism at the expense of other priorities that enjoy greater Spain 36
Greece 32
public awareness and support.
Eastern Poland 48
For further analysis see section 2.4: How do People Think about Europe Romania 42
the Financing of the Commercial News Media? Czech Republic 36
Bulgaria 32
Slovakia 30
TRUST IS UP AND SO ARE TRUST GAPS Hungary 30
Africa Kenya 61
Overall trust in the news (44%) has rebounded strongly (+6)
Nigeria 54
over the last year in almost all countries – as has trust in the South Africa 52
sources people use most often themselves, which is up four
points to 50%. Finland remains the country with the highest Asia-Pacific Thailand 50
Singapore 45
levels of trust (65%), having increased by nine points, while
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF(29%).
JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS Australia 43
the US now has the lowest levels We also find a growing
Slide 17
Japan 42
trust gap between the news sources people generally rely on Malaysia 41
and the news they find in social media and search, which remain Hong Kong 40
unchanged on a like-for-like basis.9 Indonesia 39
India 38
South Korea 32
PROPORTION THAT TRUSTS MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIME 32
Philippines
– ALL MARKETS
Taiwan 31
Latin Brazil 54
America Colombia 40
Peru 40
Mexico 37
Chile 36
Trust news Trust news in Argentina 36
overall social media
Trust 45
44% (+6) 24%
North Canada
gap has America USA 29
Trust news grown Trust news
I use = 50% in search = 34% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Q6_1/2/3/4. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements: I think you Q6_2016_1. Thinking about news in general, do you agree or disagree with the following
can trust the news/news I use/news in social media/news in search most of the time. Base: Total statements? – I think you can trust most news most of the time. Base: Total sample in each
sample in all markets: 92,372. market (most n ≈ 2000).
9
Taking the same 40 markets polled in 2020 we find trust in news at 43% (up five) and trust in social media unchanged at 22% and in search at 32%.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Digital News Report 2021 REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 20
Some countries have a trust deficit PROPORTION THAT THINKS THE NEWS MEDIA COVER PEOPLE
THEIR AGE AND WITH THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS FAIRLY Your
We can recut these figures to include the proportion that distrusts Unfa
the news. This gives us a good indication of how polarising the USA Fair Don’t know Unfair
news media’s reputation might be in particular countries. In Left
18-24 26% 37%
the United
REUTERS States FOR
INSTITUTE there are
THE more
STUDY OFpeople who distrust
JOURNALISM the SUMMARY
/ EXECUTIVE news GRAPHS
Cent
Slide 19
than trust it, leaving a deficit of 15 points. But in Scandinavian
countries, like Denmark, a very small proportion say they distrust
People
your age
25-34
35-44
37%
45%
35%
24%
Righ
the news, leaving a large net positive score of 48 points. 45-54 46% 22%
55+ 44% 29%
NET NEWS TRUST AND DISTRUST – DENMARK AND USA Left 51% 34%
Your
Denmark Net positive score = +48 Points political Centre 35% 39%
view
Right 16% 75%
59% 30% 11%
2% strongly disagree
UK Fair Don’t know Unfair
USA Trust deficit = -15 Points
18-24 20% 55%
29% 27% 44% 25-34 38% 33%
People 42% 17%
23% strongly disagree 35-44
your age
Tend to agree/Strongly agree Neither agree nor disagree Strongly disagree/Tend to disagree 45-54 47% 19%
55+ 49% 22%
Q6_2016_1. Thinking about news in general, do you agree or disagree with the following
statements? – I think you can trust most news most of the time. Base: Total sample in each Left 36% 44%
market: Denmark = 2005, USA = 2001. Your
political Centre 42% 26%
view
Right 39% 40%
Political divides fuel much of this mistrust in the United States,

with those who self-identify on the right being more than twice
Germany Fair Don’t know Unfair
as likely to distrust the news compared with those on the left.
Resentment and anger are stoked by polarised TV networks 18-24 41% 37%
such as right-leaning Fox News, One America News, and 25-34 46% 23%
Newsmax and left-leaning CNN and MSNBC. People
35-44 54% 13%
your age
45-54 56% 15%
Other countries with a net positive trust score include Finland
55+ 56% 18%
and the Netherlands. Those with a deficit include Bulgaria (-12),
France (-8), Hungary (-6), Chile (-4), and Argentina (-3). Left 49% 25%
Your
For further information about the background to these divisions political Centre 51% 20%
view
see section 3: Analysis by Country and Market Right 20% 57%
Q. Div2_2021 Thinking about the news in general in your country, do you think that news
PERCEPTIONS OF MEDIA FAIRNESS organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Q1F. Some people talk
about ‘left’, ‘right’ and ‘centre’ to describe parties and politicians. With this in mind, where would
you place yourself on the following scale? Base: 18-24/25-34/35-44/45-54/55+ and Left/Centre/Right
in each country: UK = 205/312/322/361/839 and 358/1010/254; USA = 215/358/309/312/807 and
Further evidence of what is driving mistrust comes this 429/809/446; Germany = 194/314/308/379/816 and 265/1443/125. Note: a relatively small number
year in a series of questions we are asking about fairness of of people self-identify as fairly right-wing or very right-wing in Germany.
mainstream media coverage. We can compare these answers

with information we hold about age, gender, ethnicity, Across much of Western Europe we find it is the 18–24 age group
education, and political views. In the United States we can use that feels least fairly represented by the media and also that
this data to see how attitudes towards the media are affected there is too little coverage of the issues they care about. This
by politics. Three-quarters (75%) of those who self-identify on may explain why this group tends to embrace alternative and
the right feel that media coverage of their views is unfair and diverse views it finds in social media, with four in ten (40%)
this compares with just a third of those on the left. Younger across markets saying this is now their main source of news.
people (U35s) are also more likely to feel that the media is These findings may provide a starting point for news media
unfair when compared with older groups. genuinely interested in connecting with a younger generation –
who are unlikely to pay attention to, let alone pay for, news that
By contrast, in the UK both the left and the right feel that their
they often feel is both unfair and uninteresting.
political views are unfairly covered by the media. Differences over
age are even more stark, with the youngest group (U25s) feeling For further analysis see section 2.1: Perceptions of Fair News
least fairly represented by the media. Gender differences are Coverage among Different Groups
perhaps smaller than one might expect but more pronounced
among younger people. In Germany, we find a similar problem
with 18–24s and also with those on the right, who have weaponised
terms like Lügenpresse (lying press) to express their unhappiness.
20 / 21
IN AN ERA OF GREATER POLARISATION, SILENT It’s OK to lean to another side on [a subject] like
MAJORITY STRONGLY SUPPORTS IMPARTIAL domestic abuse and [for a journalist] to express an
AND OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM opinion on that, but with subjects like politics or
COVID-19 it is really important to remain neutral,
The growth of online and social media has encouraged news to allow the reader or listener or watcher to take
organisations and individuals that take more overtly partisan decisions on their own.
positions than in the past. Online distribution has enabled an F, 21, UK Focus Group
explosion of unregulated opinion in video, audio, and text. GB News
is a new venture in the UK which aims to provide an alternative to
what it claims is the ‘liberal and metropolitan bias’ of established Equal time for all sides?
news outlets, perhaps inspired by the commercial success of Fox
Another key debate is the extent to which impartiality should
News in the United States. All of this is putting new pressure on
involve trying to balance different views on social and political
notions of impartiality and objectivity, which describe journalists’
issues by allocating similar amounts of time to each side. Critics
attempts to represent all sides fairly and without biases.10
argue that this approach, when applied to an issue like climate
Our survey,
REUTERS backed
INSTITUTE upTHE
FOR by qualitative interviews/ EXECUTIVE
STUDY OF JOURNALISM in four countries, change, can lead to a ‘false equivalence’, where one set of views
SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 21
shows that the public still strongly supports the ideals of impartial
and objective news, while recognising that they themselves are
underpinned by strong scientific evidence is ‘balanced’ by views
that lack significant support – and thus create a false impression
sometimes drawn to more opinionated and less balanced content. in the minds of the audience. Despite this, almost three quarters
of our sample (72%) felt it was better to give the same amount
of time to different views. Fewer than one in five (17%) felt less
PUBLIC ATTITUDES TO IMPARTIALITY – ALL MARKETS time should be given to those with weaker arguments.
Percent
Percent
When pressed, in focus groups, around specific examples (e.g.
News outlets should reflect
a range of different views and 74
74 whether anti-vaxxers, racists, or climate change deniers should
leave it up to people to decide
be given equal time), a more nuanced position emerges. In both
News outlets should argue U35 35+ the survey and focus groups younger groups were more likely to
for the views that they 15
15 see the dangers
REUTERS inFOR
INSTITUTE giving
THEequal
STUDYtime to weaker/arguments.
OF JOURNALISM The
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
think are the best 18% 13%
Slide 42
greater diversity in these generations and greater exposure to
social media may make them more sensitive to the harm that can
Don’t know 12
12 be done by extreme and hateful views.
0% 25% 50% 75%
0% 25% 50% 75%
PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS GIVING EQUAL TIME TO ALL
Percent – ALL MARKETS
SIDES
News outlets should Percent
try to be neutral 66
66
on every issue Percent
News outlets should give
There are some issues where
72
U35 35+ equal time to all sides
it makes no sense for news 24
outlets to try to be neutral 24 31% 22%
News outlets should give U35 35+
less time to sides they think 17
have a weaker argument 21% 15%
Don’t know 10
10
0% 25% 50% 75% Don’t know 11

0% 25% 50% 75%
Q_IMPARTIAL1_2021/2_2021. Thinking about the news in general in your country, when news 0% 25% 50% 75%
outlets report on social and political issues, which of the following comes closest to your view?
Base: Total sample in all markets: 92,372.
Q_IMPARTIAL1_2021/3_2021. Thinking about the news in general in your country, when news
outlets report on social and political issues, which of the following comes closest to your view?
Base: Total sample in all markets: 92,372.
Across countries, around three-quarters (74%) of our sample

think that news outlets should reflect a range of views rather
Many traditional media companies have been actively thinking
than take a position about a news story. Most also think that
about the implications of these complex questions. The new
news outlets should try to be neutral on every issue (66%) but a
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has declared that impartiality
substantial minority (24%) feel that there are some issues where
is more important than ever, but he says this does not mean that
it makes no sense to try to be neutral. While their overall views
journalists cannot call out the truth or take a strong position if
are similar to the population at large, younger groups are slightly
supported by the facts.11 Guidelines may need to be updated to
less attached to impartial or neutral news, especially in the case
take account of changing consumer expectations as well as how
of some burning issues of social justice.
journalists should conduct themselves in more informal settings
such as social media and podcasts.
For further analysis see section 2.2: Impartiality Unpacked: A Study

of Four Countries
10
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/05/does-journalism-still-require-impartiality
11
Tim Davie, introductory speech as Director General, September 2020. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/speeches/2020/tim-davie-intro-speech
MISINFORMATION AND THE ROLE OF Where does misinformation about Coronavirus come from?
CORONAVIRUS
In general, we find the highest level of concern about the
Our survey this year shows that concern about misinformation behaviours of national politicians (29%) when it comes to
is a little higher this year at 58% (+2). There is most concern in spreading misleading information about COVID-19. This is highest
Africa (74%), followed by Latin America (65%), North America in countries like Brazil (41%) where fact-checkers identified
(63%), Asia (59%), and the lowest in Europe (54%). almost 900 false or inaccurate statements on the subject by
President Jair Bolsonaro during 2020.13 Concern was also high in
To understand broad areas of concern we can break this down further Poland (41%) where the ruling Law and Justice party has been
into topics. This year people claim, on average, to have seen more REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
accused of politicising the pandemic, and in the United States
false and misleading information about Coronavirus (54%) than Slide 23
(33%) where Donald Trump first suggested the virus would ‘go
they have about politics (43%). Other topics of false information away’, downplayed the value of mask-wearing, and then suggested
relate
REUTERS to INSTITUTE
celebritiesFOR
such asSTUDY
THE actors,
OFmusicians and
JOURNALISM sports stars
/ EXECUTIVE (29%), GRAPHS
SUMMARY injecting disinfectant as a miracle cure.
Slide 22
products and services (22%), and climate change (20%). Only in
Kenya does perceived exposure to political misinformation outstrip PROPORTION THAT FINDS EACH MOST CONCERNING FOR
that about COVID-19. COVID-19 MISINFORMATION – ALL MARKETS
PROPORTION THAT THINKS THEY HAVE SEEN FALSE

29%
most concerned about behaviour of politicians
AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OF THE More in ... Brazil, Spain, Poland, Nigeria
FOLLOWING IN THE LAST WEEK – ALL MARKETS
16%
most concerned about behaviour of ordinary people
More in ... South Africa, Thailand
15%
most concerned about behaviour of activists
54% 43% More in ... Netherlands, Australia
say they have seen say they have seen 11%

misinformation about misinformation about most concerned about behaviour of journalists
COVID-19 politics More in ... Greece, Peru
• •
More in ... South Africa, More in ... United States, 9%
Nigeria, Brazil, Romania Kenya most concerned about behaviour of foreign governments
More in ... Mexico
Q_FAKE_NEWS_2021b. Thinking specifically about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its effects, which
of the following, if any, are you most concerned about online? False or misleading information
from … Base: Total sample in all markets = 92,372.
When it comes to the channels through which COVID

29% 20% misinformation is spread, we find that there is most concern
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF
say they have seen say they have seen about Facebook (28%), followed byJOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE
news websites and appsSUMMARY
(17%), GRAPHS
misinformation about
celebrities
misinformation about
climate change
Slide 24
WhatsApp and other messaging apps (15%), search engines (7%),
Twitter (6%), and YouTube (6%). But we also find major country
• • and regional differences.
More in ... South Korea, More in ... United States,
Philippines Australia
PROPORTION THAT FINDS EACH PLATFORM MOST
Q_FAKE_NEWS_2021a. Have you seen false or misleading information about any of the
CONCERNING FOR COVID-19 MISINFORMATION – ALL MARKETS
following topics, in the last week? Base: Total sample in all markets: 92,372.
Misinformation about COVID-19 has been a particular problem

in African countries such as Nigeria and South Africa, where
false rumours and conspiracies have spread quickly through
28% 15% 7% 6% 6%
Facebook Messenger Search YouTube Twitter
social media.12 Spread of false information about COVID is also apps e.g. Google
widespread in Central and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, • • • • •
Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria) as well as in much of More in ... More in ... More in ... More in ... More in ...
Latin America and parts of Asia. Philippines, Brazil, Taiwan, South Korea, USA, UK
Slovakia South Africa, Kenya India
Colombia
Q_FAKE_NEWS_2021c. Thinking specifically about coronavirus (COVID-19) and its effects,

which of the following, if any, are you most concerned about online? False or misleading
information via … Base: Total sample in all markets = 92,372.
12
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52819674
13
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1118867/bolsonaro-fake-statements-coronavirus/
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS 22 / 23
Slide 25
PROPORTION THAT FINDS EACH PLATFORM MOST CONCERNING FOR COVID-19 MISINFORMATION – SELECTED MARKETS
More concern about WhatsApp More concern about Facebook
50% Facebook WhatsApp etc. Twitter YouTube Search (e.g. Google) 50
35 35
33
25% 28 28
25 26
18 18
16
14
11 12 11
4 4 4 9 4 9 8 9 4 4
6 6 7 2 6 6 7 2 6 5
0%
Brazil Indonesia India Nigeria USA UK Philippines
Q_FAKE_NEWS_2021c. Thinking specifically about coronavirus (COVID-19) and its effects, which of the following, if any, are you most concerned about online? False or misleading information via …
Base: Total sample in each market (n ≈ 2000).
75%
Tik
In much of the Global South, including Brazil, Indonesia, India, Across these 12 countries, around two-thirds (66%) now use
Nigeria, and South Africa, messaging apps such as WhatsApp draw one or more social networks or messaging apps for consuming,
Te
the most concern. The closed and encrypted nature of this network sharing, or discussing news. But the mix of networks has
50% Yo
can make it harder for fact-checkers and others to spot and counter changedINSTITUTE
REUTERS significantly overSTUDY
FOR THE time.OFFacebook
JOURNALISMhas/ EXECUTIVE
become SUMMARY GRAPHS
W
damaging information. By contrast, in the UK and US, Facebook
is seen as the main concern, with Twitter perceived to be the next
Slide 27
significantly less relevant in the last year, while WhatsApp,
Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram have continued to attract more
25% Sn
most significant network. Facebook is also the main concern in the news use.
Philippines and Thailand where it is the key platform for news. In
PROPORTION THAT USED EACH SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NEWS Fa

0%
IN THE2014 2015 (2014-21)
LAST WEEK 2016 2017 2018
– AVERAGE 201912 MARKETS
OF 2020 2021
Tw
MESSAGING APPS CONTINUE TO GROW; TIKTOK
Facebook Facebook Messenger Twitter Instagram
AND TELEGRAM MAKE THEIR MARK Fa
Snapchat WhatsApp YouTube Telegram TikTok
For the last seven years, we have been tracking the changing mix of 50%
social networks (a) for any purpose and (b) for news. The following Tik
charts show the aggregate picture across 12 countries we have Te
been tracking since 2014. YouTube now matches Facebook in 36%
terms of use for any purpose, having added 9pp over the last eight
32% Yo
years. WhatsApp use (52%) has tripled over the same period and W
Slide 26
25% 20%
Instagram has grown five-fold, though it seems to be levelling off.
TikTok and the messaging app Telegram are growing rapidly – the 16% 17% Sn
11% 11%
latter part of a continuing shift to more private networks. 9% 8% In
7% 6%
2% 3% 3%
2% 1% 1% 2%
PROPORTION THAT USED EACH SOCIAL NETWORK FOR ANY 0%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
PURPOSE IN THE LAST WEEK (2014-21) – AVERAGE OF Tw
12 MARKETS
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for news in the last week? Base: Total 2014-21
sample in selected markets (most n ≈ 2000). Note: From 2015–21 the 12 countries included are UK, Fa
Facebook Facebook Messenger Twitter Instagram USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Australia, and Brazil. In 2014,
Snapchat WhatsApp YouTube Telegram TikTok we did not poll in Australia or Ireland.
75%
TikTok
62% As previously noted, we find different patterns of usage in the
60% 27%
61% Global South, Telegram
with higher reliance on YouTube in Asia and more 24%
53% 52% focus on WhatsApp and Instagram in Latin America and Africa.
50% YouTube
Telegram usage has doubled in some countries over the last year
39%
36%
WhatsApp
and is used for news by 23% in Nigeria, 20% in Malaysia, and 18%
31%
in Indonesia.
25% 22%
Snapchat
19%
17% 13% Instagram
12%
8% 7%
5% 5% 10% Twitter
0%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Facebook Messenger
Q12a. Which, if any, of the following have you used in the last week for any purpose? Base: Total
2014-21 sample in selected markets (most n ≈ 2000). Note: From 2015–21 the 12 countries included are Facebook
UK, USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Australia and Brazil. In
2014, we did not poll in Australia or Ireland.
REUTERS INSTITUTE
Reuters Institute for theFOR THE
Study STUDY OF JOURNALISM
of Journalism / EXECUTIVE
/ Digital News Report 2021 SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 30
Slide 28
PROPORTION THAT USED EACH SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NEWS IN THE LAST WEEK – SELECTED REGIONS
Europe North America Asia Latin America Africa
Facebook 41% 35% 43% 59% 60%
YouTube 22% 25% 41% 32% 40%
WhatsApp 16% 7% 25% 40% 61%
Instagram 12% 11% 15% 24% 24%
FB Messenger 11% 13% 12% 12% 17%

91.7001 mm
Twitter 9% 12% 14% 15% 35%
Telegram 3% 2% 9% 5% 18%
Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for news in the last week? Base: Total sample in each market. Europe = 48,413, North America = 4037, Asia = 19,706, Latin America = 12,117, Africa = 6065.
Note: Africa average is Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria only (English speakers in South Africa and Nigeria). We did not ask about Telegram in Colombia and Instagram in Thailand.
Next generation protest focused on newer networks News organisations have also been experimenting with a
platform that is skewed towards the ‘hard to reach’ under-25
Newer mobile-based social networks like Instagram and TikTok have demographic. The Washington Post was an early pioneer using the
become central to a new wave of protests by younger people across platform, amongst other things, to encourage young people to
the world this year. In Peru, anti-corruption protests were focused vote. The BBC’s Sophia Smith Galer has pioneered experimental
around
100% the hashtag #semetieronconlageneracionequivocada
+7 storytelling on TikTok, such as creating a viral sea shanty
(they messed with the wrong generation). TikTok, a vertical video about the blocking of the Suez Canal by a container ship, and
+7
platform90that builds on Instagram and Snapchat stories, played+12 a the German public broadcaster ARD has built a quirky TikTok
+1
80%in protests across
part -1 Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Thailand,
81 presence for its daily news show Tagesschau.
and Myanmar. 76
75In many cases, the authorities seem to have been
+9
68
blindsided by a platform +25 its quirky
that they don’t understand – with
60%
sense of humour and its61 distinct language of musical memes,
57
emojis,
and hashtags. +8
40% +6 -7
Elsewhere it has been used42
to articulate solidarity around the
Black Lives Matter movement or35 -5
with the victims
30of Coronavirus.
20%
I came across celebrities trying +1 to pass
21 a
message of solidarity to the people 12 of Manaus
Slide 29
[regarding
0%
Coronavirus].
Online Social media Print TV
F, 24, Brazil
(inc. social media)
PROFILE OF TIKTOK NEWS USERS – ALL MARKETS

Any purpose For news
50%
Usage by age For news
Any purpose
31
25%
20
16
12
9 3 7 2
6 5
0%
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
Top countries
Thailand Indonesia South Africa Peru Mexico

30% / 14% 24% / 11% 25% / 8% 26% / 7% 25% / 5%
Q12A/B. Which, if any, of the following have you used/used for news in the last week?
Base: 18-24/25-34/35-44/45-54/55+ in all markets: 8,572/13,539/13,795/13,087/27,738.
Note: n ≈ 2000 for selected markets.
24 / 25
HOW MUCH ATTENTION DO NEWS What are the motivations for using different social networks
ORGANISATIONS GET IN SOCIAL MEDIA? for news?
This little-researched question has been a key focus for our report When asking people to choose their main motivation for using
this year as we dig more deeply into how people are using different a network, we find clear differences between Twitter, which
networks for news. We know that many journalists put a lot of users see as a good place to get and debate the latest news,
effort into cultivating their presence on Twitter and Facebook and and other networks like Facebook, where people are ‘mainly
to some extent this seems to be paying off. Across countries, our there for other reasons’.
respondents say that they pay most attention to mainstream media
Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are very clearly seen as a
outlets when consuming news in both Twitter (31%) and Facebook
fun and entertaining way to pass the time, in keeping with the
(28%) – considerably more than for politicians, alternative news
younger and more playful nature of these networks in general.
sources, or other influencers. But the democratising impact of
YouTube news users have a range of motivations, including a
social media is also laid bare in the following chart, with significant
strong focus on looking for alternative perspectives on the news.
attention going to the views of ordinary people across all networks,
also for news. In networks such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok,
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHSREUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
the focus is also firmly on personalities – such as celebrities or
Slide 31
other influencers – leaving journalists playing second fiddle, even Slide 32
when it comes to news.
WHO PEOPLE PAY MOST ATTENTION TO WHEN USING EACH MAIN MOTIVATION FOR USING EACH SOCIAL NETWORK
SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NEWS – ALL MARKETS FOR NEWS – ALL MARKETS
31 Mainstream news 25 Latest news

11 17
18 20
Twitter 18 Twitter 10
16 11
6 14
28 16
14 Mix of 16
10 Mainstream news 11
Facebook 14 and Ordinary people YouTube 21 Entertainment
25 13
9 17
25 13
16 Mix of 11
12 Mainstream news 12
YouTube and Personalities Instagram Mix of
24 23
15 12 Entertainment
and See news
9 23
incidentally
21 11
14 10
8 12
Instagram 34 Snapchat 30
Personalities Entertainment
17 11
7 18
17 11
13 13
7 12
Snapchat 35 Personalities TikTok 35 Entertainment
20 11
8 15
14 13
14 9
8 16
TikTok 36 Facebook 16
Personalities See news
23 9 incidentally
5 32
0% 25% 50% 0% 25% 50%
Mainstream news outlets/mainstream journalists Good place to get the very latest news
Smaller or alternative news sources Gives me perspectives not available in mainstream media
Politicians/political activists Enjoy the debate and comments alongside the news
Personalities (incl. celebrities and influencers) Fun and entertaining way to pass the time
Ordinary people Gives me news that is personally important to me
Other/None I mostly see news while I’m there for other reasons
Q12_Social_sources. You said that you use <social platform> for news … When it comes to news Q12_Social_motivations. You said that you use <social platform> for news … What is the MAIN
on <social platform> which of these do you generally pay most attention to? Base: All that use reason that you use <social platform> for news? Base: All that use Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/
Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok for news in all markets: 6338/28,762/15,663/ Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok for news in all markets: 6338/28,762/15,663/6570/924/1500.
6570/924/1500. Note: See section 2.5 for more details on how we collected this data. Note: See section 2.5 for more details on how we collected this data.
There are exceptions, however, to this general pattern. In These trends towards aggregation and social gateways are
Malaysia and the Philippines Facebook has become much relentless, seem to have been unaffected by COVID-19, and
more of a destination for news than Twitter, while in South explain why negotiations with publishers over money (e.g.
Africa YouTube is also popular for latest news. In Brazil people Australia, France, UK) are so critical. Younger groups are not
routinely access news across four or five different networks, going to abandon the platforms and aggregators, which provide
using them for subtly different purposes. a quick and convenient way to check the news, but many
publishers are unhappy with the current arrangement, which
Newer youth-orientated networks represent a significant in most cases involves providing content in return for access
challenge for mainstream media. News is largely incidental and to audiences. They argue that this approach is unsustainable,
the expectations of snappy, visual, and entertaining content especially for expensively produced original reporting, and are
do not always come naturally to newsrooms staffed by older demanding better terms, if necessary brokered by governments.
journalists with a focus on traditional formats. As we have seen,
experiments are ongoing but tapping into these networks with
timely, relevant, and engaging content remains a work in progress. SMARTPHONE DEPENDENCE GROWS DURING
For further analysis see section 2.5: How and Why do Consumers LOCKDOWNS
Access News on Social Media?
Across countries, almost three-quarters (73%) now access
news via a smartphone – up from 69% in 2020. Part of this is a
continuation of trends which have seen the mobile phone overtake
GATEWAYS AND INTERMEDIARIES
the computer as the primary access point in almost all countries,
In terms of access points, habits continue to become more but Coronavirus may also have played a part. Governments around
distributed as ‘younger’ preferences for social media and search the world have focused on these personal devices to communicate
become more mainstream. Across all countries, just a quarter on restrictions, to get citizens to report symptoms, and to book
(25%) prefer to start their news journeys with a website or appointments for vaccines. Smartphones have become critical
app – down three percentage points compared with last year for keeping in touch with friends or booking takeaway food and
and down
REUTERS seven points
INSTITUTE FOR THEcompared with 2018. Under-35s
STUDY OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVEhave drink – but also for discovering and consuming news. Computer
SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 33
a weaker connection with websites/apps (18%) and are much
more likely to prefer to access news via social media (34%).
news access by contrast has fallen from 49% to 46% (-3pp). We see
smaller effects in some countries which have had fewer restrictions
on movement such as Sweden and South Korea.
The next chart illustrates change over time in the UK, with the
PROPORTION THAT SAYS EACH IS THEIR MAIN WAY OF gap between smartphone and computer growing to 25 points.
COMING ACROSS NEWS ONLINE BY AGE – ALL MARKETS We also see an accompanying growth in the proportion of
Britons accessing news more frequently.
ALL AGES
50% I tend to glance at my phone in-between things
during the day soTHE
I think
STUDYit’s all again around timing,
73% REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
(+2) Slide 34
how quickly I can access it. I think my habits have
definitely changed.
side door
25% access F, 48, UK focus group
25 26 25
PROPORTION THAT ACCESSED NEWS VIA A SMARTPHONE

9 IN THE LAST WEEK – UK
8 5
0% Computer Smartphone Tablet Smart Speaker
Direct Social Search Mobile Aggregators Email
media alerts
Coronavirus lockdowns
75%
UNDER 35s 67% 68%
50% Gap grows
81%
further
50%
(+2) 43%
34 side door
25% access
26 29%
25% 24%
18
16%
9 3
8
6%
0% 3%
Direct Social Search Mobile Aggregators Email 0%
media alerts 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Q10a. Which of these was the **MAIN** way in which you came across news in the last week? Q8b. Which, if any, of the following devices have you used to access news in the last week?
Base: All/U35s that came across news online last week in all markets: 85,831/26,985. Base: Total 2013-21 samples in the UK (n ≈ 2000).
26 SUMMARY
Slide 37
It is worth noting, however, that Western Europeans tend to lag PROPORTION THAT USED APPLE NEWS IN THE LAST WEEK –
behind those in the Global South, where so many have grown up UK AND USA
with theINSTITUTE
REUTERS device asFOR
theTHE
primary
STUDYgateway to the internet.
OF JOURNALISM Looking
/ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
Slide 35
at three countries that are new to our survey (Indonesia, Nigeria,
and Peru) we find much higher levels of smartphone use for news
USA
UK
USA – Apple iPhone users
UK – Apple iPhone users
than in EU countries. 50%
PROPORTION THAT SAYS EACH IS THEIR MAIN NEWS DEVICE 33%

– SELECTED MARKETS
25% U35 35+
21%
20% 11%
14% 14%
11% 10% 7%
Smartphone Computer Tablet 8%
4%
3%
Indonesia 80% 11% 3% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Nigeria 80% 9% 3%
Q10c. When using the internet for news, have you used any of the following sites or mobile apps
Peru 78% 7% 2% that aggregate different news links in the last week? Base: All/Apple smartphone users 2016-21:
USA ≈ 2000/500; UK ≈ 2000/500.
EU Average 54% 30% 7%
Q8b6_5. You’ve said you use the following devices to access news in the last week, which is
Mobile aggregators play a significant role in many Asian markets,
your MAIN way of accessing online news? Base: All who used a news device in the last week in including some of those that are new to our survey. Naver and
each market. Indonesia = 1904, Nigeria = 1978, Peru = 1823, EU = 36,756.
Daum (Kakao) dominate in South Korea while Yahoo/Line is the
100% major player
All in Japan. Line Today has gained impressive reach
across Taiwan
REUTERS (44%),
INSTITUTE FOR Thailand
THE STUDY(36%), and Indonesia
OF JOURNALISM (20%),
/ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS
Mobile aggregators and mobile alerts
Slide 38Spain
while India has a wide range of personalised mobile aggregators
focusingGermany
on news and entertainment, including Daily Hunt, News
As smartphones have grown in importance, so too have news
75% Republic, and NewsPoint.
alerts. In terms of weekly reach, they have tripled in most
countries since 2014 and quadrupled in the United States, where
they now reach around a quarter (24%) of the adult population. PROPORTION THAT USED SELECTED NEWS AGGREGATORS
Slide 36
News alerts are used fairly evenly across age groups. Email is IN THE LAST WEEK – SELECTED MARKETS
mainly
50% used by older groups.
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
PROPORTION THAT RECEIVED A MOBILE NEWS ALERT South Korea Japan

IN THE LAST WEEK – SELECTED MARKETS
Naver News 66% Line News 23%
UK USA Japan Finland
Daum News 30% Smart News 19%
25% 24%
Kakao Talk News 15% Gunosy 11%
20%
17%
15%
13%
10% 9% Indonesia India
6%
6%
5% 5% Line Today 20% Daily Hunt 23%
3%
Baca Berita 18% News Republic 19%
0%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
LintasBerita 8% NewsPoint 15%
Q10. Thinking about how you got news online (via computer, mobile, or any device) in the last
week, which were the ways in which you came across news stories? Base: Total 2014-21 samples Q10c. When using the internet for news, have you used any of the following sites or mobile apps
in each market (most n ≈ 2000). that aggregate different news links in the last week? Base: Total sample in each market (n ≈ 2000).
Some of these alerts come from the apps of traditional media

These mobile aggregators have taken off in Asia, partly due to
companies but mobile aggregators also seem to be benefiting.
bundling with local phone operators, partly due to the stronger
Apple News has grown significantly this year in the US, reaching
penetration of Android devices, and partly because of a history
a third of iPhone users, 14% of our overall sample, and 20% of
of early mover advantage. But this does not fully explain regional
under-35s.
differences. Upday comes bundled with many Samsung phones
in Europe and Latin America but only reaches 8% in Brazil, 6% in
Germany, and 4% in the UK.
PODCASTS AND THE RISE OF AUDIO Platform mix is changing
News podcasts, including those about Coronavirus, performed Spotify, Amazon, and Google have been investing in podcasts over
strongly in the early stages of the pandemic – in some cases reaching the last few years as they seek to capitalise on surging demand
the top of the podcast charts (Newman and Gallo 2020). Podcasts and break Apple’s dominance. Spotify reportedly paid more than
have become a key part of many lockdown routines with more $1m for exclusive rights to the Joe Rogan podcast and signed
consumption at home – though there has also been disruption to the Barack Obama and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to produce
daily commute, traditionally a key time for listening. The net impact regular programming – as well as introducing video functionality
on consumption seems to have been neutral, with 31% accessing a into its app. The growth of video podcasting, accentuated by
podcast in the last month (the same as last year) across 20 countries the use of tools like Zoom during the pandemic, is opening an
where we feel confident the term is sufficiently well understood even wider range of options for distribution and leading to more
and where samples are not skewed by high levels of education. problems of podcast definition for researchers. All this activity
is also changing
REUTERS the
INSTITUTE platforms
FOR THE STUDYthrough which consumers
OF JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE access
SUMMARY GRAPHS
Podcasts are particularly popular in Ireland (41%), Spain (38%),
Sweden (37%), Norway (37%), and the United States (37%). Fewer
Slide 40
podcasts. Spotify has overtaken Apple in some markets, YouTube
is ahead in others, while public broadcasters play an important
people access podcasts in the Netherlands (28%), Germany role in a few.
REUTERS INSTITUTE
(25%), and the UKFOR THE though,
(22%), STUDY OFas
JOURNALISM / EXECUTIVE
we’ve suggested SUMMARY
before, this GRAPHS
Slide 39
may be because many people are consuming from public service
PROPORTION THAT USES EACH PODCAST PLATFORM –
radio apps where they may be perceived as radio ‘on demand’
SELECTED MARKETS
rather than podcasts.
National broadcaster website/app
PROPORTION THAT LISTENED TO A PODCAST IN THE LAST
MONTH – SELECTED MARKETS UK
BBC Sounds 29 202

IRL 41 Spotify 24
Apple Podcasts 21
ESP 38
YouTube podcasts 14
SWE 37 Google Podcasts 7
Other news publisher 6
/broadcaster
NOR 37 0% 25% 50%
USA 37
USA
CHE 35 26 202
YouTube podcasts
Apple Podcasts 22
CAN 33
Spotify 17
AUT 32 Google Podcasts 14
Pandora 10
AUS 31 NPR app or website 9
0% 25% 50%
ITA 31
ARG 29 Germany
Spotify 29 202
FIN 29
YouTube podcasts 22
DNK 28 ARD Audiothek 15
Audible 10
FRA 28 Google Podcasts 9
Apple Podcasts 8
SGP 28
0% 25% 50%
NLD 28
31% Australia
BEL 26 accessed a podcast
in the last month, YouTube podcasts 26 202
stable compared 25
DEU 25 Spotify
with 2020
Apple Podcasts 23
JPN 25 ABC app or website 22
Google Podcasts 14
GBR 22
Podcast Addict 8
0% 25% 50% 0% 25% 50%
Q11F_2018. Which of the following types of podcast have you listened to in the last month? Q. POD2. Which of the following apps or websites do you mainly use to find and play podcasts? Base:
Base: Total sample in selected markets (n ≈ 2000). All that listened to a podcast in the last month: UK = 443; USA = 739; Germany = 527; Australia = 632.
28 SUMMARY
Slide 41
In the last few years there has been an explosion in the supply of MAIN REASONS WHY PEOPLE DO NOT USE PODCASTS –
podcasts with two million different shows now available in the EUROPE AND USA
Apple index. Demand for podcasts is not growing at the same rate,
so discovery and awareness remain the biggest problems. Our data 20 Europ
show that more people discover shows through recommendations I don't have enough time
20
from friends, family, or colleagues rather than promotion such as
in-app recommendation or advertisements. 9 Awareness gap
I don't really know
between USA
what a podcast is 17 US
Search isINSTITUTE
REUTERS also important,
FOR THE particularly in Europe,
STUDY OF JOURNALISM but the initial
/ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GRAPHS and Europe
Slide 43have come from a personal recommendation.

spark will often
Promotion via apps (e.g. Apple Podcasts, BBC Sounds) or via TV
Podcasts don't provide 18
me anything I can't
and radio trails or newspaper articles are also important for some. already find elsewhere 19
I don’t want to have to 12

WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE DISCOVER NEW PODCASTS – listen via a mobile phone
EUROPE AND USA /headphones 14
I don't know how or 10

Recommendations from friends 37
where to find podcasts 10
/family/work colleagues 32
There are so many 9
27 podcasts I don't know
Searching the internet where to start 8
39
25 12
Recommendations or Podcasts are too long
advertisements via social media 27 8
Recommendations via my usual 24 There aren't any podcasts 8

podcast app (e.g. Apple Podcasts, that cover topics
Spotify, BBC Sounds etc) 20 I'm interested in 6
Recommendations or 21 0% 25%
advertisements on
other podcasts 17 USA Europe
Promotions for podcasts 17

Q11F_NOTLISTEN. You say you have not listened to any podcasts in the last month. What are the
via radio or TV 15 main reasons for this? Base: All that have not listened to a podcast in the last month: USA = 1248;
Europe = 30,234.
Recommendations in 12
newspapers/magazines Overall, podcasts remain a fast moving and dynamic part of
14
digital consumption. They are of particular interest to publishers
0% 25% 50% because they attract younger and more affluent users that
USA Europe are highly sought by advertisers – and are potentially the next
generation of subscribers.
Q11F_podcast_discovery. How do you typically discover (new) podcasts to listen to? Base: Those
who listened to podcasts in the last month: USA = 753; Europe = 18,180.
Smart speakers could drive further audio growth

The commissioning of more high-quality original content by The shift to audio is being driven by new devices such as smart
platforms is bringing audio programming to a wider and more speakers and by platform services such as short podcasts or other
mainstream audience, but it is also raising new questions for public audio items that can be called up using voice interfaces. Amazon
broadcasters. Many worry that platforms will take much of the and Google are the key market makers here and both have a
credit/attribution for public content and exert increasing control renewed focus in promoting innovative audio formats including
over access and discovery. podcasts. Smart speakers now reach more than a fifth of the
UK adult population (22%) and 15% in the United States and
Europe and Asia lag behind the United States in awareness Germany. But only a minority use the devices for any kind of news
of podcasts (6% in the UK and 5% in the United States).
Awareness of podcasts is low in Japan, where 40% of those that

don’t use them say it’s because they don’t know what they are. The
European average of 17% that are still not aware is almost twice as
high as in the US, suggesting there could be an opportunity to grow
with extra marketing and promotion. Others that are not yet using
them say that podcasts are too long, or that they don’t know how to
find good ones. Others still say they don’t have enough interest or
enough time. These may be harder dials to shift.
CONCLUSION
This year’s data contain some good news for publishers and This tenth edition of the Digital News Report comes at a time of
for those worried about the future of the news industry. More immense challenge for the news industry. Year after year we’ve
people have sought out accurate and reliable information during witnessed the shift towards more digital, social, and mobile
this crisis with trusted, high-quality brands benefiting most in a consumption – slowly chipping away at the business models
number of countries. The overall trust gap between mainstream as well as the confidence of many media companies. Now the
media and social media has also grown significantly. Some shock of COVID-19 combined with accelerating technological
European public broadcasters can also take new confidence change is bringing things to a head, forcing a more fundamental
from data which show that audiences have valued their careful rethink about how journalism should operate in the next decade,
and impartial approach to the facts at a time when they have as a business, in terms of technology, but also as a profession.
often struggled to keep up with rapidly changing behaviours.
Commercial publishers that still rely on income from print or
digital advertising have had a torrid time, but acceleration of
digital plans as a consequence may put some on the long-term
path to survival.
Consumers have rapidly adopted new digital behaviours during

lockdowns and this is opening up new digital opportunities at
the same time as highlighting the next set of challenges. Our
report shows that subscription and membership is becoming
a sustainable model for a growing number of high-quality and
niche publications, and in a few countries for local media groups
and individuals. But it is also clear that paid content is not a
silver bullet for all publishers. Nor will it work for all consumers.
The vast majority are still not prepared to pay for online news
and with more high-quality content disappearing behind
paywalls there are pressing concerns about what happens to
those who have limited interest or who can’t afford it.
Worryingly, our data also show a historic decline in interest in

the news overall. In this respect, our findings that both political
partisans and young people feel unfairly represented will be
especially troubling for media companies looking to build
engagement both across political divides and with the next
generation. Indeed, one of the most striking findings in this
year’s data is the radically different habits of under-25s (so-
called GenZ), even when compared with the millennials that
came before them. These digital natives are less likely to visit
a news website, or be committed to impartial news, and more
likely to say they use social media as their main source of news.
Deeply networked, they have embraced new mobile networks
like Instagram and TikTok for entertainment and distraction, to
express their political rage – but also to tell their own stories in
their own way. Engaging these audiences is proving challenging
for newsrooms that are mostly staffed by journalists who
consume news in completely different ways.
In an era where news consumption has become more abundant,

more fragmented, and more fractious, media companies face
a choice. They can try to build a deeper relationship with a
specific audience or demographic – representing and reflecting
their views and aspirations. This journalism may need to take
a clearer ‘point of view’ but could also build deep trust with
that specific group. On the other hand, media companies could
choose to try to bridge these divides with services that work for
the largest number of people possible – something much of the
public say they want. In this case, the challenge will be whether
journalism that balances different points of view can engage
audiences sufficiently but also avoid getting caught up in the
partisan and cultural battles that have been such a feature of
the last few years.
30 / 31
32 / 33
S E C T I O N 2
Further Analysis and

International Comparison
Richard Fletcher
Senior Research Fellow
Craig T. Robertson
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Anne Schulz
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Director
Simge Andı
2.1 Perceptions of Fair

News Coverage among
Different Groups
Richard Fletcher
Senior Research Fellow
Diversity is now a key priority for many It is also important to highlight two further points. First,
although many journalists and media industry observers have
newsrooms across the world. Although
strong views on some of these issues, a substantial minority
improving diversity has been a decades-long of respondents will always select ‘Don’t know’ when asked
process for some news organisations, political about their views on specific aspects of media coverage – either
because they don’t pay enough attention to news to have a
shocks like the election of Donald Trump in
view, or because they think it depends. (‘Don’t know’ responses
the US and Brexit in the UK prompted some are more common among those with low news interest
to ask whether newsrooms primarily staffed levels, suggesting they are mainly a result of disengagement.)
by relatively wealthy, urban, liberal-minded Second, it should be kept in mind that people’s perceptions of
fairness in news coverage may not accurately reflect the true
journalists could ever really understand people nature of that coverage. Research has shown that people can
who think, vote, and live differently to them. evaluate the same news content very differently, with some
More recently, the #MeToo movement has raised perceiving coverage as fair when it demonstrably is not, and
others perceiving unfairness where there is none. But people’s
questions about journalism’s ability to report on perceptions of fairness or lack thereof are real and important in
women fairly, and although deeply concerning themselves, regardless of whether we think they are empirically
to many for some time, the Black Lives Matter grounded, rational or irrational, justified or unjustified – as are
the consequences they might have for, for example, trust. We
protests – in the UK in addition to claims made believe they are critically important for journalists and news
by Meghan Markle in a high-profile interview organisations to understand, even if knowing how to respond
with Oprah Winfrey, and how the Society of may also require a clear-eyed assessment of news content
and newsroom practices, as well as newsrooms’ staffing and
Editors initially responded – have reignited
organisational structures.
critical examination of how the news media
handles race and ethnicity.
PARTISANS MORE LIKELY TO THINK COVERAGE
To better understand how audiences think about how the IS UNFAIR
news media cover people like them, we asked our respondents
whether they think the news media cover people their age In the Executive Summary we saw that political partisans in
fairly or unfairly, and repeated this with respect to their gender, Germany, the UK, and the USA think that the media cover their
ethnicity, social and economic class, and where they live. We political views unfairly. Because a slightly different interpretation
then analysed the responses for different groups (e.g. men and is possible if one focuses on the proportion that thinks they are
women, younger and older, etc.) to see which groups, on average, covered fairly instead of unfairly, the data in this chapter will
think they are being covered fairly by the news media. Of course, combine these two alternative figures into one: the net perceived
some people will have views on how the media cover groups to fairness rating. This is simply the percentage that said they are
which they do not belong – but we cannot say anything about covered fairly minus the percentage that said they are covered
those views here because it is difficult to capture these views unfairly (‘Don’t know’ responses are excluded).
in a survey without asking about each category within a group
separately, and this can quickly become impractical.
34 / 35
The next chart shows the net fairness rating for the coverage WOMEN LESS LIKELY TO THINK THEY ARE
of different political views. In the US, 75% of those on the right COVERED FAIRLY, PARTICULARLY GenZ
think they are covered unfairly, versus 16% that think they are
covered fairly. Thus, for those on the right in the US there is a -59 Turning to audience perceptions among men and women, in
percentage point (pp) net fairness rating. However, because more the six countries that are our focus here, we can see that both
people on the left think that their political views are covered women and men are more likely to say that the media covers
fairly rather than unfairly (51% versus 34%), for this group the net them fairly rather than unfairly – a pattern that is repeated
fairness rating is +17pp. across most of the markets in our sample. In Germany, and in
many of the other countries, very few men and very few women
If we look at a small sample of six countries covering a range think that they are covered unfairly, leading to high net positive
of different geographic regions and media systems – Brazil, fairness ratings. Although
REUTERS INSTITUTE the difference
FOR THE STUDY between
OF JOURNALISM men ANALYSIS
/ FURTHER and GRAPHS
Germany, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US – we see that most
politically partisan groups think that their political views are Slide 2
women is small in the six countries we focus on here, across all
markets women (+23) are less likely to think they are covered
covered unfairly on the whole. The data from Japan, Brazil, and fairly than men (+31).
Spain fit particularly well with research on the ‘hostile media’
phenomenon, a long tradition of research showing that opposing
political partisans both have a tendency to see media coverage DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION THAT SAYS THE NEWS
as biased against them (Vallone et al. 1985). But at the same MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY – SELECTED
COUNTRIES
time, in most countries those on the right are more likely to think
they are covered unfairly – perhaps influenced by a long-running Male Female
narrative from right-wing politicians about media bias (the UK
Net: unfair Net: fair
is relatively unusual in that this perception is more common
among those on the left). That being said, although partisans do -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
seem more sensitive about coverage of their views, we should 42

Germany
be careful not to dismiss these perceptions entirely, as they may 38
also be highlighting genuine concerns. Journalists and editors
32
REUTERS
themselvesINSTITUTE
often FOR THE STUDY
recognise OF of
a lack JOURNALISM / FURTHER
political diversity ANALYSIS GRAPHSUK
within
Slide 1
28
their organisations (Cherubini et al. 2020) – something that is also
evident in surveys of working journalists (Thurman et al. 2016). 20
Brazil
15
16
Spain
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION THAT SAYS THE NEWS 14
MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY BY POLITICAL
LEANING – SELECTED COUNTRIES 15
USA
17
Left Centre Right
9
Japan
Net: unfair Net: fair 6
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
24 Div2_2021_3. Thinking about the news in general in your country, do you think that news
Germany 31 organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: Male/Female:
Germany = 1023/988, USA = 939/1062, Japan = 990/1014, Brazil = 995/1014, UK = 945/1094, Spain =
-37 954/1065.
17
USA -4
However, this pattern breaks down when we focus on younger
-59
age groups. Looking at 18–24s only, we see that younger women
-8 are more likely to say that the news media covers them unfairly
Japan -5 rather than fairly in Brazil, Spain, and the US. However, for men
-22 the generational differences are much smaller, with men of all
-8
age groups saying they are covered fairly on average. Clearly,
Brazil 2 there are large generational differences in how women think
-25 they are covered by the news media, with younger women
offering a much less favourable assessment. This shows
-8
how different sociodemographic factors can intersect, with
UK 16
consequences for people’s attitudes.
-1
-12
Spain -2
-25
Q1F. Some people talk about ‘left’, ‘right’, and ‘centre’ to describe parties and politicians. With this
in mind, where would you place yourself on the following scale? Div2_2021_1. Thinking about the
news in general in your country, do you think that news organisations in your country cover each
of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: Left/Centre/Right: Germany = 265/1443/125, USA =
429/809/446, Japan = 93/1251/152, Brazil = 397/705/477, UK = 358/1010/254, Spain = 530/916/214.
Reuters Institute
REUTERS for theFOR
THE / Digital News
STUDY OF JOURNALISM Report 2021
/ FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Slide 3
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION OF 18-24s THAT SAYS REGIONS THAT PERCEIVE COVERAGE AS LESS FAIR
THE NEWS MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY –
SELECTED COUNTRIES Some criticisms of the news media are rooted in how they cover
life in particular parts of the country. In the UK, some see the
Male Female
media as too London-centric or perceive a North/South divide
in how different regions are represented – criticisms that have
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
prompted both the BBC and Channel 4 to move some of their
35 operations out of London in recent years. Although most parts
Germany
6
of the UK think where they live is covered fairly on average,
29 this is clearly felt less strongly in the Midlands, the North of
USA England, Wales, and Scotland than in London and the South. And
-18
most strikingly, more people in the North East say that where
29
Brazil they live is covered unfairly as opposed to fairly – an area of
-6
the country that has seen little in the way of investment from
22 media companies, and where life is portrayed in a way that many
UK
8 residents clearly don’t recognise.
16 Although the specific underlying causes are likely to be very different,

Japan
9
we can see a broadly similar pattern in Germany. Here, people who
9 reside in states that were formerly part of East Germany, like Saxony
Spain and Thuringia, think that the news media cover where they live
-20
less fairly than those in much of the rest of the country – though
Div2_2021_3. Thinking about the news in general in your country, do you think that news
only a relatively small minority say the coverage is unfair. In the
organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: Male/Female: US, those on the East and West Coasts think that where they live is
Germany = 101/93, USA = 114/101, Japan = 88/80, Brazil = 156/158, UK = 88/117, Spain = 65/87.
covered fairly on average, though attitudes cool somewhat as we
look further inland. In Southern states like Mississippi and Alabama,
NET FAIRNESS LOWER AMONG BLACK AND while 42% say where they live is covered fairly, 33% say the opposite.
HISPANIC AMERICANS Although the question specifically asked people about the coverage
REUTERS
of whereINSTITUTE FOR
they live, in allTHE STUDY
three OF JOURNALISM
countries / FURTHER
it is possible ANALYSIS GRAPHS
that people’s
As already mentioned, many news media have a problematic
record in terms of how they have covered certain racial and ethnic
Slide 5
assessments are influenced by more general views about journalists
and the news media as elitist, out of touch with people like them, or
groups, and are facing growing critical scrutiny over this issue. as opposed to their political views (Kreiss 2019).
This is reflected in our survey data from the US. Here, although
White Americans are more likely to think the news media cover
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHSDIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION THAT SAYS THE NEWS
them fairly, Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to say
Slide 4
people like them are covered unfairly. For both groups there is a
MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY BY REGION – UK
-13pp gap between those that think people like them are covered
fairly and those that think they are covered unfairly. Net: unfair Net: fair
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION THAT SAYS THE NEWS

Div2_2021_6. Thinking about the news
MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY BY RACE/ in general in your country, do you think
ETHNICITY – USA that news organisations in your country
cover each of the following fairly or
White Black Hispanic unfairly? Base: UK range: North East = 96
to South East = 296. Note: Not enough
respondents from Northern Ireland in the
Net: unfair Net: fair sample to produce a reliable estimate.
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
8
USA -13 12
-13
-12 North East
organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: White = 1303,
Black = 284, Hispanic = 193.
9 10
Similar important patterns may exist in many of the other

24
markets included in our survey. However, these are often
challenging to identify because – depending on the demographic 4 25
make-up of the population – many minority ethnic groups 38
are too small to analyse even with relatively large nationally
representative survey samples. Although researchers sometimes 39 34
group together different minority racial and ethnic populations so
that they can be analysed, this can produce misleading findings if
those populations have very different views.
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS 36 / 37
Slide 6
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION THAT SAYS THE NEWS UNFAIRNESS PERCEPTIONS RELATED TO LACK
MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY BY REGION – OF COVERAGE
GERMANY
People will likely have very different reasons for thinking that
people their age, gender, political views, and so on, are covered
fairly or not. One possible factor influencing perceptions of
fairness is the amount of coverage devoted to particular topics.
This is also a perception – and likely a perception of prominence
rather than volume, since no one can consume all available
news coverage.
Nonetheless, there is evidence that a lack of coverage of an

61 40 issue is strongly related to perceptions of unfairness. Taking
people’s social and economic class as an example, three-
39 quarters in the UK (78%) of those that think their social and
economic class does not receive enough coverage will also
perceive that coverage as unfair. But among those that think
52 there is enough coverage of their social and economic class, just
15% think that the coverage is unfair. There are also large gaps
in the other five countries. Interestingly, the data also suggest
Saxony and Thuringia that if people think their social and economic class receives too
28
much coverage – possibly because they think the focus should
48 be on less
REUTERS privileged
INSTITUTE FORparts of society,
THE STUDY or because
OF JOURNALISM the way
/ FURTHER they GRAPHS
ANALYSIS
Slide 8
are being covered is inaccurate – this can also be associated with
perceptions of unfairness. The hard part for news organisations
is finding the right balance.
54 56
PROPORTION THAT THINKS THEIR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
CLASS IS COVERED UNFAIRLY BY PERCEIVED VOLUME OF
COVERAGE – SELECTED COUNTRIES
100% Not enough About right

REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Slide 7
organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: Germany range:
75% 78
70 70
Berlin = 93 to Nordrhein-Westfalen = 433. Note: some states are grouped to achieve usable base size. 66
59
50%
48
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPORTION THAT SAYS THE NEWS
MEDIA COVER THEM FAIRLY AND UNFAIRLY BY REGION – USA 25% 29 29
23 24
15 13
Net: unfair Net: fair 0%
UK USA Germany Spain Japan Brazil
Div1_2021_4. Thinking about the news in general in your country, do you think that there is
too much, about the right amount, or not enough news coverage of each of the following?
37 organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: Not enough/
About right: Germany = 488/1031, Japan = 336/890, USA = 469/887, Spain = 440/985, Brazil =
670/883, UK = 317/1061.
28 31 11 23
27
9 26
12
US Census Division
East South Central
(AL, KY, MS, TN)
organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Base: USA range:
New England = 71 to South Atlantic = 403. Note: USA split into census divisions.
LINK BETWEEN FAIRNESS AND TRUST The question of what practical steps to take is much tougher.
Some news organisations have focused on representation.
Lastly, we see a clear link between perceptions of fairness and BBC journalist Ros Atkins’s 50:50 project has shown how
trust in the news. Returning to where we began the chapter – self-monitoring who is included in programming output can
with people’s political views – we see that people who think improve the representation of women, setting a template
their politics are covered fairly will tend to have particularly that has since been applied more widely across the BBC and
high levels of trust in the news. If we look instead at coverage in other news organisations. Some outlets have prioritised
of some of the other topics touched upon in this chapter, we doing more to represent the views of those that live outside
tend to see
REUTERS similar
INSTITUTE patterns.
FOR OfOF
THE STUDY course, this could
JOURNALISM be because
/ FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHSof big cities, and here the trend towards more remote working
Slide 9
people who already have high levels of trust in the news are
predisposed to see coverage as fair – but either way it is clear
that has been accelerated by the Coronavirus pandemic may
provide an opportunity to employ journalists with a genuine
that trust and perceptions of fairness go hand in hand. connection to under-represented areas. Then, finally, there is
newsroom diversity. For some news organisations this has been
PROPORTION THAT TRUSTS MOST NEWS MOST OF THE TIME a priority for many years, and as a recent survey of newsroom
BY WHETHER THEY THINK THEIR POLITICAL VIEWS ARE leaders showed, many believe that while they are making some
COVERED FAIRLY OR UNFAIRLY – SELECTED COUNTRIES progress on gender diversity, there is much more to be done
when it comes to ethnic and socioeconomic diversity (Cherubini
100% Fairly Unfairly et al. 2020). The data we present here suggest that much of the
Unfairly
audience is in agreement.
Fairly
75%
74
67
61
50% 53 52 52 52
25% 31
26 27 27
17
0%
UK US Germany Spain Japan Brazil
organisations in your country cover each of the following fairly or unfairly? Q6_2016_1. To
what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? – I think you can trust
most news most of the time. Base Fairly/Unfairly: UK = 739/563, USA = 636/871, Germany =
917/456, Spain = 627/801, Japan = 449/559, Brazil = 660/810.
For those news organisations looking to increase their audience

trust, it therefore may make sense to reflect on how they
cover certain groups. The data here can reveal the fault lines
in public attitudes, but the challenge for journalists and news
organisations is deciding where to focus their efforts, what to
do in practice, and how to speed up processes that often feel
painfully slow.
When it comes to the question of where to focus, the sharpest

divides in views on fairness are around the coverage of politics.
But for many news organisations – particularly those already
trying to uphold a commitment to impartiality and/or maintain
a broad subscriber base – this will be the hardest area to
make real progress in, especially if partisans are inclined to
see unfairness in coverage no matter what. It therefore may
make more sense to focus on areas – such as race, gender, and
socioeconomic class – where researchers in some countries
have sometimes found clear evidence that coverage often
falls short of ideals or exacerbates problems. Even here, it
remains the case that news media cannot necessarily please
everybody. In the United States, some steps that might help
build trust among those on the political right (primarily older
and white) are unlikely to achieve the same with other groups
unhappy with how they are covered (Black Americans, Hispanic
Americans, and younger women).
38 / 39
2.2 Impartiality Unpacked:

A Study of Four Countries
Craig T. Robertson
As the BBC observes, ‘defining impartiality is PEOPLE WANT NEWS OUTLETS TO PRESENT A
easy … it means reflecting all sides of arguments RANGE OF VIEWS AND LET THEM DECIDE
and not favouring any side’.14 But what this looks One of the most basic questions when it comes to impartial
like in practice can become complicated as reporting is: should journalists present a range of views in their
reports leaving it up to the public to decide between them?
journalists grapple with different topics, public
This aligns with the idea that impartiality means treating different
debates, and ways of presenting engaging news. views fairly and without favour. In contrast, should certain views
Moreover, many newspapers across the world be promoted or argued in favour of? This point has been made,
for example, with respect to the 2020 US Presidential elections:
have long had a clear editorial stance and, in the
if claims of a ‘stolen’ election lacked evidence, it was appropriate
US, Fox News has demonstrated how money can to argue against this notion.
be made from catering to partisan audiences
In our data, we find that a clear majority of people in all markets
in broadcast. Meanwhile, the BBC has renewed want news outlets, when reporting on social and political issues,
its commitment to impartial journalism, as to reflect a range of different views and leave it to them to decide.
have some commercial news media, such as Few are in favour of news outlets ‘arguing for the views that they
think are the best’. There is slightly more support for this minority
Reuters. But partisan viewpoints are now more position among younger people (under-35s) and those on the
accessible than ever, especially online, and they political left, but it remains a smaller percentage. We note, of
can be attractive to audiences. This all raises course, that views often depend on the subject matter. We asked
generally about ‘social and political issues’, but views may have
the question: how important is impartial and Slide 10
been different if we asked, for instance, about reporting on vaccines.
objective journalism to audiences? Indeed, topical nuances are reflected in our focus group data.
In this chapter, we explore what audiences want from news;

whether that is impartial coverage or news which takes MOST PEOPLE THINK NEWS OUTLETS SHOULD REFLECT
more of a point of view. We focus here on four countries – A RANGE OF VIEWS – SELECTED MARKETS
Brazil, Germany, the UK, and the US – with different news
100% All markets USA UK Brazil Germany
markets, traditions of public broadcasting, and systems of
media regulation. To delve deeper into audience views, we
supplement survey data with insights from focus groups and 75%
76 74 77
74
in-depth interviews in these markets, conducted from February 69
to March 2021 with politically and racially/ethnically diverse
50%
groups of older and younger people interested in and engaged
with news (52 people in total).
25%
21 19
15 5 16 12 14
10 9 9
0%
News outlets should News outlets should Don’t know
reflect a range of different argue for the views
views and leave it up to that they think
people to decide are the best
Q_IMPARTIAL1_2021.Thinking about the news in general in your country, when news outlets
report on social and political issues, which of the following comes closest to your view? Base: Total
sample in each market: All markets = 92,372, USA =2001, UK = 2039, Brazil = 2009, Germany = 2011.
14
https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/impartiality
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Digital News Report 2021 REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Slide 11
In general, among our focus group participants, the strong MOST PEOPLE THINK NEWS OUTLETS SHOULD GIVE EQUAL
sentiment across the board is that people have the right to form TIME TO ALL SIDES – SELECTED MARKETS
their own opinions about issues, uninfluenced by the views of
100% All markets USA UK Brazil Germany
journalists. This is particularly so for more interpretive political
issues, where people are uncomfortable with the idea of journalists
making value judgements for them. 75% 78
72
65 68 68
With subjects on politics and, I think, with COVID-19
– with really more hard news – I think it is really 50%
important to remain neutral and allow the reader or

listener or the watcher to make their decisions on 25%
their own about how they feel about something. 17 15 20 20 17
16
F, 21, UK, left-leaning 12 14 11 8
0%
News outlets should News outlets should Don’t know
However, participants do note that there are some less give equal time give less time to sides
interpretive topics (e.g. science stories, natural events) where to all sides they think have a
weaker argument
journalists can present just one perspective or established point
of view. Q_IMPARTIAL3_2021. Thinking about the news in general in your country, when news outlets
If a dam breaks and floods a valley, there is only one sample in each market: All markets = 92,372, USA =2001, UK = 2039, Brazil = 2009, Germany = 2011.
view of that really: the dam broke and it flooded, so

that is it. [But] I think it’s very important for all But, again, there is somewhat more support for this position
journalistic delivery to be impartial when there are among younger age groups (under-35s). Moreover, sizeable
multiple viewpoints available. minorities of people on the political left think weaker arguments
M, 58, US, centre should be given less time: in Germany it is 24% (compared to
10% on the right), in the UK it is 22% (compared to 7%), and in
Importantly, people delineate here between news reporting the US it is 35% (compared to 5%). Among our interviewees from
(where impartiality is expected) and opinion/commentary (where this group, when it comes to Donald Trump’s false claims of a
it may be expected that views are argued for) – though they say it ‘stolen’ election, the scientific evidence for climate change, and
can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between them as news Coronavirus vaccinations, there is less appetite for giving time
outlets and formats are often seen to blend the two. Interviewees to another ‘side’ that is seen to lack validity.
like news and they like opinion, but want them very clearly
separated. Analysis falls between these and, though it brings a risk Yet people generally express discomfort with the idea of
of perceived bias, is seen as more acceptable if provided by experts. journalists excluding points of view entirely – especially on
politicised issues – and say different voices should be heard. Due
Focus group participants also acknowledge that impartiality is to this concern, the issue of ‘false equivalence’ in many ways does
difficult the more informal a news format becomes but that this not resonate with interviewees. If it does, they tend to express
can be okay if, because of the format (e.g. podcasts, social media), concern about others being misled, less so themselves.
points of view are expected. When sought out, the draw of more
informal and opinionated styles – especially divisive broadcast Often a more pressing concern is with the consequence of
presenters – is that they can be insightful and entertaining. While excluding (political) perspectives. They feel false equivalence can
impartial reporting is the ideal standard, some interviewees do be avoided by properly framing different perspectives. In the US
admit that it can be less engaging. and UK, there is the view, particularly among older interviewees,
that different perspectives should be subject to the marketplace
of ideas: bad arguments will be shown to be weaker when
PEOPLE THINK EQUAL TIME SHOULD BE GIVEN TO presented against stronger ones. Some feel that a good approach
DIFFERENT SIDES OF DEBATES is to bring in different sides, contextualise them, and let the
evidence play out. And for interviewees in Germany, there is often
Next, when reporting on social and political issues, should news seen to be value in shedding light on alternative views, even if
outlets give equal time to all sides or give less time to sides they they might be fringe perspectives.
think have a weaker argument? This question taps into debates
about balance in news reporting and whether adherence to this
These [anti-vaccination] opinions exist, so we have to
norm can be detrimental, creating a ‘false equivalence’ such
see them … Do not just sweep it under the table and
then suddenly be surprised that something exists.
as when one perspective with scientific evidence behind it is
You have to acknowledge its presence.
‘balanced’ against another lacking scientific support. This is an
issue which has, in the past, been pointed out when it comes to F, 47, Germany, left-leaning
coverage of climate change (Boykoff and Boykoff 2004; Hiles and
But it is acknowledged by some that balance may not need to be
Hinnant 2014).
50/50 in all cases: views shift with the topic. Particularly among
So, what do our survey respondents think? Again, it is the same younger people and those on the left, the view is that giving less
story: the majority of people in all markets think news outlets time to a perspective can be acceptable if the weight of evidence
should give equal time to all sides. Only a minority think news is on one side (and especially if the alternative view is potentially
outlets should give less time to sides with weaker arguments. harmful or not in the public interest).
40 / 41
Voices that are against vaccination, I think it is not Among those aged 18–24, 40% in Brazil, 34% in Germany, 38% in the
appropriate to give them the same space as the space UK, and 30% in the US think it makes no sense to be neutral on some
that is given for these pro-vaccination campaigns. issues. The percentage of those aged over 55 who think the same
Because it is a question that has already been proven ranges
REUTERS from 19% inFOR
INSTITUTE Germany to 30%
THE STUDY in Brazil, with
OF JOURNALISM the US (22%)
/ FURTHER andGRAPHS
ANALYSIS
and concerns the public interest. Slide 13
UK (26%) in between. As for those on the political left, the percentage
of people who think neutrality sometimes does not make sense
F, 30, Brazil, left-leaning
ranges from 36% in Germany to over half in the US (54%).
But, in general, across countries, interviewees say that different
views should be acknowledged and brought into public discussion
VIEWS ON REMAINING NEUTRAL BY POLITICAL LEANING –
so they can be dealt with (even if they might not be afforded the SELECTED MARKETS
same weight).
Left Centre Right
MOST PEOPLE WANT NEWS OUTLETS TO REMAIN 75% 82 USA

NEUTRAL, BUT A LARGE MINORITY SAYS THIS
63
SOMETIMES MAKES NO SENSE 50% 54
Finally, are there are some issues where it makes no sense 40

for news outlets to be neutral? This question taps into 25%
25
conversations around the lines that journalism should draw 6 7
11 12
when it comes to certain social justice issues: does it make 0%
sense for journalists to be neutral about issues that do not News outlets should There are some issues where Don’t know
try to be neutral on it makes no sense for news
have an ‘opposing argument’? However, the alternative every issue outlets to try to be neutral
perspective here may be that journalists themselves should
not give a view, instead remaining impartial and letting people 75%
with relevant knowledge and experience speak. UK
69
59
Slide 12
The story here is consistent with what we have found so far: the
majority of people across markets think that news outlets should
50% 53
39
try to remain neutral. 25% 30
20
8 11 11
MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT NEWS OUTLETS SHOULD TRY 0%
TO BE NEUTRAL ON EVERY ISSUE – SELECTED MARKETS News outlets should There are some issues where Don’t know
100% every issue outlets to try to be neutral
All markets USA UK Brazil Germany Germany
75% Brazil
75% Brazil
66 68 UK 64
60
57 50%
50% 53 56 49
US 47
37
37 25% All markets 31
25% 28
24 26 22 4 4
17 18 3
10 7 11 0%
0% News outlets should There are some issues where Don’t know
News outlets should There are some issues where Don’t know try to be neutral on it makes no sense for news
try to be neutral on it makes no sense for news every issue outlets to try to be neutral
every issue outlets to try to be neutral
Q_IMPARTIAL2_2021a. Thinking about the news in general in your country, when news outlets
75% 82 Germany
sample in each market: All markets = 92,372, USA =2001, UK = 2039, Brazil = 2009, Germany = 2011. 70
50% 58
Yet, compared with our other questions, a larger minority of 36

people across markets do think there are some issues where 25%
21
neutrality does not make sense. It is also again clear who is more 13 6 5
likely to be in this substantial minority: younger people and those 8
0%
on the political left. News outlets should There are some issues where Don’t know
every issue outlets to try to be neutral
Q_IMPARTIAL2_2021a. Thinking about the news in general in your country, when news outlets
report on social and political issues, which of the following comes closest to your view? Q1F. Some
people talk about ‘left’, ‘right’, and ‘centre’ to describe parties and politicians. With this in mind,
where would you place yourself on the following scale? Base: Left/Centre/Right: Brazil = 397/705/477;
Germany =265/1443/125; UK =358/1010/254; USA = 429/809/446. Note: A smaller number of people
self-identify as right or far right in Germany compared to other countries.
For younger people, it may be that, while they want facts, they Older people and those on the political right tend to more strongly
are idealistic and see impartial news as less engaging, lacking advocate for the inclusion of all perspectives. But among younger
authenticity, and failing to further social justice causes, instead people and those on the political left, these feelings are weaker.
perpetuating the status quo (Marchi 2012). For those on the It may be that these latter groups are more attuned to issues
political left, the danger of radical right-wing views and the which make them think differently. Here, social movements like
scourge of racism emerge as reasons for not remaining neutral. Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, which took off on the social
media platforms that younger people turn to and which have
Indeed, issues of social justice inform people’s position on found support on the political left, as well as concerns about rising
neutrality, with some (especially younger and left-leaning) science scepticism and right-wing extremism, inform views on the
people saying there can be an ethical justification for being role of journalists in being more decisive. There is emphasis on
non-neutral. In the UK, US, and Brazil, the sentiment is that journalism’s duty to accuracy and to the facts, as well as to morality
there is less need to be neutral when it comes to issues such and social justice.
as racism and domestic violence.
Yet even among this constituency there is a strong feeling that
I think as soon as you cross that border of impartial journalism is important and there is a reluctance to
something becoming illegal and just pure wrong, have journalists favour one perspective or exclude points of view
I don’t think they should get airtime. (unless they are harmful). Most people, once they have the facts,
M, 28, UK, left-leaning do want to be exposed to range of views.
Meanwhile, in Germany, there is a strong feeling among most Moreover, what our focus group participants tell us is that they
interviewees that different perspectives should be illuminated recognise they are often drawn to partial news. But what people
and presented impartially as part of democracy. But, because say they want is a reliable baseline of impartial, straightforward,
of Germany’s history, the line is drawn when it comes to factual reporting; beyond this, they can go off to explore opinions
unconstitutional views. elsewhere where they expect to find them (e.g. social media,
podcasts, chat shows, editorial pages).
The showstopper for me is the constitution and
criminal law. If the opinion breaks neither of those, The BBC and ITV … are renowned for being those
which stuff like Holocaust denial [does break], staid sources. The advice [for them] is carry on what
then you can say what you want. If it does break you are doing; don’t go left, don’t go right, sit there
those laws or also ends up hurting a person that in the middle and report on what is happening. But
way, then it should clearly be censored. if you don’t have the alternatives, like those with a
M, 30, Germany, right-leaning bit of partiality to them … then wouldn’t we all be in
a boring world? To hear somebody else’s point of
view it is healthy.
CONCLUSION F, 43, UK, right-leaning
Our survey and focus group data tell us that, while impartial A challenge for the industry is how to provide this desired mix
or objective journalism is increasingly questioned by some, – and how to make impartial and objective reporting engaging
overall people strongly support the ideal of impartial news. or entertaining without straying into partiality. This can become
People want the right to decide for themselves. That means difficult, as people note, as platforms and formats (e.g. social media,
journalists giving the facts plainly and simply, duly and fairly podcasts) become more informal and genres more mixed or harder
presenting different perspectives, not excluding points of view, to tell apart. Practices of impartiality need to adapt to these new
and keeping their own opinions out of news reports (relying ways of producing and consuming news, but our evidence indicates
instead on those of interviewees). This is not easy to do in that people strongly support impartiality ideals, even in countries
practice, or for every issue, and our focus groups show that with very different media systems and traditions.
the public understands that – but our data also suggest that
recognising that complexity does not seem to dampen people’s
commitment to impartial news.
People’s views do become nuanced the more they are

explored. Some note that you can’t be neutral about some
fundamental principles (e.g. racism is a hard line) or matters of
fact (e.g. human-induced climate change), acknowledge that
expectations of impartiality and balance can vary by subject
matter, and say evidence-based judgements (from experts)
may sometimes be appropriate when the issue is definitive.
42 / 43
2.3 Local News Unbundled:

Where Audience Value
Still Lies
Anne Schulz
Local and regional news media are under immense WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW?
financial pressure as audience attention and One important function of local and regional journalism is to hold
advertising budgets increasingly flow to big local and regional politicians to account. But local journalism can
platforms and other competitors. Local newspapers offer much more: providing stories that help build community,
featuring local people who participate in local sports, weddings,
in particular have been hit hard by disruption to or anniversaries, or service information such as weather forecasts,
both consumer behaviour and business models traffic updates, or shop opening hours. And of course, covering the
and the pandemic has only increased pressures. local consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic has been added
to this list of tasks in the past year.
Across the world we have seen a spate of cutbacks
and layoffs, and longstanding titles closing down. But what information about the area they live in do people
This is troubling because local and regional news actually care about? To find out, we asked respondents which
local topics out of a list of 15 they had accessed in the previous
media can play a critical role in informing citizens week. Across 38 markets where we asked this question, two topics
and underpinning democratic processes. stuck out as most important. Around half said they had sought
out local information about Coronavirus or other health news
In this chapter we focus on identifying which local news topics (53%) and just as many said they had accessed local weather
matter most to audiences today and where they think they forecasts (50%). But, for all other topics, reported access rates are
get the best information on each of them. This will help us see low. Only a third said they had accessed news about local politics
where local media still provide value and, potentially, where (32%), which comes third in the ranking across all markets. For
it would be most missed. Secondly, it will identify areas where all other topics we asked about, often less than a quarter of our
people feel other sources such as social media, search engines, respondents said they had accessed them in the last week. In last
various websites from businesses and government, and even year’s Digital News Report, we found that many say that local news
individual politicians, are providing valuable local news and is important to them, but when asked about what types of local
information. Finally, we explore some of the country differences information people have actually accessed, the figures are much
around the perceived value of local media to draw out lessons on lower – the difference between abstract interest and practical
why some local and regional news ecologies fare better engagement is striking.
than others.
Things look slightly better for local news media in some countries.
Asking about local and regional news consumption across Among the markets where we find relatively high self-reported
markets that vary strongly in terms of their geography, political access rates across all topics are some of the Nordic countries
and media structure is particularly difficult. To give respondents as well as some Eastern European ones such as Romania and
from everywhere a chance to relate to our questions, we opted Croatia. Many of the Latin American countries sit somewhere in
for a broader understanding of what local and regional news the middle as does the USA. Countries that tend to access less
can mean, covering ‘news from the city or town, municipality or local news include the UK and Japan, but also Denmark, where
region that people currently live in’. However, it should be kept between 21% and 24% told us they had not accessed any of the
in mind that some markets vary considerably in terms of news topics on the list.
supply at the local and regional level, so comparisons are not
always straightforward.15
15
For this reason, we did not ask the local news questions in some of the smaller city states like Hong Kong or Singapore. For operational reasons we also did not ask local news
questions this year in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
REUTERS INSTITUTE
Reuters Institute for theFOR THE
Study STUDY OF JOURNALISM
of Journalism / FURTHER
/ Digital News ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Report 2021
Slide 14
PROPORTION THAT ACCESSED SELECTED LOCAL TOPICS IN THE LAST WEEK – 38 MARKETS
38 Markets Norway USA Chile UK
Local Coronavirus information 53% 57% 44% 61% 46%
Local weather 50% 55% 62% 37% 52%
Local politics 32% 43% 33% 28% 17%
Local crime news 26% 27% 34% 24% 20%
26% 34% 21% 24% 18%
Slide 15
Local traffic
Shops and restaurants 25% 32% 22% 19% 18%
Local economy 25% 20% 23% 20% 8%
Local jobs 20% 16% 14% 22% 9%
Things to do 19% 22% 14% 18% 7%
Local schools and education
MARKET-LEVEL 19%
COMMUNITY ATTACHMENT 18%
BY MARKET-LEVEL AVERAGE16% 14% 15 LOCAL TOPICS11%
ACCESS RATE ACROSS – 38 MARKETS
Housing and properties 18% 30% 13% 20% 10%
35%
Local sport 16% 18% 16% 15% 12%
Local announcements 15% 29% 15% 6% 8%
Local services 12% 10% 8% 13% 8%
Other local information 10% 15% 8% 10% 7%
India
None of the above 11% 11% 16% 12% 24%
Finland
Average access rate across 15 local topics
Sweden Croatia
L6_topics_2021. Thinking about local news and information, which of the following topics have you accessed in the last week? Base: Total sample in each market: 38 marketsRomania
= 76,731, Norway = 2010,
USA = 2001, Chile = 2009, UK = 2039. Note: We did not ask questions on local news in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,Brazil
Thailand, and Hong Kong.
Bulgaria Norway
Philippines
Greece
Turkey
THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY ATTACHMENT Canada Germany Austria
25% Poland Switzerland
Colombia Hungary
A sense of attachment to one’s local community Czechthat
is one factor The next graph showsNetherlands
Portugal a clear connection with people in Austria
Argentina Republic
previous research has documented is
Mexicoassociated with higher local USA (76%),
SpainIndia (77%), and Romania (80%) – who are on average
Italy Ireland
news use (e.g. McLeodPeru et al. 1996). Of course, country differences
Chile in more attached to their area – being also among those that have
local and regional news consumption can have many other causes,
Taiwan accessed most local
Australia topics on average. Where attachment is
Slovakia
ranging from a country’s geography, the degree of political centralism
Denmark France as South
lower, is theKorea
case in Japan (37%) or Peru (32%), people also
in a state, or cultural factors such as the importance of the family and Belgium access fewer local topics on average.
local roots, but at the level of individual markets, research has long
Japan
REUTERS INSTITUTE
documented FOR THE
that higher STUDY OF JOURNALISM
community involvement / FURTHER ANALYSIS
is associated withGRAPHS
UK r = .55
Slide 15
higher local news use. Our data allow us to study this across markets
15%
by comparing the average access rate across our 15 local topics in
25% 35% 45% 55% 65% 75% 85%
a country with the aggregate local attachment levels.
Percent that feel attached to their local community
MARKET-LEVEL COMMUNITY
L6_topics_2021. Thinking ATTACHMENT
about local news and BY
information, which MARKET-LEVEL
of the following topics haveAVERAGE ACCESS
you accessed in RATE
the last week? ACROSS
Please 15 LOCAL
select all that TOPICS – 38InMARKETS
apply. L5_attached_2021. general, how
attached do you feel to your local community, that is, the people who live in your city district, town, or village? Base: Total sample in each market (most n ≈ 2000). Note: The proportion who feel
attached to their local community are the proportion who say they feel very or somewhat attached to their community in each country.
35%
India
Finland
Average access rate across 15 local topics
Sweden Croatia
Romania
Brazil
Bulgaria Norway
Philippines
Greece
Turkey
Canada Germany Austria
25% Poland Switzerland
Colombia Hungary
Czech Portugal Netherlands
Argentina Republic
USA Spain
Mexico Italy Ireland
Peru Chile
Taiwan Australia Slovakia
Denmark France South Korea
Belgium
Japan
UK r = .55
15%
25% 35% 45% 55% 65% 75% 85%
Percent that feel attached to their local community
L6_topics_2021. Thinking about local news and information, which of the following topics have you accessed in the last week? Please select all that apply. L5_attached_2021. In general, how
attached do you feel to your local community, that is, the people who live in your city district, town, or village? Base: Total sample in each market (most n ≈ 2000). Note: The proportion who feel
attached to their local community are the proportion who say they feel very or somewhat attached to their community in each country.
44 / 45
Of course, as is always the case with correlations, it is difficult Social media and search take the biggest shares for information
to say if there is one variable that causes the other and, so far, about shops and restaurants (49%), local services (47%), or things
research has been unable to produce evidence for a causal to do in the area (46%). Of course, some of the time search and
relationship between these two (Hoffman and Eveland 2010). social might function as a route back to local news content, but
Therefore, we have to consider that, while a well-functioning in many cases the information being sought is contained within
local news ecology can create community attachment, the platform, making them a destination in their own right. For
community attachment can also create demand for local news. housing, jobs, or the weather we also see about a fifth of users
And surely, where community attachment is missing to begin turning to specialised websites or apps. It is clear that these types
with, local and regional media will always have it harder. of information – integral to the old local print newspaper bundle –
have been unbundled.
LOCAL NEWS EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE In the case of Coronavirus

news, although local and
But attachment to local news is only one part of the story. regional news media
Traditional local and regional media have seen growing are considered best by
competition in the past decade from big platform companies many, around half say
and specialised websites and apps that focus on providing one they preferred to get their
particular service, like forecasting the weather or finding a job. Coronavirus news from
More recently social media feeds and groups have enabled social media, search, and
communities to form around specific subjects and areas. Local other internet sites and
authorities, businesses, and politicians also now often provide apps that often source official statistics
regular news of their own on local issues using their own websites and present data conveniently at a glance.
and social media pages.
In the following chart we can use our data to learn which of these
sources people consider the best source of information for each
topic. Traditional media – including newspapers, TV, and local radio
– are valued most for hard-news topics such as local politics, crime,
the economy, or Coronavirus, as well as local sport, with between
around 50% and 60% in our sample thinking these offer the best
information for them on these topics. Newspapers are also valued
as a place for publishing formal announcements such as births and
Slide 16
deaths. But for other topics, alternative sources tend to be preferred.
PROPORTION THAT THINKS EACH IS THE BEST SOURCE OF NEWS FOR DIFFERENT LOCAL TOPICS – 38 MARKETS
Local announcements 48 8 8 15 7 9 2 3
Local crime 31 21 10 17 8 8 2 3
Local economy 30 20 10 13 11 10 3 3
Local sport 27 20 11 16 12 10 2 2
Local politics 29 18 10 15 8 9 7 4
Local Coronavirus information 19 22 9 17 14 11 3 5
Schools & education 22 15 8 21 14 12 3 5
Local traffic 17 14 13 15 19 16 2 4
Things to do in the area 22 10 7 28 18 11 2 2
Local weather 11 18 9 10 24 23 1 4
Local services 21 8 7 25 22 13 2 2
Shops & restaurants 21 8 6 25 24 12 2 2
Housing & properties 21 8 5 18 22 21 2 3
Local jobs 18 8 6 22 21 20 2 3
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Local Newspaper Local TV Local Radio Social media & messaging apps Search engines Other internet sites or apps Local politicians None of these
L7_sources_2021. You said you have accessed local news and information about the following topic in the last week … Which sources offers the best information for you on this topic? Base: Local
announcements/Local crime news/Local economy/Local politics/Local sport/Things to do/Local schools/Local services/Shops and restaurants/Housing/Local Coronavirus information/Local jobs/Local traffic/
Local weather =11,560/20,219/18,940/24,355/12,555/14,941/14,337/9,025/19,381/13,963/40,316/15,557/19,705/38,404.
LOCAL MARKET DIFFERENCES In the USA we see a slightly different pattern, partly due to the
strength of local television, which is seen as the best source
In some of our countries the local newspaper continues to for both local politics and Coronavirus information. Strong
dominate across a wide variety of topics. This is especially visible competition from these free TV outlets may be one reason
in Norway and looks similar in Sweden and Finland. (In some why local newspapers in the USA have had such a hard time
cases, local publishers like Schibsted own some of the platforms in monetising their business. Highly developed internet sites
to find jobs or real estate.) But even here, unbundling is under way mean only a fifth (21%) still feel they are best placed to provide
with consumers often preferring to find ‘things to do’ or weather information about things to do. In the UK and Chile alternatives to
through alternative websites or social media. traditional local media are often considered the best source across
topics for more than half of our survey respondents. The UK is also
Traditional local sources are deemed best across a series of topics
among the countries where a significant proportion prefer to get
in Germany, but our survey data show that respondents find
their local politics news directly from politicians (12%).
local newspapers
REUTERS somewhat
INSTITUTE FOR lessOFimportant
THE STUDY in /aFURTHER
JOURNALISM country ANALYSIS
where GRAPHS
Slide 17
public service broadcasters offer a variety of regional radio and
TV channels and where people are more hesitant to turn to social
and search more generally.
PROPORTION THAT THINKS EACH IS THE BEST SOURCE OF NEWS FOR DIFFERENT LOCAL TOPICS
Local newspaper Local TV Local radio Social media & messaging apps Search engines Other internet sites or apps Local politicians None of these
Local politics 71 7 4 4 2 5 5 2
Coronavirus 53 8 3 8 4 14 4 6
Things to do 46 5 2 24 10 8 3 2
Norway
Weather 28 10 5 5 11 36 1 4
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Local politics 48 15 11 5 5 6 8 2
Coronavirus 32 17 14 6 8 13 3 7
Things to do 41 8 12 12 12 11 2 2
Germany
Weather 14 15 14 5 17 29 1 5
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Local politics 24 34 9 8 7 9 6 3
Coronavirus 15 39 6 8 9 16 3 4
Things to do 21 12 5 25 19 11 5 2
USA
Weather 6 44 8 4 11 21 1 5
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Local politics 31 22 6 8 13 9 5 6
Coronavirus 19 30 4 8 17 11 2 9
Things to do 19 19 4 14 23 13 1 7
Japan
Weather 11 30 4 6 22 19 1 7
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Local politics 30 16 5 14 7 13 12 3
Coronavirus 17 22 8 12 13 19 4 5
Things to do 18 6 3 26 22 18 1 6
UK
Weather 8 23 7 6 19 31 1 5
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Local politics 14 17 16 23 8 13 4 5
Coronavirus 9 23 16 20 13 13 1 5
Things to do 8 11 7 38 21 13
0 2
Chile
Weather 4 18 9 11 32 23
0 3
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
L7_sources_2021. You said you have accessed local news and information about the following topic in the last week … Which sources offers the best information for you on this topic? Base: Local
politics/Things to do/Local Coronavirus information/Local weather: Norway = 865/1144/432/1110, Germany = 783/1183/294/1087, USA = 652/882/282/1231, Japan = 362/1013/277/1042, UK = 353/929/147/1070,
Chile = 571/1233/369/749.
46 / 47
CONCLUSION
In the past, traditional local news media have been used for a
wide range of local news and information. Today, as our analysis
has shown, they are seen as the best source only for a minority of
topics, with people preferring platforms and specialised websites
for most others. This ‘great unbundling’ has further undermined
traditional business models, underlining the importance of a much
clearer value proposition for local news media who want to stand
out from the many alternative sources of information available.
Local news media still come out top when it comes to information
about local politics. But we also saw that only a third say they have
accessed such information in the past week. So local media have
clear strengths, but in a very competitive media environment
effective demand may be limited. A sense of attachment to the
local community is associated with higher engagement with
local news, but even in countries with relatively higher levels of
attachment, people have come to rely on traditional local news
sources for only a very limited set of topics which will be difficult to
monetise on their own.
Longstanding local publishers are moving forward in the face of

these challenges, with local newspapers across the world working
to develop new editorial products and distinguish value-added
journalism from the abundant information available online,
from Ouest-France’s new Minuit Sport offer to Westfalenpost’s
Mutmacher (Encouragement) series, featuring stories of local
people overcoming difficult circumstances. Digital entrants are
also active in local news, from aggregators such as News Break,
to single-topic niche networks like Chalkbeat (education) or the
Athletic (sports). We have also seen local editorial newsletters
emerge, such as those run by Whereby.us, or those launched by
Axios in Minneapolis, Denver, Tampa, and Des Moines, or acquired
in North Carolina, where the company bought Charlotte Agenda
for nearly $5m.
But it is uncertain how far these or similar efforts elsewhere will

be able to solve the profound problems around the unbundling of
local information that we have mapped with our data. Given the
competition from platforms and other digital alternatives, local
news media’s share of attention, and thus advertising and reader
revenues, will be very different from a past in which newspapers in
particular dominated local media markets.
2.4 How do People Think about

the Financing of the
Commercial News Media?
Richard Fletcher, Senior Research Fellow, Reuters Institute for the Study
of Journalism and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director, Reuters Institute for
the Study of Journalism
Conversations about the financing of commercial In this chapter, we present data on how concerned people are about
the financial situation commercial news organisations currently find
news media are increasingly focused on the long-
themselves in, whether people think they are making more money or
term sustainability of the industry. Advertising less money than in the past, and whether they think their respective
revenues increasingly go to Google, Facebook, and governments should step in to help those outlets that are struggling.16
a few other large digital platforms which have The first and perhaps most important point is that commercial media
further disrupted a business already challenged financing is not a particularly salient issue for many people. This
by the move to digital, and while some news means that a substantial minority say they ‘don’t know’ when asked
questions about it. This is a useful reminder that, although media
organisations still generate significant offline and financing is undoubtedly an important issue for society, and those
online advertising revenues, the share of advertising connected to the media industry often feel very passionately about it,
that goes to news media is declining. Although it is not something that the public spends a lot of time worrying about.
This, of course, has consequences for the extent to which proposals
parts of the audience are willing to take out paid and reforms can gather public support, and will perhaps influence
subscriptions from some outlets, and a few titles the extent to which politicians will see the issue as a priority.
are doing very well in terms of reader revenues,
The relatively low salience of this issue is evident in what appears
most people are not willing to pay, as an abundance to be a lack of public awareness of the financial challenges
of news remains freely accessible from commercial faced by the commercial news media. Although the picture is
and in some cases public service or non-profit sometimes mixed and comprehensive global data are hard to
come by, WAN-IFRA recently reported that the combined total
providers. Commercial news media are exploring revenue for daily publications has shrunk by around 20% since
other sources of revenue too (ecommerce, events, 2015. Although there are notable exceptions that have bucked
services, etc.), but for many publishers, the business this trend, it seems that since 2010 the overall trajectory is
outlook remains challenging, even precarious.

Slide 18
downwards – particularly for newspapers, and especially for
local titles and titles serving poor communities.
Faced with what looks to many like a classic case of market failure in
an industry that can – at least in the best cases – deliver demonstrable
PROPORTION THAT THINKS COMMERCIAL NEWS MEDIA
societal benefits, government intervention is an option. Indeed,
HAVE BECOME MORE PROFITABLE IN THE LAST DECADE –
some media markets have had such arrangements for decades, for 33 MARKETS
example, in the form of public service broadcasting or considerable
direct and indirect subsidies for newspapers. Others are now looking Most are more profitable
19
than they were 10 years ago
at alternative ways of using policy to secure additional revenues for
Most are roughly as profitable
commercial news media from the biggest platform companies, such as they were 10 years ago 14
as Google and Facebook, either through competition rules codes Most are less profitable than
(Australia), copyright reform (EU), or potentially earmarking parts they were 10 years ago 31
of new taxes on digital services for journalism.
Don't know 36
Public opinion is one of the factors that will shape governments’ 0% 25% 50%
appetite for intervention and their priorities. So what does the
Financing2_2021. To the best of your knowledge, which of the following best describes the financial
public think about financing of the commercial news media? state of commercial news organisations in your country? Base: Total sample in 33 markets: 66,120.
16
We did not ask questions on commercial news media financing in Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Philippines, Colombia, Indonesia, Nigeria,
Peru, or Thailand.
48 / 49
Across all 33 markets where we fielded this question, around This lack of awareness about the plight of the commercial news
one-third (31%) think that most news organisations are less media aligns well with data showing low levels of concern over
profitable than they were ten years ago. If we split the data their financial situation. Across all markets, 53% said that they are
by market we do see some variation, but the differences are either ‘not at all concerned’ or ‘not very concerned’, with just 31%
small – in every market less than half think that most news saying either ‘quite concerned’ or ‘very concerned’. The remaining
organisations are less profitable. Perhaps more striking still 17% said ‘don’t know’. Although there is some national variation,
is that one-fifth (19%) of respondents believe that most if we break this down by market, we see that the overall picture
commercial news outlets are more profitable now than they is quite consistent. In almost all cases the proportion who are
were a decade ago. It is also worth noting that 36% say they concerned
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS is usually smaller than 50%, and most of the time the
Slide 19
don’t know, highlighting again that the finances of commercial
media are not front of mind for many people outside of
proportion who are not concerned is larger than the proportion
who are concerned. The gap is particularly large in Northern
the industry. European countries, where relatively high rates of online news
payment have given some outlets a strong financial footing, and
some of the most widely used news outlets are publicly funded and
PROPORTION CONCERNED ABOUT THE FINANCIAL STATE therefore partially insulated from commercial pressure.
OF NEWS ORGANISATIONS – SELECTED MARKETS
Markets with a larger proportion of people who believe that news
North America Concerned Don’t Know Not Concerned
organisations are less profitable also tend to have higher levels of
USA 32% 21% 47%
concern – with the same true at the individual level. However, there
Canada 34% 18% 49%
are few differences in levels of concern by demographic variables
like age, gender, and education. But concern over the financial state
Northern Europe Concerned Don’t Know Not Concerned
19% 24% 57%
of commercial news organisations is usually higher among those
Denmark
20% 22% 58%
with high levels of interest in the news. If we look at a country from
Finland
20% 17% 62%
each of the six geographic regions, we see that – with the exception
Norway
of Germany – those with higher interest in news are more likely to
Sweden 26% 21% 54%
be concerned about the financial situation of commercial news
UK 26% 23% 51%
media. In the USA and South Korea those that say they trust most
Ireland 37% 12% 51%
news most of the time are more likely to be concerned, but in
Western Europe Concerned Don’t Know Not Concerned general trust
REUTERS in theFOR
INSTITUTE news
THEisSTUDY
not aOF particularly
JOURNALISMgood predictor
/ FURTHER of
ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Austria 21% 21% 58% concern. Perhaps most Slide 20

striking is that, even among those with
high levels of interest, it is still only a minority that say they are
Germany 23% 28% 49%
France 29% 16% 54% concerned about the finances of commercial news media.
Switzerland 30% 15% 54%
Belgium 33% 17% 51% PROPORTION CONCERNED ABOUT THE FINANCIAL STATE OF
Netherlands 42% 17% 41% COMMERCIAL NEWS ORGANISATIONS BY KNOWLEDGE AND
INTEREST – SELECTED MARKETS
Southern Europe Concerned Don’t Know Not Concerned
75%
Croatia 15% 9% 75% Less profitable More profitable/as profitable
Greece 32% 10% 59%
Turkey 32% 16% 52% 50% 56
47 44
Spain 37% 13% 50% 41 43 45 41
45
38
Italy 39% 15% 47% 32
25%
Portugal 49% 8% 44% 21 22
Eastern Europe Concerned Don’t Know Not Concerned 0%

UK USA Germany Spain Czech Rep. S. Korea
Bulgaria 14% 10% 75%
Czech Republic 21% 24% 55% Financing1_2021. How concerned are you, if at all, about the financial state of commercial
news organisations in your country? Financing2_2021. To the best of your knowledge, which of
Slovakia 22% 7% 71% the following best describes the financial state of commercial news organisations in your
Hungary 27% 12% 61% country? Base = Less profitable/More profitable: Czech Republic = 258/923, UK = 702/317, Germany =
585/668, USA = 647/549, Spain = 798/544, South Korea = 649/777.
Romania 28% 10% 62%
Poland 37% 20% 43%
75%
High interest Low interest
Asia-Pacific Concerned Don’t Know Not Concerned
Taiwan 27% 19% 54% 50%
Australia 34% 18% 48% 46
39 41
Japan 37% 30% 34% 35
25% 27 28
Hong Kong 40% 9% 51% 24 24 25
19
South Korea 40% 19% 41% 14 15
Singapore 41% 13% 46% 0%
India 52% 11% 37%
Financing1_2021. How concerned are you, if at all, about the financial state of commercial
news organisations in your country? Q1c. How interested, if at all, would you say you are in
Financing1_2021. How concerned are you, if at all, about the financial state of commercial news? Base = High interest/Low interest: Czech Republic = 950/159, UK = 1101/203, Germany =
news organisations in your country? Base: Total sample in each market (most n ≈ 2000). 1365/145, USA = 1130/276, Spain = 1376/148, South Korea = 965/142.
Reuters Institute
REUTERS for theFOR
THE / Digital News
STUDY OF JOURNALISM Report 2021
/ FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Slide 21
PROPORTION THAT THINKS THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD As already noted, some believe that the financial situation of
STEP IN TO HELP NEWS ORGANISATIONS THAT CAN’T MAKE commercial media has reached a point where government
ENOUGH MONEY ON THEIR OWN – SELECTED MARKETS intervention is required. Of course, such interventions can
take many different forms, each involving different actors and
Northern Europe Yes, they should No, they should not Don’t know
different degrees of change. Furthermore, no two media markets
UK 11% 53% 36%
are the same – and because there is a host of different factors
Finland 16% 46% 39%
that might make state intervention more or less appealing in
Denmark 16% 49% 35%
different circumstances (risk of media capture, pre-existing
Sweden 22% 42% 36%
funding arrangements, trust in the government, to name just
Norway 27% 37% 37%
three) – there can be no one-size-fits-all approach. However, it can
Ireland 32% 41% 27%
still be useful to measure the public’s appetite for government
intervention in general terms, first because people may have
North America Yes, they should No, they should not Don’t know
18% 51% 31%
views on the underlying principle of government intervention
USA
30% 39% 32%
in media markets regardless of the specific details, and second
Canada
because, although proposed solutions do not have to be based
Western Europe Yes, they should No, they should not Don’t know on spending public money, most serious and longstanding
Germany 21% 50% 29% non-commercial funding arrangements will probably need to be
France 25% 41% 34% backed up by government legislation in some way to be workable.
Netherlands 28% 40% 32% It should also be noted that asking about specific policies is of
Belgium 29% 37% 34% little value in cross-national surveys, because no one policy will
Austria 31% 41% 28% be relevant in all markets, and because it is difficult to incorporate
Switzerland 37% 37% 26% and communicate the trade-offs inherent to different options.17
Southern Europe Yes, they should No, they should not Don’t know With that in mind, we asked people whether their government
Spain 20% 51% 28% should step in to help commercial news organisations that can’t
Greece 27% 54% 18% make enough money on their own. Although the reasons behind
Croatia 28% 47% 25% people’s responses will be varied, and it is not possible to know
Italy 31% 42% 26% what these are from the data we have, it is clear that public
Turkey 40% 39% 22% appetite for government intervention is low. Across all 33 markets,
Portugal 41% 35% 24% just one-quarter (27%) think that the government should step in
to help, compared to a 44% that think they should not. Again, if
Asia-Pacific Yes, they should No, they should not Don’t know we look at the data market-by-market we do see some national
Japan 20% 35% 46% variation, but on the whole the picture is quite consistent. In all
South Korea 20% 59% 21% but a handful of markets, the proportion opposed to government
Hong Kong 22% 52% 26% intervention is larger than the proportion that supports it. Even
Australia 23% 44% 32% in stable liberal democracies that already have comparatively
Taiwan 24% 49% 27% generous forms of support available for commercial news media,
Singapore 36% 32% 32% whether in Denmark (often held up as an example of good
India 51% 28% 21% practice) or France (where critics argue existing arrangements
favour incumbants and print over new entrants and the digital
Eastern Europe Yes, they should No, they should not Don’t know media preferred by younger audiences), those opposed to
Czech Republic 16% 53% 31% government intervention outnumber those in favour (by three to
Bulgaria 22% 56% 23% one in Denmark, and close to two to one in France).
Slovakia 26% 43% 31%
Hungary 30% 40% 30% Those with higher levels of concern about the financial state of
Poland 31% 36% 33% commercial news organisations are also more likely to support
Romania 35% 45% 20% the idea of government help. In the US, for example, just 14% who
are unconcerned about the finances of commercial media would
Financing3_2021. Should the government step in to help commercial news organisations that support government intervention, but this figure rises to around
can’t make enough money on their own? Base: Total sample in each market (most n ≈ 2000). one-third (30%) of those with higher levels of concern. Perhaps
more of note is that, even among those most concerned about
the financial health of commercial news media, most are not
convinced that government intervention is the right response.
17
For example, surveys in the UK that ask people how the BBC should be funded tend to find relatively low support for the licence fee and relatively high support for
advertising models – but the respondent is left to assume that quality of output would be the same for both.
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS 50 / 51
Slide 22
PROPORTION THAT THINKS THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD

STEP IN TO HELP COMMERCIAL NEWS ORGANISATIONS THAT
CAN’T MAKE ENOUGH MONEY ON THEIR OWN BY CONCERN –
SELECTED MARKETS
Not concerned Concerned
50%
Concerned
Not concerned
33 33 31
25% 30 29
25
20
14 13 14 15
6
0%
Financing3_2021. Should the government step in to help commercial news organisations

that can’t make enough money on their own? Financing1_2021. How concerned are you, if at
all, about the financial state of commercial news organisations in your country? Base: Not
concerned/Concerned: Czech Republic = 1105/426, UK = 464/542, Germany = 996/647, USA =
403/654, Spain = 1008/758, South Korea = 831/826.
Although the idea of governments stepping in to help commercial

media is not a new one, with press subsidies a longstanding
feature of some media markets, and a notion increasingly
discussed in industry circles, our data suggest it is not an idea
that currently enjoys huge public support. We find that most
people do not have a basic understanding of the current financial
trends in the industry, and only a minority support government
intervention. Even those who are aware of these difficulties are
not particularly concerned about them. And even among those
who are most worried, there is little support for government
intervention as the solution.
Of course, these debates are playing out at a time when trust in the
news media is generally low, where some news publishers are very
polarising and unpopular with much of the public, and amid real
concerns about media capture – sometimes in countries where this
has not been a pressing problem in the recent past. Established
forms of government intervention (whether public service or direct
support for commercial news media) will probably be read in light
of these concerns. Perhaps newer, alternative approaches will too,
as long as they involve the government as a key actor.
2.5 How and Why do Consumers

Access News on Social Media?
Simge Andı
Slide 23
Social media have played an important role in PROFILE OF USERS ON EACH SOCIAL NETWORK –
how many people access the news over the past ALL MARKETS
Weekly use
decade. The networks people use and the way Weekly news use Age distribution
in which social networks showcase news have,
however, changed considerably during that time, Facebook 69%
Skews slightly older
as existing platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Launched 2004 44%
and YouTube evolved both in terms of how they

work and who uses them, and newer networks YouTube 69% Equally split
such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have Launched 2005 29% across ages
grown in importance.
Twitter 24%
In this chapter, we aim to cast light on the ever-changing news Skews younger
Launched 2006 13%
environment on social media by setting out the differences
between networks and what social media news users say their
motivation is for accessing news on these platforms, and who they Instagram 42%
Mostly under 45
say they pay the most attention to. Our analysis relies on both Launched 2010 15%
our survey and data from our focus groups, and concentrates on
the six largest open social networks measured in terms of weekly
use across all 46 markets: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok 15%
Mostly under 25
Snapchat, and TikTok. Of these, we pay particular attention to Launched 2016 4%
newer platforms with a younger user base – Instagram, TikTok,
and Snapchat – as much less is known about news usage on these
networks. Snapchat 11%
Mostly under 30
Launched 2011 2%
As is clear from the next table, while well over half of Facebook
and Twitter users say they have come across news on these
Q12A. Which, if any, of the following have you used for any purpose in the last week? Please
platforms in the past week, for other social media, less than half select all that apply. Q12B. Which, if any, of the following have you used for finding, reading,
watching, sharing or discussing news in the last week? Please select all that apply. Base: Total
of users say they have come across news on the platform (and sample in all markets: 92,372.
much of this is incidental, the result of seeing news while on a
platform for other purposes). In the rest of this chapter, we focus
on social media news users specifically, but it is important to keep
in mind that this is a subset of all users, and on four of the six
platforms we focus on, a minority of regular users.
52 / 53
MOTIVATIONS FOR NEWS USAGE ON SOCIAL These patterns are typical of many other Western countries,
NETWORKS including the United States. Though less popular than
Facebook overall, Twitter is widely used by journalists and
In previous reports, we have shown how social networks operate politicians and is where the news gets broken first – attracting
in different ways and address diverse audiences. This year, we also others with a strong interest in the news, as is clear from our
asked social media news users why they use these networks for focus groups.
news. Those who say they not only use a particular platform, but
also have used it in the last week to find, read, watch, share, or When I’m wondering what is going on in the world
discuss news, were presented with six options and could pick one … Twitter [is] definitely like the first place I go to
that represented their main motivation.18 These options can by and usually there’s like a news story that’s breaking
no means capture every choice available on social networks, but and I can read the news and read people’s opinions.
reflect some of the most common motivations. F, 21, US focus group
As we wrote in the Executive Summary and see in previous But we see slightly different patterns elsewhere. In much of
research, while Facebook is far more widely named as a network Latin America and Asia, many more Facebook users say they
where people come across news, our data show it is typically not get news while on the platform, even though much usage
a platform where news consumers intentionally go to access the remains incidental.
news (as others have found too, e.g. Boczkowski et al. 2018). Across
countries, many of those who use the platform for news say they Nowadays where I see news most is on Facebook,
pick up information incidentally. Twitter, in contrast, is often seen because that’s when you are … already seeing
much more as a primary destination for news, while YouTube and photos, things you like.
56
other networks such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are valued F, 28, Brazil focus group
50%
more for entertainment and fun – as well as for some news. I mostly see news while I’m there for other reasons
In Malaysia, our data show Facebook is more of a news destination
The UK is a good example of how these factors play out across the (22% ofGives
thosemewho
newsuse
thatFacebook
is personallyfor news to
important say
methey get the latest
REUTERS
news) INSTITUTE
and FOR THE
has a smaller STUDY OF JOURNALISM
proportion / FURTHER
of news users ANALYSIS
who say they GRAPHS
three largest networks. It is important to keep in mind that the
figures in the next chart describe the percentage of news users Slide 25
mainly see news
Fun and incidentally
entertaining way tothan in the
pass the timeUK. Twitter, while being
on that network that say each is their main motivation for using used by a smaller proportion of people overall, is valued most for
it 25%
for news. 25 26 Enjoy
the latest the debate
news and comments
and especially for alongside
debate. the news
21 21
Although 21% Gives me perspectives not available in mainstream media
17 of people who use Twitter for news say they do so PROPORTION OF NEWS USERS ON EACH NETWORK SAYING
good place to access the15latest news’, the fact that
because it’s ‘a 13 THIS IS THEIR MAIN MOTIVATION – MALAYSIA
11 12 Good place to get the very latest news
9 8actually use Twitter10for news in the first
only a small minority
8
place
7 7
means this equates to just 3% of the UK population. In contrast
to Twitter, where news looms large among many users, 3 YouTube 3
0% 50% Of the 16% Of the 36% Of the 56%
Twitter YouTube Facebook that use Twitter that use YouTube that use Facebook
is a platform where some find alternative perspectives (26% of for news for news for news
YouTubeINSTITUTE
REUTERS news users),
FORwhile others
THE STUDY OFuse it as a fun/ FURTHER
JOURNALISM and entertaining
ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Slide 24
place (15%). Social media news users on Facebook in the UK mostly
see news while on the platform for other reasons (56%), though
25%
25
30
25
21 22
debating and commenting is often part of the news experience. 17 18 18 18
14 12 13 12 12 13
11
5 7
0%
PROPORTION OF NEWS USERS ON EACH NETWORK SAYING Twitter YouTube Facebook
THIS IS THEIR MAIN MOTIVATION – UK Good place to get the very latest news
Gives me perspectives not available in mainstream media
50% 56 Enjoy the debate and comments alongside the news
I mostly see news while I’m there for other reasons
Of the 16% Of the 10% Of the 23% Fun and entertaining way to pass the time
that use that use that use Gives me news that is personally important to me
Twitter YouTube Facebook Gives me news that is personally important to me
for news for news for news Fun and entertaining way to pass the time
25% Enjoy the debate and comments alongside the news
25 26
21 21 Gives me perspectives
Q12_Social_motivations. notyou
You said that available in mainstream
use <social platform> formedia
news … What is the
17 15 MAIN reason that you use <social platform> for news? Base: Randomly selected Twitter/
13 Good place to get173/719/381.
the very latest news
3 12 8 3
Facebook/YouTube news users:
9 8 11 10
7 7
0%
Twitter YouTube Facebook
Good place to get the very latest news
Gives me perspectives not available in mainstream media
Enjoy the debate and comments alongside the news
Fun and entertaining way to pass the time
Gives me news that is personally important to me
Q12_Social_motivations. You said that you use <social platform> for news … What is the
MAIN reason that you use <social platform> for news? Base: Randomly selected Twitter/
Facebook/YouTube news users: 237/404/133.
18
Respondents first answered a question on which social networks they use for news. Then, for one randomly selected social network they answered two questions on motivations
for using it for news and news sources they pay attention to.
WHAT SOURCES OF NEWS DO PEOPLE PAY Elsewhere, alternative voices play an even bigger role. In India, for
ATTENTION TO ON SOCIAL MEDIA? example, personalities (such as celebrities and influencers) attract
most attention amongst social media news users across all four big
Social media feeds are full of information and opinions shared networks. Facebook
REUTERS INSTITUTE users
FOR THEsay theyOFpay
STUDY as much attention
JOURNALISM / FURTHERtoANALYSIS
ordinaryGRAPHS
by ordinary people, advertisers, as well as posts from activist
groups, politicians, and news media that a user follows (or the
Slide 27
people as they do to journalists or news organisations when accessing
news. And those using Twitter say they pay almost as much attention
platform recommends). But who do different audience groups to politicians as they do journalists or news organisations.
pay attention to across networks? Once again, we presented
respondents with a range of options and asked them to say
where they placed most attention when it came to news. WHO PEOPLE PAY MOST ATTENTION TO WHEN USING EACH
SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NEWS – INDIA
Taking the United States as an example, we find that, on 50%
both Facebook and Twitter, the largest proportion of social
43
media news users say they are most likely to pay attention to
35
mainstream media and journalists. However, many users also 30 30
appreciate the alternative perspectives that they find there. 25% 26
24
19 21 19
16 17 18 17
I pay attention to articles from sources I trust – 11 11 12 10
9 8 2 9 3
NY Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, and my local 3 7
0%
newspaper. Sometimes I read articles from lesser- Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram
known sources because they often go deeper … Mainstream news outlets/mainstream journalists
or present a different slant on the subject. Smaller or alternative news sources Politicians/political activists
F, 73, US, Facebook user
Internet personalities Ordinary people
Slide 26media news users, attention on YouTube tends to be

Other/None of these
Among social
evenly split between a range of sources of news and entertainment, Q12_Social_sources. You said that you use <social platform> for news … When it comes to
news on <social platform> which of these do you generally pay most attention to? Base:
including celebrities, politicians, and ordinary people. Randomly selected Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Instagram news users: 172/469/619/239.
WHO PEOPLE PAY MOST ATTENTION TO WHEN USING EACH Finally, we find that, in general, those who trust the news less are
SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NEWS – USA
more likely to seek out alternative sources and less likely to say
50% they payOther/None
attention to mainstream news outlets. This is particularly
of these
the case on YouTube in the United States where many partisan and
Ordinary people
37 alternative views have found a home. Those with lower trust are five
Net Personalities
times more likely to say they pay attention to alternative sources.
25% 26 26 Politicians/political activists
19 18 21 I usually see
Smaller or news from
alternative Newsmax
news sources or OAN [One America
16 16 17 18 17
12 10
13 12 10 10
Network], I feel
Mainstream like
news they post information
outlets/mainstream journalists that the
3
mainstream media won’t touch on. Like, things that
0%
Twitter Facebook YouTube happened at the Capitol, as well as a lot of pro-life news
Mainstream news outlets/mainstream journalists that I don’t see on the mainstream media.
Smaller or alternative news sources Politicians/political activists F, 40, US, YouTube user, self-identifies fairly right-wing
Internet personalities Ordinary people REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS
Other/None of these
Slide 28
I like the conspiracy channels and I love Alex
Belfield for the way he criticises people.
Q12_Social_sources. You said that you use <social platform> for news … When it comes to
news on <social platform> which of these do you generally pay most attention to? Base: F, 62, US, YouTube user, self-identifies right-wing
Randomly selected Twitter/Facebook/YouTube news users: 167/399/307.
WHO PEOPLE PAY MOST ATTENTION TO WHEN USING

We see these patterns on news sources across most markets, with YOUTUBE FOR NEWS BY TRUST – USA
many social media news users saying they pay the most attention 50% High trust Low trust
to mainstream media on both Facebook and Twitter. But even
here, news brands and journalists have to compete with a range of
voices that can often be more engaging and strident. 33
25% 26 25
For instance, politicians and political activists, who often use social 17 19 19
15 16
media to bypass mainstream media, receive a significant share of
9 9
news attention on social networks like Twitter. A quarter (26%) of 5 6
0%
those who use Twitter for news in the US – where the suspension Mainstream Smaller or Politicians/ Personalities Ordinary Other/
news outlets/ alternative political (social media people None
of former president Donald Trump has initiated a debate about mainstream news activists influencers/
private companies’ content moderation practices – say they pay journalists sources celebrities)
most attention to politicians when looking at news on the network.
Q12_Social_sources. You said that you use YouTube for news … When it comes to news on
YouTube which of these do you generally pay most attention to? Q6 _2016_1. To what extent
do you agree with the following statement? I think you can trust most news most of the time.
Base: High/low trust randomly selected YouTube news users: 95/153.
54 / 55
YOUTH-BASED NETWORKS AND THE ROLE OF Setting out facts clearly and accurately is not what these
INFLUENCERS networks do. Indeed, in addition to all the other things they do,
influencers and celebrities on social media have been found to
Over the past few years, the Digital News Report has documented be among the key distributors of misinformation about vaccines
how younger users have adopted more visually based social or the link with 5G networks.19 Could journalists and news
networks like Instagram, Snapchat, and now TikTok – often while organisations play a more prominent role on these networks and
also using older networks. provide more credible information? Some media organisations
have already ventured into this arena. The Guardian, for example,
Though the key motivation for users of these networks is fun produces the ‘Fake or for Real?’ segment on Instagram, where a
and entertainment, serious news topics such as mental health, young journalist goes over the week’s claims using the platform’s
climate change, COVID-19, and Black Lives Matter have been quiz feature. Strong opinions or a more comedic approach to news
widely discussed in the last year. may not come naturally to many journalists steeped in traditions
of objectivity and impartiality. Still, several journalists have
The benefit is, it is comprehensive, it is all right
experimented with a different tone. The Washington Post’s ‘TikTok
there and at the same time it is relevant. So, if you REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM / FURTHER ANALYSIS GRAPHS
are checking out like your friend’s stories you can
also see the news or entertainment stories.
Slide 30
guy’ Dave Jorgenson, for example, creates regular amusing spoofs
linked to the news. These examples focus on creating authentic
content for a particular demographic using visual content
M, 26, US focus group, Snapchat user
designed to work on a mobile phone.
REUTERS INSTITUTE
These networks FOR also
have THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM
been used / FURTHER
for political ANALYSIS
protests in GRAPHS
Slide 29Peru and Indonesia. But when it comes to news, our

countries like
research shows that many of the conversations are not framed by
journalists but rather by ‘personalities’ or ordinary people.
WHO U35s PAY MOST ATTENTION TO WHEN USING EACH FOR

NEWS – ALL MARKETS
50%
Other/None of these
Net: Personalities
40
36 37 Ordinary people
25% Politicians/political activists
21 20 Smaller or alternative news sources
16 14 18
14 14 12 14 Mainstream news outlets/mainstream journalists
9 7 8 8
6 5
0%
Instagram Snapchat TikTok
Mainstream news outlets/mainstream journalists
Smaller or alternative news sources Politicians/political activists
Ordinary people Internet personalities
Other/None of these
Q12_Social_sources. You said that you use <social platform> for news … When it comes to
news on <social platform> which of these do you generally pay most attention to? Base: U35
randomly selected Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok news users: 3416/597/786
Who are these ‘personalities’ that people pay attention to on social

media? The definition used in our survey is rather broad, combining
celebrities, such as actors and musicians, with social media The success of these experiments, however, depends on the target
influencers and reality stars. audience, the network culture, and the algorithmic features of
the social network (and sometimes they do not have any clear,
Our open-ended responses suggest that much of the news direct form of monetisation). For instance, some networks, such
circulating on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok is related to subjects as Snapchat, have a separate space for news. But on Instagram
like health, fashion, and sexuality as opposed to more ‘traditional’ and TikTok, news stories blend in with videos and images that
topics, such as politics or economics. Influencers often have strong other users share. Given that the algorithms are mainly driven by
opinions on these topics and frequently criticise the media for their popularity and relevance, content needs to be highly engaging to
perceived unfair treatment of women or LGBTQ individuals. reach a wide audience. This is perhaps even more important for
newsrooms who are actively using, or are planning to use, TikTok,
The social media influencers and comedians that where users spend the most time ‘flopping’ through hundreds
I follow are extremely opinionated, which is a good of videos on the ‘For You’ page.
thing. Because of the number of people there
[on social networks], you get better sources
to hear both sides of the story.
F, 19, India, Instagram user
19
Ahmadi, A., Chan, F. ’Online Influencers have Become Powerful Vectors in Promoting False Information and Conspiracy Theories’, 8 Dec. 2020. https://firstdraftnews.org/latest/
influencers-vectors-misinformation/
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, we have provided evidence of the differences
between the main social networks in terms of social media news
users’ motivations and whom they pay the most attention to.
Platform characteristics mostly play out in similar ways across
countries, but the political and social context can make a significant
difference. For instance, a social network that is incidentally used
for news in Western countries might be a key news destination in
countries in the Global South.
For every social network other than Facebook and Twitter, it is a

minority of users who say they get news while using the platform
in question, and even among the social media news users we
focus on in this chapter, the centrality of getting the latest news
as a motivation varies (and a desire for entertainment as well
as incidental exposure looms large). While our data show that
mainstream media capture some attention, even around news
and among social media news users, other voices play a larger
role. This is particularly clear on newer networks, among younger
people, and among those with lower levels of trust in news, who
often seek out alternative perspectives in social media that they
believe mainstream media are ignoring.
Social media are a complex space for mainstream media

organisations to navigate. They have to share this space with a
range of other content creators who do not have the same editorial
principles and values. But given the time that people spend on
social networks – and the dangers of false information and political
propaganda – it still seems important that journalists and news
organisations find ways to adapt to these more informal spaces,
especially if they want to engage people with low interest in news
and young people (groups that rarely go directly to news sites or
apps), and especially if social media can convince publishers that the
platform in question delivers a reasonable return on investment.
The tone and the formats that young people and others use,
especially on newer networks, does not always come naturally
to journalists. But the focus on fun and entertainment does not
necessarily mean that young people are unwilling to talk about
‘serious’ issues on these platforms. On the contrary, from climate
change to Black Lives Matter, many young people use their
creativity to raise awareness about the issues that concern them,
and celebrities and influencers who mostly focus on entertainment
and similar issues sometimes play a key role in these discussions –
at best, raising awareness and speaking out on important issues, at
worst, spreading false or misleading information.
News organisations have started to recognise the importance

of engaging in these spaces. In some cases, these efforts involve
adapting existing content using new formats, but in others it may
require an entirely new approach involving bespoke content, a
diverse agenda and more editorial freedom assigned to younger
journalists. The continued growth of the youth-orientated
networks makes this work more vital than ever, even as the
business side is rarely clear.
56 / 57
58 / 59
S E C T I O N 3
Analysis by Country and Market
In this section we publish a market-based view of the findings, which includes an overview of the most
important data points in terms of news.
These include an overview of consumption in each market, EUROPE AMERICAS

including details of the most popular news brands – traditional
3.01 United Kingdom 62 3.25 United States 112
and online. The pages also contain statistics about the use of
devices such as smartphones and tablets and the role of different 3.02 Austria 64 3.26 Argentina 114
social networks for news. Information is drawn from the 2021 3.03 Belgium 66 3.27 Brazil 116
Digital News Report survey using the methodology outlined on
p.6, with the exception of population and internet levels which 3.04 Bulgaria 68 3.28 Canada 118
are drawn from the latest version of Internet World Statistics. 3.05 Croatia 70 3.29 Chile 120
Data from India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are representative 3.06 Czech Republic 72 3.30 Colombia 122
of younger English-speakers and not the national population, 3.07 Denmark 74 3.31 Mexico 124
because it is not possible to reach other groups in a representative
way using online polling. The survey was fielded in English in these 3.08 Finland 76 3.32 Peru 126
markets (respondents had the option of selecting Hindi in India and 3.09 France 78 ASIA PACIFIC
Swahili in Kenya, but the majority selected English), and restricted
3.10 Germany 80 3.33 Australia 130
to ages 18–50 in Kenya and Nigeria.
3.11 Greece 82 3.34 Hong Kong 132
In some other markets, where internet penetration is lower, our
data often represent younger and more affluent groups – even 3.12 Hungary 84 3.35 India 134
if it meets other nationally representative quotas. For all these 3.13 Ireland 86 3.36 Indonesia 136
reasons, one should be cautious in comparing some data points
3.14 Italy 88 3.37 Japan 138
across markets where we know these limitations apply (see
methodology on p.6). In a few markets we do not show certain 3.15 Netherlands 90 3.38 Malaysia 140
data points (such as paying for news) because we feel these
3.16 Norway 92 3.39 Philippines 142
could lead to misunderstandings or misleading comparisons.
We have also signalled specific details about samples in a 3.17 Poland 94 3.40 Singapore 144
short note on the relevant page and also include the internet 3.18 Portugal 96 3.41 South Korea 146
penetration rate on each.
3.19 Romania 98 3.42 Taiwan 148
In the Netherlands we conducted a repoll of brand reach numbers 3.20 Slovakia 100 3.43 Thailand 150
in late March 2021 due to a scripting error in the original poll.
All other numbers are taken from the January/February poll. 3.21 Spain 102 AFRICA
Due to a scripting error there are no ‘Sources of News’ data for 3.22 Sweden 104 3.44 Kenya 154
2014 in any market.
3.23 Switzerland 106 3.45 Nigeria 156
We have ordered the countries and markets by geography 3.24 Turkey 108 3.46 South Africa 158
(Europe, Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa) and within each
region countries are then ordered alphabetically – with the
exception of UK at the start of the Europe section and the
United States at the start of the Americas.
60 / 61
S E C T I O N 3

Europe
EUROPE
3.01 United Kingdom 62
3.02 Austria 64
3.03 Belgium 66
3.04 Bulgaria 68
3.05 Croatia 70
3.06 Czech Republic 72
3.07 Denmark 74
3.08 Finland 76
3.09 France 78
3.10 Germany 80
3.11 Greece 82
3.12 Hungary 84
3.13 Ireland 86
3.14 Italy 88
3.15 Netherlands 90
3.16 Norway 92
3.17 Poland 94
3.18 Portugal 96
3.19 Romania 98
3.20 Slovakia 100
3.21 Spain 102
3.22 Sweden 104
3.23 Switzerland 106
3.24 Turkey 108
UNITED KINGDOM
STATISTICS subscription to their apps and recurring
donations, though the website remains
Population 67m
free to access. The government’s move
Internet penetration 95% to scrap VAT for digital publications has
benefited the industry by about £50m a
year.21 Despite some subscription growth,
The UK was only a small minority of our survey
particularly respondents (8%) currently pay for any
badly affected online news, with free news content
widely available.
by COVID-19,
with a high death rate and strict Publishers are hoping the government may
be able to help squeeze more money out
lockdowns, before a successful of platforms. Facebook rolled out its news
vaccination roll-out. The crisis has service in the UK in January, which involves
increased consumption of news substantial payments to leading publishers,
and Google is also licensing news content
overall, but has also led to layoffs
– but the sums involved remain modest
and closures in an already fragile compared with deals done in Australia. Some
media eco-system. Meanwhile expect the creation of a new Digital Markets
Unit to regulate digital platforms based
Brexit fallout continues to fuel
within the Competition Commission may
divisions, threatening the future encourage more and better deals, while the
of the United Kingdom itself. communications regulator Ofcom will be in
charge of regulating various online harms.
A series of lockdowns has increased the
importance of television news over the Overall trust in the media is up eight Davie has also restated the importance
last year with BBC, ITV, and Sky News percentage points to 36%, but it should of impartiality in the light of increased
all increasing weekly reach. By contrast be noted that this is still 14 points lower polarisation, culture wars, and the growing
print newspapers, which are still mainly than before the Brexit referendum in 2016, popularity of opinion-led TV broadcasters.
distributed via newsstands in the UK, with the media and social media often More opinion and political debate could be
have been in freefall, with local and blamed for fostering divisions. Our own on the way with the launch of GB News, a
national papers down by an average of research shows how trust in particular channel which says it wants to counter the
10% each and freesheets down by 40%, brands often splits along both political liberal and ‘metropolitan bias’ of existing
according to industry data. In spite of a and/or generational lines. We also find broadcast outlets. Amid fears that the
three-month government public health that political partisans from both sides feel UK is set to embark on an era of US-style
advertising campaign designed in part to that UK media coverage has been unfair to partisan TV, GB News has insisted that it
help the press, more than 2,000 staff them (see section 2.1 on fairness for more). will not be ‘shouty, angry television’, and
across the UK’s national and regional press will conform to existing impartiality rules.22
Government attitudes to the BBC had
temporarily or permanently lost their jobs
softened during the crisis with ministers Nic Newman
as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak,
returning to studios after earlier boycotts Senior Research Associate, Reuters Institute
according to research from Press Gazette.
and plans to cut the BBC down to size or for the Study of Journalism
Digital-born operators have also been
decriminalise the licence fee put on hold.
affected, with HuffPost losing half of
However, a scandal over the methods
its London-based staff, following the
used by a rogue journalist, Martin Bashir,
acquisition by BuzzFeed. The UK’s largest
in obtaining an interview with Princess
regional news group, Reach plc, is cutting
Diana 25 years ago, has reignited criticism
costs partly by closing offices. It says
about editorial oversight and emboldened
three-quarters of staff will permanently
the BBC’s many critics. Incoming Director
work from home in the future.20
General Tim Davie has embarked on
Elsewhere the crisis has accelerated his own radical reforms to make the
registration and digital subscription corporation more relevant and to address
strategies. Both the Telegraph and critiques about it being too London-
The Times now have around 400,000 centred. Jobs have been cut – including
digital subscribers while the Guardian almost 500 in news – and key departments
says 900,000 are regularly paying for its are to be moved out of the capital.
online journalism via a combination of
20
https://www.ft.com/content/a3a59984-8ed0-4d11-a180-cd289aab8856
21
https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/news-industry-set-for-50m-a-year-boost-from-vat-cut-on-digital-publications/
22
https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/gb-news-launch-date-latest-on-when-andrew-neils-channel-will-start-after-website-goes-live-for-sign-up-947550
62 / 63
WEEKLY REACH OFFLINE TV, RADIO AND PRINT ONLINE

AND ONLINE BBC News (TV & radio) 57
11 BBC News online 46
11
ITV News 13
31 Guardian online 8
17
TOP BRANDS Sky News 8

21 Sky News online 5
14
% Weekly usage Channel 4 News 6

11 MailOnline 5
14
Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday 3

7 Regional or local newspaper website 4
8
Weekly use 4
6 5
7
Regional or local newspaper HuffPost
TV, radio & print
Commercial radio news 2
6 Independent/i100 online 4
6
More than 3 days per week
CNN 3
6 Telegraph online 4
6
TV, radio & print
Weekly use Sun/Sun on Sunday 2 5 Metro online 3 5
online brands Guardian/Observer 2 4 Sun online 3 5
More than 3 days per week The Times/Sunday Times 2 4 MSN News 2 5
online brands Metro 3 ITV News online 3 5
Channel 5 News 3 Mirror online 3 5
Daily Telegraph/Sunday Telegraph 3 The Times online 2 4
Daily Mirror/Sunday Mirror/Sunday People 2 BBC TV News: 52% BuzzFeed News 3 4
The i 2 BBC Radio News: 19% CNN.com 2 4
CHANGING MEDIA
8% 22%
PAY
A COVID bump for TV news masks historic declines in
audiences – especially amongst younger viewers.
Social media have become an ever more important pay for listen to PODCASTS
source of news, fuelled by widespread smartphone ONLINE NEWS in the last month
access (68%) which has doubled in the last nine years.
SOURCES OF NEWS Online (incl. social media) DEVICES FOR NEWS

2013–21
TV 2013–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
79% Online (incl. social media)
74%
74% 67% 68%
60% Printed newspapers
59%
50% 50% TV
41% 43%
29% 24%
20% 16%
15%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TRUST DIFFERENT TYPES BRAND TRUST SCORES

OF TRUST Trust Neither Don’t trust53
Broadcasters such as the BBC 35 12
47 8
BBC, ITV, Sky News, and ITV
BBC News
45
62 17 21
45 50 5
Channel 4, that are required News overall News I use
FT
ITV News 61 25 14
Channel 4 42 50 8
to meet strict impartiality Channel 4 News 58 27 15
Sky 39 52 9
standards, remain the most
36% (+8) 44%
Financial Times 56 32 12
Guardian 39 51 10
trusted news brands, followed Sky News 54 27 19
Times 39 51 10
by national broadsheet titles. Guardian
38
52 29
55
19
7
Local newspaper
Popular outlets such as the =33/46 Regional/local newspaper 52 33 15
Independent 33 58 9
Sun and the Mail attract big The Times
Telegraph 30
52 31
56
17
14
audiences online but are Independent
16
47
47
36 17
37
News in search News in social Mail
43 35 22
strongly distrusted – Daily Telegraph
HuffPost 13 74 13
HuffPost 30 45 25
especially by the young and
15% 6%
Mirror 11 58 31
Daily Mail/MailOnline 26 27 47
by those on the political left. Sun 10 50 40
Daily Mirror 23 33 44
Buzzfeed News 6 76 18
Sun 13 23 64
0% 100%
Trust = % scored 6-10 on 10-point scale. Don’t trust = 0-4, Neither = 5.
Those that haven’t heard of each brand were excluded. Only the above brands were
included in the survey so should not be treated as a list of the most trusted brands.
TOP SOCIAL MEDIA AND MESSAGING
Rank Brand For News For All Rank Brand For News For All
22%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 23% (-1) 65% 4 YouTube 10% (+3) 59%
2 Twitter 16% (+2) 31% 5 Facebook Messenger 7% (+2) 48%

via social, messaging
or email 3 WhatsApp 14% (+7) 66% 6 Instagram 5% (+2) 34%
AUSTRIA
STATISTICS guidelines from different departments. The
public broadcaster ORF adapted rapidly
Population 9m
to the needs of COVID-19 in the early
Internet penetration 88% stages, with journalists living and working
in isolation for periods of two weeks, in
specially created studios in Vienna and in
News the regions, to guarantee reporting during
consumption the crisis. ORF remains the most used
and trust source both in broadcast and online and is
still the most trusted source of information
increased (74% overall). Respondents who self-
compared with last year, with identify on the right continue to have lower
Austrians often sceptical of the levels of trust in ORF compared with those
who self-identify on the left. But the gap
government’s handling of the narrowed slightly in the last year with both
pandemic. Meanwhile, important groups still showing relatively high trust
regulatory changes have affected levels (64% and 85% respectively).
Facebook has expanded its fact-checking
digital communications, including Among commercial broadcasters, ServusTV, programme to include content produced
a tax on digital advertising and owned by the Red Bull corporation, saw in Austria. The German Press Agency
the greatest increase in audience and trust. DPA is responsible for the fact-checking
measures aimed at stopping
Like other outlets, they were critical of operations, although it will be initially
online hate speech. the government response, but also gave supported by the fact-checking team of the
space to alternative views, for example, Austrian Press Agency APA.
News consumption increased in 2020, questioning the use of masks or lockdowns.
mainly driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, The long-term decline in newspaper
the biggest crisis of the last 15 years. But Radical plans to reform ORF were stopped sales accelerated, with the main brands
another major news event shook the with the formation of a new government in losing an average of 4% circulation. Many,
nation in November 2020 with Austria’s 2020. The Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), however, including nationals Der Standard,
first ‘Islamic state’-inspired terrorist which had been the driving force behind Die Presse, Kurier, and regional titles
attack in central Vienna, with millions many public attacks on ORF and the most Kleine Zeitung, OÖNachrichten, and Tiroler
following live on TV and online. The attack radical proposals for reform, are now in Tageszeitung, saw increases of over 25% in
was by a lone 20-year-old Austrian man opposition. The year 2021 will, however, digital subscriptions. And apparently the
who succeeded in killing four people and be a critical one for the ORF, with elections take-up is particularly high among users
injuring over 20 others before he was killed due for Director General. The incumbent aged 35–44.24
by police. Alexander Wrabetz is standing for what
would be an unprecedented fourth term. News brands Der Standard, Kronen
The online sites of tabloids oe24.tv Chancellor Kurz of the Austrian’s People Zeitung, and Kurier jointly launched the
and krone.at were widely criticised for Party (ÖVP) controls media policy and is online advertising platform NAPA (Net
publishing user-generated videos including likely to be closely involved in all decisions Austrian Programmatic Alliance). NAPA
images of the victims. This raised issues about the ORF’s future. hopes to attract more participants and
not just about online ethics but rekindled become a credible alternative to Google
controversies over whether tabloids had The FPÖ has continued its criticisms of and Facebook. Meanwhile, the 5% digital
been unduly favoured over quality titles in media companies while in opposition. advertising tax targeted at the platforms
the distribution of COVID financial support YouTube’s removal of a video from introduced in January 2020 had already
from the government. Similarly, increases one of its channels, on the grounds of by July 2020 exceeded the €20m revenue
in advertising spend by the chancellor’s promoting medical misinformation, proved forecast for its first year.
office and the government came under contentious since it was of a parliamentary
scrutiny. Critics have long seen this speech given by Herbert Kickl, one of Sergio Sparviero and Josef Trappel
discretionary measure as a political tool FPÖ’s leading figures. The Freedom Party University of Salzburg in collaboration with
used to reward uncritical media titles. considered this as censorship and an Stefan Gadringer and Roland Holzinger
unacceptable intrusion into Austrian
As in some other European countries, politics. This also stirred up controversy
broadcast audiences grew as they played over the law against hate on the internet
a key role in informing citizens about the (Gesetz gegen Hass im Netz), only passed in
pandemic – while communications from late 2020, on the grounds that it would give
the federal government often appeared digital platforms an incentive to arbitrarily
confused, with sometimes conflicting delete more content.23
23
https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000123293259/zensurakt-youtube-loeschte-kickl-rede-im-parlament-wegen-fake-news
24
Data from https://www.oeak.at/
25
https://viecer.univie.ac.at/corona-blog/corona-blog-beitraege/corona-dynamiken22/
64 / 65

AND ONLINE ORF News (public broadcaster) 79
14 ORF News online 38
9
Kronen Zeitung 14
36 Kronen Zeitung online 8
27
TOP BRANDS ServusTV News 11

24 Der Standard online 6
20
% Weekly usage Puls 4 News 10

20 GMX 7
15
ZDF News 9
19 Kurier online 7
15
Weekly use 4
17 8
14
Puls 24 meinbezirk.at/woche.at/bezirksrundschau.at
TV, radio & print
oe24 TV 7
16 Heute online 6
13
ARD News 7
15 oe24.at (incl. österreich.at, sport.oe24.at etc.) 5
12
TV, radio & print
RTL News 8
15 KroneHit online 6
10
Weekly use
online brands Heute 8
14 Die Presse online 6
10
More than 3 days per week ATV News 8

14 ORF TV News: 63% Kleine Zeitung online 3
9
online brands Bezirksblätter 11
14 ORF Radio News: 50% Puls24 online 4
9
KroneHit 7
14 salzburg24.at 4
7
Österreich 7
13 OÖ Nachrichten 3
7
Kleine Zeitung 5
13 MSN News 4
7
Der Standard 7
12 tagesschau.de (ARD Germany) 4
7
CHANGING MEDIA
12% 32%
PAY
Television, online, and social media news use have all
increased over the last year driven by COVID-19 and
other dramatic news events, while print consumption pay for listen to PODCASTS
has continued to fall. Smartphone use for news has ONLINE NEWS in the last month
grown strongly – up by eight percentage points.

2015–21
TV 2015–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
78% 77% Online 75%
67%(incl. social media)
71% 71%
48% 53%
50% 50% TV
38% 45% 41%
22%
18%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
* 2018 figures for computer use were likely overstated due to an error in polling

OF TRUST Trust Neither Don’t trust
Trust in news overall is up by
53 35 12
six percentage points and all BBC
ORF News 74 10 16
ITV 45 47 8
the main news brands saw News overall News I use Der Standard 69 16 15
FT 45 50 5
increased trust. This is in ZDF News 68 19 13
Channel 4 42 50 8
sharp contrast to trust in the
46% (+6) 57%
Die Presse 67 19 14
Sky 39 52 9
government, which fell soon Servus TV News 39
65 18
51
17
10
Guardian
after the beginning of the Regional/local newspaper
Times 39
65 22
51
13
10
pandemic:25 27% of our 17/46 Kurier 38
61 21 18
55 7
Local newspaper
respondents name the Puls 4 News
Independent 33
59 23
58
18
9
government as the main Kleine Zeitung
Telegraph 30
56 26
56
18
14
News in search News in social 51 29 20
source of false/misleading NEWS
Mail 16 47 37
Kronen Zeitung 48 18 34
information about the
26% 18%
HuffPost 13 74 13
RTL News 11 48 27 25
Coronavirus. Mirror 58 31
oe24 10 43 22 35
Sun 50 40
Heute 37 25 38
GMX 34 36 30
0% 100%
27%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 31% (+1) 60% 4 Instagram 11% (+2) 35%
2 WhatsApp 22% (-1) 79% 5 Facebook Messenger 5% (-2) 31%

or email 3 YouTube 21% (-) 65% 6 Twitter 5% (-) 12%
BELGIUM
STATISTICS In Wallonia, Rossel continued its local
consolidation by acquiring the remaining
Population 11.6m
shares of the free daily Metro from Mediahuis
Internet penetration 94% as well as expanding in Northern France
by buying the struggling newspaper Paris
Normandie. IPM bought L’Avenir and the
Belgium has other print activities from Nethys. RTL Group
two distinct (Luxembourg) bought out the third of its
media markets – shares held by Audiopresse (a joint venture
of Belgian publishers), meaning RTL Belgium
French-speaking is now 100% owned by an international
Wallonia and Flemish-speaking media group. This ended the peculiar Belgian
Flanders. Given the small size of arrangement dating back to 1985, where
companies seeking the new commercial
the markets, publishers continue TV licences were required to partner with
to see consolidation as a way of publishers, to reduce their hostility to
securing their digital transition increased competition for advertising. In
both regions, legacy news publishers have
and keeping international now refocused their activities mainly on
companies at bay. print and online. As a result, the daily press is
dominated by two big players in each region,
As elsewhere, Belgians flocked to Mediahuis and DPG Media in Flanders and
mainstream media during the pandemic, Rossel and IPM in Wallonia.
while advertising revenues initially
dropped significantly before recovering in The argument seems to be gaining ground
the second half of 2020. DPG Media and that small media markets need a degree
Mediahuis, Flanders’ largest publishers, of concentration and collaboration to The pandemic has brought Belgium’s first
increased subscriptions across their face international competition and digital high-profile case of disinformation, from
Flemish and Dutch titles by 2% and 11% transition. One concrete example is the anti-vaxxers. The issue remains high on
respectively, leading to strong annual ‘Flemish Netflix’ Streamz, launched the policy agenda, but so far proposals
results.26 There is a similar picture in in September 2020 as a joint venture from a 2018 federal expert group for a joint
Wallonia, with digital subscriptions between DPG Media and telecom initiative to combat disinformation have
increasing for most publishers.27 All operator Telenet, helped by the Flemish come to nothing. However, trust in news
this is taking place in a context of major government easing regulatory obstacles overall remains high, especially in Flanders,
structural changes where, although and requiring the public broadcaster VRT and the downward trend of recent years
there are positive signs of an increased to offer its drama content on the platform. has been reversed. Trust in major news
willingness to pay and growth in digital brands remains stable, with Flemish news
subscriptions (up 4% points to 16%), these In 2020 there was also a new five-year brands even showing a small trust bump.
do not compensate for falling advertising agreement between public broadcaster In Flanders VTM (DPG Media) has now
revenues. Estimates suggest that about 40 VRT and the Flemish government. It overtaken één (VRT) as the most used
to 50% of Belgian online advertising flows requires VRT to accelerate its digital offline news source, and VTM Nieuws has
to Google and Facebook.28 transformation but also to restrict its also surpassed quality newspapers De Tijd
online news to broadcast-based, rather and De Standaard to become the second
The year 2020 saw the consequences of than text-based content. This is in response most trusted news brand after VRT Nieuws.
recent mergers play out. At DPG Media, the to lobbying by news publishers concerned In Wallonia, RTBF’s TV news (La Une) has
merger brought Flanders’ most popular that VRT’s free news online undermines overtaken RTL to become the most used
newspaper/website, Het Laatste Nieuws/ willingness to pay for commercial digital offline source and RTBF News remains
hln.be, and commercial TV news provider, news. Meanwhile, public subsidy for the most trusted brand, but RTL is still the
VTM Nieuws, under the same roof – literally, (profitable) commercial media prompted leading brand by online weekly use.
in the purpose-built News City building debate. In Flanders, DPG Media received
in Antwerp city centre – with a single €996,000 for digital reskilling, while in Ike Picone
integrated newsroom for all their news Wallonia, RTL Belgium nearly received Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels
properties. DPG Media also dropped the TV €40 million to cover losses due to the
station’s own news site vtmnieuws.be and pandemic, but in the end, given the
launched the live online video news channel controversy caused and a recovery in the
HLN Live in an attempt to position hln.be market, did not pursue their request.
as the go-to online news site.
26
https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20210318_98025429
27
https://www.lesoir.be/308910/article/2020-06-23/les-ventes-dabonnements-aux-journaux-en-forte-hausse-pendant-le-confinement
28
https://www.vlaamseregulatormedia.be/sites/default/files/rapport_mediaconcentratie_2020_zonder_afloop.pdf
66 / 67
WEEKLY REACH OFFLINE TV, RADIO AND PRINT (FLEMISH) ONLINE (FLEMISH)
AND ONLINE VTM 45
12 Het Laatste Nieuws online 48
8
Eén (VRT) 8
39 VRT Nieuws online 13
35
TOP BRANDS Het Laatste Nieuws 11

28 Het Nieuwsblad online 7
28
% Weekly usage Radio 2 (VRT) 8

22 Het Belang van Limburg online 2
12
Het Nieuwsblad 7
18 De Standaard online 4
11
Weekly use 6
17 4
10
Qmusic Gazet van Antwerpen online
TV, radio & print
MNM (VRT) 8
16 De Morgen online 4
9
TV, radio & print Radio 1 (VRT) 5
14 De Tijd online 5
9
Weekly use Canvas (VRT) 5

13 MSN News 4
7
online brands Het Belang van Limburg 4
12 CNN.com 3 5
More than 3 days per week Joe FM 5

12 Knack online 3 5
online brands 5
11
Studio Brussel (VRT) VRT (Public broadcaster) 67% Metro online 2 4
16% PAY
La Une (RTBF)
TV, RADIO AND PRINT (FRENCH)
48
13 RTL News online
ONLINE (FRENCH)
39
11
pay for RTL 13

47 RTBF News online 11
30
ONLINE NEWS TF1 (France) 11

29 DH online 8
24
Vivacité (RTBF) 8
22 Le Soir online 9
24
Wallonia 16% | Flanders 16%
Bel-RTL 8
21 7sur7 6
20
Le Soir 10
19 L'Avenir online 7
19
Radio Contact 6
15 La Libre online 6
12
26%
L’Avenir 9
15 Regional news online 6
12
Metro 11
15 MSN News 6
9
La Première (RTBF) 7
15 Yahoo! News 5
8
listen to PODCASTS Regional or local newspapers 10

14 Metro online 5
8
in the last month France Télévisions (France 2, France 3) 6

14 RTBF (Public broadcaster)69% L’Echo 4
8

2016–21
TV 2016–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
82% 78% Online (incl. social media)
75% 70%
64% Printed newspapers 59%
50% 46% 50% TV
52%
45% 38% 39%
32%
20% 17%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TRUST DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUST

Trust in the news is up overall, though it remains
News overall News I use News in search News in social
considerably higher in Flemish-speaking Flanders
(61%) than in French-speaking Wallonia (45%).
During the COVID-19 crisis, public broadcasters VRT
and RTBF have been a source of reliable information
54% (+9) 57% 31% 19%
=7/46
for their respective communities and are also the
Wallonia 45% Wallonia 51% Wallonia 30% Wallonia 19%
brands with the highest trust scores.
Flanders 61% Flanders 62% Flanders 32% Flanders 19%
BRAND TRUST SCORES Trust Neither Don’t trust TOP SOCIAL MEDIA AND MESSAGING
FLEMISH FRENCH
VRT Nieuws 81 5 RTBF News 74 8 Rank Brand For news For All
VTM Nieuws 78 7 Le Soir 69 9
Radio 1 77 5 La Première 68 8
1 Facebook 39% (-2) 69%
Radio 2 77 5 RTL News 67 13
De Tijd 76 5 France 2 67 9
De Standaard 76 6 Vivacité 67 9
2 YouTube 18% (+2) 52%
Het Nieuwsblad 75 6 TF1 66 12
Het Laatste Nieuws 73 9 Bel-RTL 64 14 3 Facebook Messenger 12% (-) 51%

De Morgen 73 8 Regional/local newspaper 63 11
Knack 73 7 L'Avenir 60 12 4 WhatsApp 12% (+3) 49%

Gazet van Antwerpen 71 7 DH 60 14
Regional/local newspaper Radio Contact

70 7 56 13
5 Instagram 9% (+1) 31%
Qmusic 66 9 7sur7 56 13
Metro 64 8 Metro 52 14
Joe FM 64 8 MSN News 40 21

6 Twitter 5% (-) 13%
0% 100% 0% 100%
Trust = % scored 6-10 on 10-point scale, Don’t trust = 0-4, Neither = 5. Those that haven’t heard of each brand were excluded.
Only the above brands were included in the survey so should not be treated as a list of the most trusted brands
BULGARIA
STATISTICS of the features contributing to Bulgaria’s
low press freedom ranking.30
Population 7.0m
Internet penetration 67% However, 2020 also saw a reversal in the
trend that has seen Bulgarian oligarchs
buying media outlets for political
Bulgaria influence. As domestic oligarchs retreated,
remains well-resourced foreign owners moved
in. After two years heading the Nova
the poorest Broadcasting Group, the pro-government
member of oligarch Kiril Domuschiev sold, apparently
the EU and the one with the for financial reasons, to United Group – a
Slovenia-based conglomerate operating
lowest ranking in terms of the across eight countries. This followed
main indices for press freedom United’s earlier 2020 purchase, from the
and transparency. Elections in oligarch Delian Peevski, of Bulgarian telco,
Vivacom, and of Kanal 3 TV and the tabloid
April 2021 led to a setback for
newpaper Telegraf, all of which had been
the country’s long-serving Prime strongholds for Peevski’s party. Nova TV
Minister with a falling vote share. under its new owners is seen as far less
pro-government.
But although the political future
is uncertain, Bulgaria’s media Similarly, BTV Media group – which ranks After two months of live daily TV
seem to have weathered the directly after Nova TV in our offline and broadcasts of COVID-19 themed morning
online brand lists – was bought by Central government briefings, the prime
COVID-19 pandemic better than European Media Enterprises (CME). CME minister Boyko Borissov came under
some others. thereby gained 30 TV channels within unaccustomed scrutiny. Inconvenient
Bulgaria to add to its operations across questions from some journalists in May
Major brands saw rising audiences during five countries. In October 2020 CME was 2020 meant thereafter he limited himself
the first lockdown between March and bought by the Czech-based PPF group. to preprepared statements and did no
May, and Dnevnik.bg, the first print It is unclear how these multiple changes election campaign rallies. After abusing
newspaper to include multimedia within might affect the political stance of the journalists and threatening publishers,
its online site, reported that its web BTV stations. Borissov now relies on his own video blog
traffic had almost doubled.29 Whereas the using his Facebook page. He broadcasts
pandemic generally delivered a sustained One major development was the creation from his armoured SUV (known as the
hit to advertising revenues elsewhere, in November 2019 of 7/8 TV, which became Boykomobile), visiting construction
some Bulgarian media only saw a short- the champion of the summer 2020 sites, making promises to supporters and
lived fall, with revenues back at 2019 levels anti-government protests. Its founder lauding his successes. He regularly reaches
by year end. Many structural challenges Stanislav (Slavi) Trifonov, a comedian and tens of thousands with these Facebook
persisted though, with the top two TV talk show host, ran for parliament with his broadcasts.
stations, Nova and BTV, taking 69% of newly established party (There is Such a
TV ad spend. Even so, the vast majority of People) on an anti-corruption platform. There are dozens of podcasts and vlogs
media groups survived the crisis without They emerged as the second largest party in Bulgaria. Some focus on interests such
closing titles even if they had to impose in April’s elections and Trifonov and his as health, music, or indeed politics and
wage cuts and some layoffs. closest aides became MPs. economics, while others exploit COVID-19
to spread conspiracy theories. Partisanship
Survival came at a price. The financial TV 7/8 responded to the challenge of and low ethical standards are common,
stability of media companies is sometimes relying on advertising in an already but many reach six-figure audiences and
more apparent than real; many rely on crowded TV market by becoming the many claim to rely for funding on the
bail-outs from owners keen to please the first channel to offer reasonably priced crowdfunding and donation platform
government, influential politicians, or subscriptions, at under €2 a month for Patreon.
oligarchs, or all three. Government control its TV and web content. TV 7/8’s success,
of public service TV strengthened in the along with the existing subscribers to Stefan Antonov
run-up to the April 2021 election and the Capital weekly magazine and people Business journalist and former Reuters
journalists reporting on the summer 2020 paying for foreign media, may explain Institute Journalist Fellow
wave of anti-government protests were the number of our respondents reporting
often arrested and beaten. These are some paying for online news.
29
https://www.dnevnik.bg/analizi/2021/02/12/4174052_zatvoreniiat_bar_e_nai-tujnoto_miasto_ili_za/
30
112/180 countries according to the 2021 Reporters Without Borders Index.
68 / 69

AND ONLINE NovaTV News 66
9 Nova TV News online 49
10
BTV News 10
62 BTV News online 10
41
TOP BRANDS BNT News (Bulgarian National Television) 11

47 ABV News online 11
36
% Weekly usage 24 Chasa 20

30 novini.bg 18
35
Bulgaria on Air 10
20 24 Chasa online 17
31
Weekly use 7
18 8
26
BNR News (Bulgarian National Radio) BNT News online
TV, radio & print
TV Evropa News 8
18 dir.bg 12
23
Regional or local newspaper 10
15 Dnevnik online 9
18
TV, radio & print
Telegraf 10
15 Blitz.bg 9
18
Weekly use
online brands Trud 9
14 Bivol.bg 9
16
More than 3 days per week Darik Radio 5

14 Petel.bg 8
15
online brands Kanal 3 5
10 Trud online 9
14
Capital 7
10 Capital online 9
13
Monitor 7
9 Maritza 6
13
CNN 5
9 BNR News online 5
13
Sega 3
7 Darik 6
12
CHANGING MEDIA
15%
PAY
TV and print’s decline as sources of news continued, with
online’s lead unchanged. TV stations and newspapers are
offering more content online, where they face competition pay for
from multiple websites, bloggers, and politicians all trying ONLINE NEWS
to win loyal audiences.

2018–21
TV 2018–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
88% Social media
84% 86%
Online78%
(incl. social media) 77%
72% 73%
67% Printed67%
newspapers
61%
50% 50% TV
23% 21%
19% 15%
0% 0%
2018 2019 2020 2021 2018 2019 2020 2021

Bulgaria still rates low for
53 35 12
trust among our 46 BBC
Bulgarian National Radio 45 72 15 47 13
8
ITV
countries, with more people News overall News I use 70 15
Bulgarian National Television
FT 45 50 15
5
saying they distrust rather BTV News 67 17 50 16
Channel 4 42 8
than trust the news – a
32% (-1) 37%
Nova TV News 39 67 15 52 18
9
Sky
product of a deeply polarised Capital 39 60 23 51 17
10
Guardian
media system. Public service 24Times
Chasa 39 59 21 51 20
10
radio and TV remain the =38/46 Novini 38 58 26 55 167
Local newspaper
most trusted brands, with Regional/local newspaper
Independent 33 55 28 58 17
9
popular brands that often Dnevnik
Telegraph 30 54 27 56 19
14
News in search News in social
carry more sensationalist Bivol.bg
Mail 16 54 47 23 23
37
material less well trusted. Trud 54 25 74 21
29% 25%
HuffPost 13 13
Dir 11 53 58 28 19
31
Mirror
ABV News 10 51 50 30 19
40
Sun
Sega 6 49 2976 22
18
Buzzfeed News
Blitz.bg 43 27 30
0% 100%
38%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 64% (-5) 76% 4 Viber 16% (-1) 61%
2 YouTube 32% (-3) 70% 5 Instagram 12% (-) 36%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 17% (-3) 54% 6 Twitter 8% (-) 18%
CROATIA
STATISTICS The pandemic increased the structural
problems of the media sector in many
Population 4.1m
countries but Croatia was additionally
Internet penetration 92% vulnerable given its small market size
and the very low level (7%) of numbers of
people paying for news online. The need
COVID-19 has for new digital strategies is urgent, since
exacerbated the pandemic has led to a further decline
the financial in the use of print as a news source, down
by seven percentage points in the last
pressures on year, equivalent to the decline in the
Croatia’s legacy media seeking previous two years. Legacy media finally
to adapt to the shift of readers seem to be waking up to the need to reach
audiences online and have launched new
and advertising revenues online. subscription campaigns.
Journalists have lost jobs,
COVID-19 also added to the already
wages, and come under more
difficult reporting environment for
political pressure. Meanwhile, Croatian journalists. In April 2021 the
current outdated regulatory HND published a report documenting
the continued use of lawsuits to silence
arrangements risk reducing
journalists investigating people in power.
the range of news channels They found 924 such cases, primarily
and pose a threat to pluralism against journalists working for Hanza
in Croatia. Media and Styria, publishers of the largest
dailies Jutarnji list, 24 sata, and Večernji
COVID-19 affected the Croatian media list. Commercial television channels RTL, by the cable-must-carry rules that apply
in multiple ways. On the positive side it N1 and NOVA TV came under increased to stations licensed in Croatia. The risk
is probably the main factor explaining pressure by the Prime Minister Andrej now is that the country’s largest telco, HT,
the very strong increase in trust in news Plenković, who accused the media of follows suit. If it does, N1’s audience would
overall in Croatia (up by 6% points) conspiring against his party’s (HDZ) be very hard hit. The channel is hoping the
as people became more reliant on candidates, following local elections issues will be resolved in a new media law
the media during the pandemic. But in May 2021. or a national broadcasting licence. If they
the negative economic impact was are not, the potential loss of distribution
Proposed amendments to the Law on would pose a real risk to media pluralism
considerable. A survey of electronic
Electronic Media initially attracted and damage the diversity of the Croatian
media, conducted by the Agency for
attention because of plans to limit hate information ecology.
Electronic Media in January 2021, found
speech in online comments on news
that 70% of respondents reported that
stories. The proposal to hold media Zrinjka Peruško
revenues were down, with TV and radio
organisations responsible for this content Centre for Media and Communication
broadcasters being hardest hit.31 Among
has been widely criticised. Some fear Research, University of Zagreb
journalists, freelancers were worst
that news media would choose to disable
affected, nearly 30% had no work during
online comments if they were held liable
the first months of the pandemic, and
for their content.
two-thirds reported reduced earnings,
according to a survey conducted by the Another issue around the media law
Croatian Journalists Association (HND) relates to popular cable news channel N1,
and the Union of Journalists.32 While which many admire for its independent
journalists and media companies were reporting. In spring 2021, the channel was
covered by the government’s COVID-19 removed from the package provided by an
business support scheme, freelancers important telecom operator, A1. Because
were excluded. And the problems affecting N1 is a cable channel owned by the United
the print sector were evident in the fact Group, operating from the Netherlands,
that many journalists suffered wage cuts – and is not a free-to-air television channel
in some cases wages were halved.33 with a national licence, it is not covered
31
Pandemija uzrokovana virusom COVID-19 negativno utjecala na 78 % elektroničkih medija u Hrvatskoj, https://www.aem.hr/vijesti/pandemija-uzrokovana-virusom-covid-19-
negativno-utjecala-na-78-elektronickih-medija-u-hrvatskoj/
32
Samo 15 posto freelancera u medijima zadržalo poslove od početka zdravstvene krize, https://hnd.hr/samo-15-posto-freelancera-u-medijima-zadrzalo-poslove-od-pocetka-
zdravstvene-krize
33
Kako je Covid-19 kriza utjecala na novinarstvo i medije, https://faktograf.hr/2020/10/15/kako-je-covid-19-kriza-utjecala-na-novinarstvo-i-medije
70 / 71

AND ONLINE NovaTV News 57
13 Index.hr 64
20
RTL News 14
57 24sata online 19
57
TOP BRANDS HTV & HR News (public broadcaster) 11

52 Jutarnji online 18
48
% Weekly usage 24sata 16

33 Net.hr 16
39
Jutarnji list 13
25 Dnevnik online 20
38
Weekly use 8
20 19
36
Otvoreni radio Tportal.hr
TV, radio & print
N1 7
19 Večernji online 15
35
Večernji list 11
19 Telegram.hr 12
22
TV, radio & print
Local radio news 8
18 RTL News online 12
20
Weekly use
online brands Narodni radio 8
16 Dnevno.hr 12
20
More than 3 days per week Local television news 7

11 HRT News online (incl. HRTi) (public broadcaster) 8
16
online brands Slobodna Dalmacija 5
10 Slobodna Dalmacija online 6
15
Antena radio 5
10 Direktno.hr 8
14
Al-Jazeera 6
9 Local radio news online 8
13

9 N1 online 5
12
Novi list 4
7 Novilist.hr 6
11
CHANGING MEDIA
7%
PAY
Commercial broadcasters and the public service broadcaster
remain the top news sources among legacy media, followed by
daily print newspapers, but with some decline. Nova TV is the pay for
top offline news source and Index.hr is top online. ONLINE NEWS

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
91% Social media
88%
79% 81%
Online
75%
Printed
64% newspapers 64%
56% 54%
50% 50% TV
43%
29%
17% 15%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in the news has
53 35 12
increased overall and for the BBC
75 15 10
NovaTV 45 47 8
ITV
sources people use News overall News I use RTL News 73 17 10
FT 45 50 5
themselves. Commercial Otvoreni radio 64 24 12
Channel 4 42 50 8
broadcasters Nova TV and RTL
45% (+6) 48%
Jutarnji list 63 22 15
Sky 39 52 9
are the two most trusted Večernji list 39
62 21
51
17
10
Guardian
brands, followed by quality Regional/local newspaper
Times 39
61 25
51
14
10
newspapers – with the public =19/46 HTV News (public television) 38
59 20 21
55 7
Local newspaper
broadcasters lower down. HR News (public radio)
Independent 33
58 23
58
19
9
Sources associated with the Tportal.hr
Telegraph 30
55 28
56
17
14
left or right side of the political 24sata
Mail 16 47 37
Slobodna Dalmacija 55 29 16
spectrum (Index.hr and
34% 30%
HuffPost 13 74 13
index.hr 11 55 21 24
Dnevno.hr, respectively) carry Mirror 58 31
Net.hr 10 52 28 20
higher levels of mistrust than Sun 50 40
Telegram 52 28 20
18
other brands. Buzzfeed News 6
48 27
76
25
Dnevno.hr
0% 100%
36%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 55% (-) 72% 4 Viber 16% (+2) 60%
2 YouTube 26% (-2) 71% 5 Facebook Messenger 11% (-) 48%

or email 3 WhatsApp 19% (+3) 65% 6 Instagram 11% (+1) 40%
CZECH REPUBLIC
STATISTICS Despite the overall grim situation in the
print market, there were some promising
Population 10.6m
trends. A new economic weekly Hrot was
Internet penetration 88% launched in May (the first new such title for
many years), and publisher A11 expanded its
portfolio of regional and metropolitan street
The Czech papers titled Our Region. Several titles and
media market publishers reported a marked increase in
has had to digital subscriptions, including the youngest
Czech daily, Deník N (launched in 2018),
grapple with the that had reached 20,000 subscribers by
negative impact of the pandemic the beginning of 2021, making a major step
over the course of the last year, towards financial sustainability. Publishers
have been further increasing the amount
with the newspaper sector of paid online content, encouraged by the
hardest hit. There were significant steadily growing willingness of readers
moves in the TV market in 2020, to pay for it, as confirmed by this year’s
Digital News Report survey. Some brands
notably the change of ownership have opted for a combination of paywalls
of the largest commercial TV with crowdfunding, which in the case of
station Nova, and the launch of the online video channel DVTV (featuring
mainly one-on-one interviews on current
CNN Prima News.
affairs) turned into the most successful
Czech crowdfunded project ever, raising CZK
The pandemic brought significant
9.73m (€375,000) from over 9,000 people.36
challenges to the Czech media market
in 2020, particularly in the spring, when In the TV market, the biggest development Both public service broadcasters have
advertising expenditures fell dramatically was arguably the May 2020 launch of the increased their average daily audience
(-21% in May). Overall, the advertising 24/7 news channel CNN Prima News. share, claimed the number 1 place in TV
market recorded a small annual rise (3%), Owned by Prima Group, the second- and radio in 2020, and perform well in
driven, however, mostly by the online biggest commercial TV network in the our list of offline brands by weekly reach.
sector (+13%) and TV (+8%), benefiting country, the new channel added to the Online, however, their performance
from increased consumption during the list of international TV stations operating remains far below their success in
lockdown, while radio and newspaper under licence from CNN. Prima’s main broadcast. High viewing figures, boosted
advertising revenues experienced commercial rival, Nova Group, changed for Czech Television by the introduction
substantial declines (-8% and -13%, hands in October 2020, following the of a new channel ČT3 (aimed at elderly
respectively).34 European Commission’s approval of a deal audiences) and of children’s educational
in which Nova’s parent company, Central programme UčíTelka (TV Teacher)
Newspaper sales dropped by 16% on
European Media Enterprises (owned by during the lockdown, have again been
average, more than double the previous
AT&T), was sold to the Czech investment complemented by high levels of trust, as
year’s decline, with the leading tabloid
group PPF. Now it has added the largest seen in the DNR’s brand trust scores. At
Blesk suffering the biggest hit (-20%). The
Central European television company the same time, the ongoing battles for
entire print sector reported total revenue
to its substantial telecommunication the independence of the Czech Television
losses of 2 billion CZK (€80m), which
portfolio, PPF is one of the most powerful have further intensified, with a series of
was not softened by any state support, as
multimedia conglomerates in the region. politically partisan appointments to the
the plans for launching a blanket state-
While the company has emphasised the regulator, the Czech Television Council.
sponsored ad campaign or for reducing VAT
business rationale for the takeover, and These changed the balance of power in
for publishers did not materialise.35 Many
the opportunities for synergies between favour of those that have been accused of
publishers were thus forced to reduce
telecommunication and media, concerns seeking to muzzle critical journalism and
expenditure, leading to salary cuts, layoffs
have been raised about the potential impose tighter political control over the
of personnel, reducing the frequency of
consequences of such concentration of Czech public service broadcaster.
publication of some titles, or halting their
power, especially in light of PPF’s long-
publication completely. The impact of the Václav Štětka
term history of veiled but often significant
pandemic added to the long-term financial Loughborough University
involvement in Czech politics.37
problems of one of the legacy publishers,
Mladá Fronta, which was declared bankrupt
at the end of 2020 and sold by auction to
an online publisher, Internet Info.
34
https://www.mediaguru.cz/clanky/2021/03/prehled-ceskeho-medialniho-trhu-v-roce-2020/
35
https://www.mediaguru.cz/clanky/2021/02/tisk-odhaduje-propad-trzeb-v-roce-2020-na-dve-miliardy/
36
https://www.lupa.cz/aktuality/online-televize-dvtv-pokorila-rekord-v-crowdfundingu-vybrala-9-7-milionu-kc/
37
https://visegradinsight.eu/czech-business-empire-with-an-unsavoury-political-tinge/
72 / 73

AND ONLINE Czech TV News (incl. ČT1, ČT24) (public broadcaster) 58
8 Seznamzpravy.cz 50
10
TV Nova News 12
45 iDnes.cz 13
39
TOP BRANDS Prima News 11

32 Novinky.cz 9
34
% Weekly usage CNN Prima News 8

22 Aktualne.cz 13
28
Czech Radio News (public broadcaster) 4

14 Czech TV News online (Ct24.cz) 10
24
Weekly use 7
13 8
15
Mlada Fronta DNES Blesk.cz
TV, radio & print
13 TN.cz 7
15
Blesk 7
12 iPrima.cz 7
14
TV, radio & print
Radio Impuls News 4
9 Denik.cz 8
14
Weekly use
online brands Evropa 2 News 4
9 Parlamentnilisty.cz 5
10
More than 3 days per week Metro 5

9 Super.cz 5
9
online brands Denik 5
8 DVTV.cz 4
8
Frekvence 1 News 3
6 Lidovky.cz 4
8
Lidove noviny 4
6 CNN.iprima.cz 4
8
Reflex 4
6 Reflex.cz 5
8
Pravo 3 5 iHned.cz 5
7
CHANGING MEDIA
13%
PAY
The gap between online media and television as sources of news
has continued to widen, while access via print has halved since
2015. With COVID-19 restrictions on movement, the smartphone pay for
has increased its importance as a device for accessing news. ONLINE NEWS

2015–21
TV 2015–21*
Social media
Print
100% 91% 100%
Social media
85% 87% 83%
Online (incl. social media)
74% 72%
Printed newspapers 62%
50% 50% 50% TV
41%
37% 34%
19% 16%
12%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

After several years of decline,
53 35 12
overall trust in news has BBC
60 22 18
Czech TV News 45 47 8
ITV
recorded a slight growth, News overall News I use Czech Radio News 59 30 11
FT 45 50 5
possibly reflecting the Seznamzpravy.cz 55 29 16
Channel 4 42 50 8
preference for more reliable
36% (+3) 40%
Hospodářské noviny 52 36 12
Sky 39 52 9
sources during the pandemic. Aktualne.cz 39
51 36
51
13
10
Guardian
There have been no significant Novinky.cz
Times 39
50 33
51
17
10
changes in the brand trust =33/46 TV Prima 38
49 31 20
55 7
Local newspaper
scores, with the public service Mlada Fronta DNES
Independent 33
46 33
58
21
9
broadcasters maintaining their Lidové noviny
Telegraph 30
44 39
56
17
14
position at the top of the list. Denik
Mail 16 47 37
Radio Impuls 42 42 16
30% 17%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Frekvence 1 11 42 43 15
Mirror 58 31
Pravo 10 40 41 19
Sun 50 40
TV Nova 39 29 32
Blesk 16 24 60
0% 100%
31%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 42% (-3) 70% 4 WhatsApp 14% (+1) 47%
2 YouTube 21% (-2) 66% 5 Instagram 10% (+1) 28%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 15% (-) 51% 6 Twitter 5% (+1) 11%
DENMARK
STATISTICS their readership, and the amount of
democratically important political and
Population 5.8m
cultural content they carry. Niche nationals
Internet penetration 98% (e.g. Kristeligt Dagblad, Information)
receive a €3.9m subsidy; national daily
broadsheets (e.g. Politiken, Berlingske)
The main and tabloids (e.g. BT, Ekstra Bladet)
public service €2.3m–3.4m; regional dailies €0.7–2.3m,
broadcaster local €0.3–0.8m; digital-born brands
€0.1–0.8m.38
DR has
been restructuring following The 20% cuts imposed on DR by the
previous right-wing government were
substantial cuts to its funding reversed by the Social Democrats elected
and ahead of a new multiyear in 2019, and in the end amounted to 420m
contract in mid-2021. Private DKK (€53.6m) of the intended 900m DKK
(€117m). Even so, they had already led to
news organisations are gradually
the closure of three linear TV channels,
compensating for declining though, one, DR3 (aimed at young adults)
print readers and advertising continues online. Given the continued
popularity of streaming services (with
revenue with increased digital
weekly use of YouTube at 52%, Netflix
subscriptions, together with the 48%, DR 42%, and TV2 20%),39 both
substantial annual subsidies national public service organisations, DR
they receive, boosted in 2020 by and TV2, launched initiatives in late 2020
Online news media are struggling to find
to increase news content on their own
specific COVID- 19 support. streaming services.
ways to counter new data protection
regulation of cookies which (1) require site
COVID-19 caused a 2.7% fall in Danish GNP Across private and public service news owners to operate consent boxes, allowing
in 2020, with a massive and varied impact providers the turn to audio accelerated, as easier rejection of some commercial
on the Danish news media. First, it led to most news brands offer automated audio tracking, (2) have led to up to one-third
an estimated 8% fall in total advertising versions of news articles. In autumn 2020, of users rejecting tracking by cookies,
revenues. Second, falling revenue led to DR relaunched and renamed its DR Radio and (3) deprive newsmakers of valuable
redundancies, with unemployment rising app as DR Sound to integrate its existing commercial knowledge to resell to
to around 10% by year end, almost a third broadcast radio programmes with its advertisers. As a result, more content may
more than 2019. Third, COVID-19 boosted podcasts. Many news organisations offer be moved behind paywalls. In addition,
news media use across platforms, and daily news or current affairs podcasts free since September 2020, discrepancies in the
television in particular. Danes reported of charge (DR, Zetland, Jysk Fynske, Altinget, ways in which different news organisations
accessing news media more often and Information, and Politiken – which offers implement rules about users’ cookie
placing more trust in news overall them free on two weekdays) attracting acceptance have meant there has been
and in most brands, but relatively few thousands of listeners and appealing no reliable cross-industry measurement of
reported increasing their media spend especially to a young demographic. online news use (page views, unique visits).40
during the pandemic. Towards the end
of 2020, news use tended to normalise, Our figures show the numbers paying for In terms of relations between publishers
especially compared to the spring 2020 news are relatively stable, around 16% and platforms, the government is poised
bump. Fourth, the Danish government over recent years, but news organisations to introduce legislation akin to that in
created COVID-19 support measures for report 2020 as a breakthrough year for Australia, to force Facebook and Google
media companies. These amounted to an online subscriptions. A survey by Danske to pay a fee for distributing news content
additional €18.7m (144m Danish kroner) in Medier found that the number of online from Danish news organisations.
2020, in addition to the standard subsidy of subscribers had increased by 100,000
Kim Christian Schrøder,
€53.6m (412m Danish kroner) granted that since 2019.
Mark Blach-Ørsten, and
year – and which are credited with limiting
After so-called ‘ambassador campaigns’ Mads Kæmsgaard Eberholst
the number of layoffs.
by existing members to persuade their Roskilde University, Denmark
The sizeable annual state subsidies for friends to sign up, digital-born, ‘member’-
commercial news media are awarded based news brand Zetland reported its first
in proportion to the number of editorial operating profits in 2020 (since its launch
staff, the size and social diversity of in 2012) with more than 20,000 members.
38
Mediawatch.dk, 20 Dec. 2020.
39
DR Medieforskning, Jan. 2021.
40
Mediawatch.dk, 2 Mar. 2021.
74 / 75

AND ONLINE DR News incl. P1, P3, P4 (main public broadcaster) 60
14 DR News online 40
10
TV2 Nyhederne (incl. TV2 News) 11

59 TV2 Nyhederne online 7
37
TOP BRANDS Regional news via TV2 (Nord, Fyn, Lorry) 9

27 Ekstra-Bladet online 7
26
% Weekly usage Free local weekly newspaper 13

16 BT online 6
21

9 Local weekly online 8
13
Weekly use 4
8 5
12
BT Politiken online
TV, radio & print
Ekstrabladet 4
8 Berlingske online 5
11
7 Jyllandsposten online 4
10
TV, radio & print
Jyllandsposten 2
6 Regional or local newspaper online 3
9
Weekly use
online brands Berlingske 3
6 Børsen online 2
6
More than 3 days per week Politiken 2 5 Altinget online 4

6
online brands CNN 2 4 Dagens online 4 5
Børsen 3 4 Avisen online 2 4
BBC News 3 Information online 2 4
Weekendavisen 3 CNN.com 2 4
Radio 4 3 BBC News online 3 4
CHANGING MEDIA
16% 28%
PAY
Both public service organisations (DR, TV2) have
gained users online (by five and eight percentage
points respectively) and TV2’s television reach also pay for listen to PODCASTS
grew by 5pp. Growth in the use of the smartphone for ONLINE NEWS in the last month
news resumed after plateauing in recent years.

2013–21
TV 2013–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
85% Social media
81%
71%
57%
50% 49% 46% 50% TV 49%
43%
31% 29%
25%
20%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

COVID-19 seems to have
53 35 12
prompted an increased BBC
DR News 45 84 4711 5
8
ITV
reliance on authoritative News overall News I use 82 12
TV2 Nyhederne
FT 45 50 6
5
information, and overall trust 75 18 7
Politiken
Channel 4 42 50 8
figures recovered dramatically
59% (+13) 66%
Børsen 39 74 5220 6
9
Sky
(by 13 percentage points) after Regional/local newspaper 39 73 51 21 10
6
Guardian
last year’s (11 point) drop. All Berlingske
Times 39 73 5120 10
7
news brands saw substantially =4/46 Jyllands Posten 38 72 20
55 87
Local newspaper
increased trust, with public Information
Independent 33 72 5821 7
9
service news showing growth Kristeligt Dagblad
Telegraph 30 63 5626 11
14
of 5–6 percentage points, and Altinget.dk
Mail 16 6047 30 10
37
similar increases for many Radio 4 News 56 7434 10
24% 13%
HuffPost 13 13
49 36 15
tabloid and broadsheet Avisen.dk
Mirror 11 58 31
BT 10 47 26 27
brands. Sun 50 40
Dagens.dk 41 34 76 25
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Ekstra Bladet 39 24 37
0% 100%
16%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 36% (-1) 76% 4 Instagram 6% (-1) 41%
2 Facebook Messenger 8% (-1) 56% 5 Twitter 5% (-) 12%

or email 3 YouTube 7% (-3) 52% 6 LinkedIn 4% (-1) 19%
FINLAND
STATISTICS totalling €7.5 million were awarded to
97 companies, on the basis of €3,700 per
Population 5.6m
working journalist, up to a maximum of
Internet penetration 94% €800,000 per company.
There are also plans to introduce a more

The news media permanent direct subsidy mechanism for
environment news media, which currently is based on
the indirect support of the reduced 10%
in Finland is VAT rate applied to newspapers, books, and
characterised by magazines, both online as well as in print.
a strong regional press, a strong If realised, the new scheme would bring
Finland somewhat closer to the other Nordic
public service broadcaster (Yle), countries with more generous subsidies.
one widely read national daily
The longstanding debate about the position
(Helsingin Sanomat), and two
of the public service broadcaster (Yle), tabloid Iltalehti and the economic
popular evening tabloids, both moved forward when the government newspaper Kauppalehti, but welcomed
reaching over half of the adult introduced a bill restricting Yle’s right the opportunity to divest from a declining
population. Despite financial to publish online news in text form if regional print business to focus on digital
unrelated to their audiovisual content. services. A year later Alma bought Nettix,
pressures, Finnish news media The bill’s origins lie in the Finnish Media a provider of several online marketplaces
have an above average level Federation’s 2017 complaint to the EU and the news aggregator Ampparit.
of paying for online news and Commission claiming that Yle’s online
news in text form contravened EU state aid Sanoma, for its part, gained new digital
remain the most trusted among legislation and could undermine plurality. subscribers, which gives it economies of
the countries surveyed. After consultations with the Commission, scale both in developing digital journalism
the government proposed a change that and in advertising markets. Sanoma also
Coronavirus hit the Finnish news media restricted Yle’s text-based content online to strengthened its position compared to
hard. Advertising for newspaper publishers that related to their audiovisual content or Keskisuomalainen, another company
declined by one-fifth from 2019 (free covered by specific exceptions. For example, that has expanded its network of regional
sheets and online website included) and short text-based updates on fast-moving newspapers in recent years. Now Sanoma
layoffs increased. Journalists largely news events would be allowed even if and Keskisuomalainen account for over half
moved to working from home, with unrelated to Yle’s video or audio content. of the subscription and advertising revenues
reporting dominated by the infection of the Finnish newspaper publishers.42
rate and other COVID-19 developments. The proposed changes in the Yle law have
News organisations with online paywalls met with criticism. Commercial news Sanoma’s acquisition of Alma Media’s
frequently lifted them for COVID-19 news. companies would like a stricter definition regional titles marks another move
of text-based content’s relation to Yle’s towards increased concentration of
Figures for news sources used generally audiovisual content and fewer exceptions. Finland’s regional press. In the longer
show little impact from the pandemic, Others complain that restricting Yle’s term, given rising delivery costs (most print
despite some significant increases in use offerings undermines citizens’ rights of subscriptions include home delivery) and
of broadcast brands online, with increases equal access to quality journalism and that declining population outside the largest
of five and seven percentage points for Yle restrictions based on distinguishing text, cities, the trend may lead to merging or
and MTV online respectively. However, audio, and video content are outdated. closing titles. In January 2020, the Ilkka-
changes in trust are more pronounced, In March 2021, the bill was still moving Yhtymä group provided a foretaste of
with trust in news overall increasing through Parliament. future trends by merging its two regional
9% points from 56% to 65%, increasing newspapers, Ilkka and Pohjalainen to create
Finland’s trust lead over most other The two biggest private Finnish media the new regional paper Ilkka-Pohjalainen.
countries even as their trust figures often companies, Alma Media and Sanoma,
rose too. The pandemic also seemed to refocused their strategies in February Esa Reunanen
increase people’s trust in democratic 2020 when Sanoma announced that Tampere University, Finland
institutions in Finland more generally.41 it would buy 15 regional and local
newspapers and the regional printing
In addition to temporary COVID-19 support operations from Alma Media for €115m,
for all businesses, the government created with 365 staff transferred to Sanoma.
a one-off subsidy scheme to support Alma Media retained its national papers
journalism during the pandemic. Grants and magazines, including the evening
41
https://www.eva.fi/en/blog/2020/06/11/covid-19-crisis-had-an-exceptional-impact-on-finnish-political-views/
42
Suomen Lehdistö, 2/2020.
43
https://www.kantar.fi/uutiskirje/2020/suomalaisen-mediapaiva
76 / 77

AND ONLINE Yle News (public broadcaster) 68
13 Ilta-Sanomat online 61
11
MTV3 News 15
54 Iltalehti online 11
56
TOP BRANDS Free city papers 18

26 Yle News online (incl. news via Areena) 14
44
% Weekly usage Regional newspapers (eg Turun Sanomat, Karjalainen) 4

18 MTV News online (incl. Katsomo News) 12
31
Ilta-Sanomat 6
18 Helsingin Sanomat online 9
30
Weekly use 9
17 5
16
Local newspapers (eg Raahen Seutu, Suur-Keuruu) Regional newspapers online
TV, radio & print
Iltalehti 5
16 Local newspapers online 6
12
Helsingin Sanomat 4
14 Kauppalehti online 5
10
TV, radio & print
14 Talouselämä online 5
8
Weekly use
online brands Alfa TV News 3 5 Uusi Suomi online 5
8
More than 3 days per week Other foreign TV news channels 2 5 Free city papers online 5
7
online brands Suomen Kuvalehti 3 4 MSN News 3
6
BBC News 3 4 Commercial radio news online 4

6
CNN 2 4 BBC News online 3 5
Kauppalehti 3 CNN.com 3 5
Talouselämä 3 Maaseudun Tulevaisuus online 2 4
CHANGING MEDIA
20% 29%
PAY
One year after the COVID-19 crisis began, our survey shows limited
impact on the sources of news or the mix of devices. However,
during the first half of 2020, the daily time used for reading pay for listen to PODCASTS
newspapers and magazines online was over one-third higher ONLINE NEWS in the last month
than a year earlier.43

2015–21
TV 2014–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
90% 89% Social media
Online
75% 73%
53% 58%
50% 45% 50% TV
40% 41%
31%
23% 21%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Overall trust in news has
53 35 12
increased by nine percentage BBC
85 7 8
Yle News 45 47 8
ITV
points, reversing the decline News overall News I use Local newspaper 81 12 7
FT 45 50 5
of recent years. However, the Helsingin Sanomat 81 10 9
Channel 4 42 50 8
trust figures in individual news
65% (+9) 73%
MTV News 80 11 9
Sky 39 52 9
brands have stayed more or Kauppalehti 39
80
51
14 6
10
Guardian
less flat. Public broadcaster Talouselämä
Times 39
79
51
15 6
10
Yle remains most trusted, 1/46 Regional newspaper 38
78 16 6
55 7
Local newspaper
along with local newspapers. Suomen Kuvalehti
Independent 33
77
58
16 7
9
The two evening tabloid Maaseudun Tulevaisuus
Telegraph 30
71
56
19 10
14
newspapers and their websites Hufvudstadsbladet
Mail 16 47
70 21 9
37
67 21 12
are widely used but have lower Commercial radio news
30% 18%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Ilta-Sanomat 65 14 21
levels of trust. Mirror 11 58 31
Uusi Suomi
Sun 10 50 65 22 13
40
Free city papers 62 7623 15
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Iltalehti 62 15 23
0% 100%
28%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 32% (-) 68% 4 Instagram 8% (+1) 43%
2 WhatsApp 13% (+1) 72% 5 Twitter 8% (-) 18%

or email 3 YouTube 13% (-2) 69% 6 Facebook Messenger 4% (-1) 37%
FRANCE
STATISTICS But COVID-19 also generated serious
financial pressures. The 2020 advertising
Population 65m
revenues fell from 2019 by 11% for TV, 13%
Internet penetration 92% for radio, and 24% for the press.45 The
government estimated the overall 2020
pandemic loss for the press sector at 16%
France was of turnover, or €1.9bn. In August 2020, the
hit early by government added to existing support
COVID-19 and schemes with a new subsidy package of
€483m awarded over two years to make
adopted a very up for COVID-19 related losses and aid the
strict national lockdown in March move to digital.
and April 2020, with more limited The year 2020 also brought some good
measures in autumn, followed news from within the industry. Many
by a renewed national lockdown publishers reported unprecedented
increases in digital subscribers. Le
in April 2021. The main media
Monde now has a record 360,000 digital
impact was seen in rising TV subscribers (plus 100,000 print only), with
and online news consumption, a combined target of 1m by 2025. Le Figaro
reported 205,000 digital subscribers, a
increased trust, and falling
45% increase on 2019, with subscriptions
advertising revenues, but with growing at three times their usual rate in
some brands recruiting record March–April 2020. Digital-born Mediapart,
numbers of digital subscribers. also reported that 2020 had delivered its
strongest annual growth in its 13 years of
In the first French lockdown, people stuck existence, resulting in a total of 218,000 A proposed new security bill revived
at home had few distractions other than paying subscribers. tensions between journalists, police, and
their screens. Smartphone use rose, and the government. Article 24 of the bill
Some publishers should also benefit created a new offence of distributing images
TV news made a comeback with record
from a new deal with Google, following a that might ‘harm the physical or mental
viewing levels of four hours per day. Some
competition authority decision requiring integrity’ of police officers, with penalties
channels extended their evening bulletins
negotiations in April 2020.46 Almost a of up to a year in prison or a €45,000 fine.
with government COVID-19 related
year later Reuters News47 reported some Media organisations protested, seeing this
announcements dominating coverage,
financial details of agreements between as an attack on press freedom. At the same
often delivered in a very top-down manner.
Google and a group of 121 national and time a video of a police assault on a black
President Emmanuel Macron made several
local French publishers to pay $22m p.a. man in Paris released by the digital-born
TV addresses – one seen live by almost 36
over three years to end their long-running Loopsider, was viewed more than 15 million
million viewers. Prime Minister Jean Castex
copyright dispute, and to feature these times and fuelled criticism of the bill.
even showed up on Twitch, in an attempt to
publishers’ content in Google Showcase. After amendments, publication will now
reach younger audiences.
Payments are confidential and seem to be allowed if there is no ‘obvious intent’ to
Traffic to most news websites increased be calculated on an individual basis, but harm the police officers.
as a result of the pandemic – at least for Reuters reported them as ranging from
a time. The increase was particularly about $1.3m for Le Monde to smaller fees This was also the year when #MeToo took
pronounced for regional or local for regional papers. Leading national off in France, with an increased focus on
newspapers online, which reached 21% dailies such as Le Monde, Libération, and misogyny and sexual harassment in the
weekly.44 COVID-19 restored to some Le Figaro were also reported to have workplace, including politics and the media.
extent the relevance of local news, obtained a further $3.6m p.a. each, on top Women have been speaking out and new
especially for news about developments of the fee in the agreement, for selling feminist media titles have been launched,
in nearby hospitals, shops, schools, and subscriptions through Google. Publishers including newsletters such ‘Les Glorieuses’
the neighbourhood generally. France’s not included in these deals have or ‘Women who do stuff’, and podcasts like
best-selling regional paper, Ouest France, complained, while none of the parties has ‘Les Couilles sur la Table’ or ‘La Poudre’.
opened up two months’ free access to its confirmed any of these figures.
Alice Antheaume
online content for people registering with
Executive Dean
an email address.
Sciences Po Journalism School
44
The 21% figure is the combined reach of Ouest France online and other regional or local newspapers online whilst removing the overlap between people consuming more than one local brand.
45
https://www.cbnews.fr/etudes/image-bump-recettes-publicitaires-baisse-114-2020-59510
46
https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2021/01/21/google-a-signe-un-accord-pour-remunerer-la-presse-francaise-au-titre-du-droit-voisin_6067045_3234.html
47
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-france-copyright-exclusive-idUSKBN2AC27N
78 / 79

AND ONLINE BFM TV News 40
11 20 minutes online 18
9
France Télévisions (public broadcaster) 12

39 Other regional or local newspaper online 7
15
TOP BRANDS TF1 News (incl. TF1, LCI, TMC) 9

36 Le Monde online 8
14
% Weekly usage M6 News 10

27 France Info (public broadcaster) 6
13
Cnews 7
19 BFM TV online 3
12
Weekly use 9
16 5
12
Other regional or local newspapers TF1 News online
TV, radio & print
Public radio news (France Inter etc) 5
15 Le Parisien online 5
10
Commercial radio news (RTL etc) 6
15 Le Figaro online 6
10
TV, radio & print
20 minutes 7
11 Brut 6
10
Weekly use
online brands Le Monde 5
8 M6 online 5
10
More than 3 days per week France 24 4

8 Le HuffPost 6
9
online brands Le Figaro 4
6 Yahoo! News 5
8
Ouest France 3
6 Médiapart 4
7
Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France 4
6 Cnews online 3
7
Canal+ 3 5 Ouest France online 4

7
La Voix du Nord 2 4 MSN News 3

7
CHANGING MEDIA
11% 28%
PAY
Broadcast brands benefited online and offline from growth in TV
news. Increased use of smartphones reflects interest in news
updates during the pandemic. Facebook remains the top social pay for listen to PODCASTS
media network for news but use declined for the second year. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2013–21
TV 2013–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
84%
68% 68%
50% 46% 50% 50%

TV 45%
38%
24%
18% 14% 17%
11%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Overall trust in news increased
53 35 12
by seven percentage points BBC
64 26 10
Regional/local newspaper 45 47 8
ITV
but remains low by News overall News I use France Télévisions News 62 25 13
FT 45 50 5
international standards. France Info 60 27 13
Channel 4 42 50 8
Regional/ local newspapers
30% (+7) 39%
Le Monde 57 30 13
Sky 39 52 9
are most trusted, followed by France Inter 39
56 30
51
14
10
Guardian
the public service brands France Bleu
Times 39
51 37
51
12
10
(France TV and France Info). =43/46 TF1 News 38
51 29 20
55 7
Local newspaper
Le Monde is the most trusted Le Figaro
Independent 33
49 36
58
15
9
national newspaper, while the M6 News
Telegraph 30
49 35
56
16
14
very popular 24-hour news L'Express
Mail 16
47
47
38 15
37
46 38 16
channel BFM TV has almost Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France
20% 15%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Mediapart 46 35 19
equal levels of distrust and Mirror 11 58 31
20 minutes 45 40 15
trust (35% and 42%). Sun 10 50 40
BFM TVNews
News 6 42 23 76 35
18
Buzzfeed
Le HuffPost 37 43 20
0% 100%
27%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 39% (-4) 60% 4 Facebook Messenger 14% (+2) 38%
2 YouTube 24% (+1) 57% 5 Instagram 12% (+3) 31%

or email 3 WhatsApp 15% (+6) 38% 6 Twitter 10% (+1) 17%
GERMANY
STATISTICS different marginalised groups, or lack
of diversity among those working in
Population 82m
newsrooms and appearing in broadcast
Internet penetration 96% coverage. They generally included the
accusation that ‘old white men’ dominate
coverage unduly. One response has been
The Coronavirus the use of gender-neutral language by
pandemic led some organisations and journalists.
to an initial Critics – from multiple quarters –
surge in interest complained about the media’s perceived
in news and increased trust in lack of impartiality; our data suggest that
it is those on the right of politics who feel
traditional news brands. However, most under-represented by and place
COVID-19 has also exacerbated least trust in the media. Those on the
some financial challenges while right complained about the dominance of
left-green topics and opinions. Some might
helping fuel debate over the need
point to brands, such as TAZ, Stern, or RTL,
for greater diversity of views and which often take ‘positions’ and officially
people within the media. cooperate with movements such as the
school student climate strikes ‘Fridays
COVID-19 boosted interest in news, for Future’. Meanwhile some publishers
particularly early on, and public service are preparing to fill what they see as the 10% up on 2019. But this growth may not
broadcasters (PSBs) and continuous news unmet demand for conservative voices on be enough to make up for declining income
channels benefited the most from this. TV. Springer has announced plans to start elsewhere.
Weekly use of n-tv, for example, rose by a new Bild branded TV channel before this
six percentage points in our survey this year September’s general elections, adding to A few publishers may be hoping that deals
and its trust ratings rose too. Coverage of their existing Welt TV channel. for use of their content in outlets such as
the pandemic has also prompted vigorous Google Showcase or Facebook News will
debate, with news media accused initially PSBs can’t take positions but are help. But the issue divides the industry.
of being insufficiently critical of lockdown responding cautiously to accusations While the publishers’ associations and
measures. As COVID-19 advanced at very of being one-sided. Die Tagesthemen, Springer, among most others, are opposed
different rates across Germany, government for example, one of the main news to participation, some major publishers
responses came under more criticism. programmes on ARD, created a new (e.g. of Spiegel and Die Zeit) are reported to
format ‘for and against’, where a topic is have signed agreements to participate in
Attacks on the supposed lack of diverse commented on from two perspectives. both initiatives.
perspectives in the media were spread on
social media and messaging apps such All mainstream media have been Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of
as Telegram. Self-styled ‘Querdenker’ accused of giving inadequate coverage Economics withdrew plans to support
(‘lateral thinkers’) questioned the scientific to former East Germany. This may have newspapers’ digital transformation with
consensus – sometimes citing questionable contributed to why the PSBs’ monthly €220m. The scheme had excluded digital
scientific ‘experts’ – and protested against licence-fee increase of €0.86, proposed by publishers and raised many questions
the lockdowns on social media and in the the independent commission (KEF), was regarding the independence of the press.
streets. Journalists were assaulted when vetoed by the state parliament of Saxony-
Anhalt even though approved by the other Last year saw further consolidation,
covering demonstrations and accused
15 state parliaments. PSBs will lose out on particularly in the regional market, with
of false or pro-government reporting.
€365m in 2021, potentially leading to cuts possible consequences for the density and
Reporters Without Borders cited attacks
in programming. diversity of coverage. Some companies
on German journalists by extremists
agreed to work together on areas such
and conspiracy theory believers during
Private news media experienced falling as national reporting, a few titles were
protests against pandemic restrictions as
advertising revenues and daily print acquired by other publishers, and others
contributing to Germany losing its ‘good’
sales. But weekly newspapers and digital were bought by companies from outside
rating in the 2021 Press Freedom Index.48
subscriptions are doing better. Die Zeit, the media industry.
In addition, sparked in parts by the Black Spiegel, and Bild all increased their digital
subscribers. Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Sascha Hölig and Uwe Hasebrink
Lives Matter protests in the USA and
a doubling in digital subscribers in 2020 Leibniz Institute for Media Research/
resurgent interest in gender equality,
to reach 180,000. BILDplus reported Hans Bredow Institute, Hamburg
debate grew around coverage of racism,
the right language to use to address 500,000 digital subscribers by year end,
48
https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/world-press-freedom-index-2021-eu-getting-more-heterogeneous/
80 / 81

AND ONLINE ARD News (Tagesschau, Tagesthemen) 54
14 ARD News online (tagesschau.de etc) 18
6
ZDF News (heute, heute-journal etc) 18

45 Spiegel online 7
16
TOP BRANDS Regional or local newspaper 10

27 t-online 5
15
% Weekly usage RTL aktuell 8

26 Focus online 6
14
n-tv 10
24 n-tv.de 5
14
Weekly use 8
21 5
13
Public regional radio news Bild.de
TV, radio & print
Public regional TV news 9
12
13 welt.de 4
11
TV, radio & print
WELT (former N24) 5
13 Web.de 5
11
Weekly use
online brands Sat.1 News 7
13 Gmx.de 3
10
More than 3 days per week Bild/Bild am Sonntag 4

8 ZEIT Online 5
10
online brands Commercial regional TV news 4
8 Sueddeutsche.de 5
9
Der Spiegel 4
7 ZDF News online (heute.de etc) 3
8
ProSieben News 4
7 Public regional TV news websites 4
8
Focus 4
7 Stern.de 4
7
CNN 63 FAZ.NET 4
7
CHANGING MEDIA
9% 25%
PAY
While the smartphone extends its lead as the most important
device for online news, people in general rely on traditional news
brands. TV brands benefit from the desire for reliable news pay for listen to PODCASTS
whereas Facebook’s role as news source decreases. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2013–21
TV 2013–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
82%
66% 69% 71%
63%
50% 50% TV 49%
31%
26% 22% 21%
18%
10%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

BBC 53 35 12
During the ongoing pandemic, ITV 45 47 8
more people in Germany FT 45

70 15
50 5
15
ARD Tagesschau
42 50 8
placed their trust in the news News overall News I use
Channel 4
ZDF heute 68 17 15
Sky 39 52 9
media in general and in Regional/local newspaper 66 22 12
Guardian 39 51 10
specific brands they use. While
53% (+8) 62%
n-tv 63 23 14
Times 39 51 10
PSBs and local news media Süddeutsche Zeitung 60 26 14
Local newspaper 38 55 7
still obtain the highest trust Die ZEIT
33
59 26
58
15
9
scores, the figures of the =10/46 Independent
Der Spiegel 58 25 17
Telegraph 30 56 14
24-hour news channel n-tv FAZ
Mail 16
56
47
29 15
37
grew the most. Trust in search Focus 54 27 19
13
News in search News in social HuffPost 13 74
and social media remains at a Stern 11
Mirror
51
58
28 21
31
46 25 29
low level. RTL aktuell 10
25% 14%
Sun 50 40
t-online 43 34 23
Bild 19 21 60
0% 100%
19%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 18% (-4) 44% 4 Instagram 7% (+1) 29%
2 WhatsApp 17% (+1) 71% 5 Twitter 6% (-) 12%

or email 3 YouTube 16% (+2) 58% 6 Telegram 4% (+2) 12%
GREECE
STATISTICS cannot control. Meanwhile, the Facebook-
approved fact-checker for Greece, ‘Greek
Population 11m
Hoaxes’, has been at the forefront of many
Internet penetration 73% discussions, controversies, and attacks,
from both left and right.
The media The national TV landscape in Greece was

market in relatively stable last year after a long
period of turmoil, including broadcaster
Greece is closures and licensing disputes. One of the
characterised by few changes was the relaunch of MEGA
digital fragmentation, lack of trust TV, for years the largest commercial
broadcaster in Greece, after being shut for
in news, a politically polarised 1½ years because of financial difficulties.
press, and one of the highest uses It was bought by Evangelos Marinakis,
of social media for news. who recently acquired many legacy
outlets. The station has yet to achieve
Longstanding political polarisation in the leading role it had before. The public
Greece was reflected again in its media service broadcaster’s news bulletin
landscape in 2020. The news media were showed modest increases in ratings, while
also badly affected by the pandemic, with there has been a strong push towards
TV advertising expenditure falling by 61% digital with the establishment of a public
in 2020 compared to 2019.49 During the service web platform, ERTflix, which
first wave of COVID-19, the government’s includes news but is primarily used for
decision to spend €20m on a ‘stay at entertainment programmes.
home’ advertising campaign was heavily
The digital news market in Greece remains as of March 2021, there had been no
criticised. Eventually, the campaign funded
fragmented. The average Digital News public debate about sexual abuse within
1,232 news organisations, including 627
Report survey respondent in Greece uses journalism. Mainstream journalism was
digital news websites, some of which were
more digital news sources per week than also largely absent from the coverage
not legitimate news organisations. The fact
respondents from all other 46 countries in of the #MeToo movement in Greece;
that 54% of Greek respondents opposed
the sample, other than Kenya. This finding Greek news organisations reported
the government stepping in to help
highlights the casual and fragmented revelations but did not lead with their
commercial news organisations unable
nature of digital news consumption in own investigative reporting, as was the
to support themselves, one of the highest
Greece. This may help explain the lack of case in other countries.
rates across 46 countries, may have been
an online news payment culture in Greece,
influenced by this controversy. In recent years, we have seen a range of
with the exception of some niche outlets.
digital initiatives aiming to strengthen
Syriza, the largest opposition party,
Podcast use increased during the past year investigative and independent journalism
blamed the government for unfavourable
in Greece – 40% of online news users tell in Greece. One of these is Reporters
coverage in the news bulletins of ERT, the
us that they listen to a podcast in a given United, a hub aiming to support
Public Service Broadcaster, following a
month. One of the most successful Greek investigative journalism in Greece and
long tradition of similar complaints from
podcast initiatives is pod.gr, a podcast-only connect it to international networks.
opposition parties. In turn, the current
media outlet which publishes on various Another is slow news journalism
government is accusing a Syriza ex-
topics, including news and politics. A Inside Story, which broke a number
minister of interference in the TV licensing
few digital-savvy news organisations like of investigative stories this year, most
process under the previous administration.
LiFO and 24Media were also successful in notably related to the government’s
In March 2021, discussion around the producing their own series of podcasts. handling of pandemic data. Finally, iMedD
role of social media platforms in politics (The Incubator for Media Education
In early 2021, Greece had its own and Development), a non-profit funded
and the public sphere intensified. The
#MeToo moment, with hundreds of by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation,
Prime Minister called social media a
women and men publicly revealing their was launched to support independent
‘threat to democracy’, addressing the toxic
experiences of sexual misconduct and journalism and highlight best practice.
nature of public debates and the levels
abuse following the public revelations of
of misinformation on social media. This
Sofia Bekatorou, a sailing champion. The Antonis Kalogeropoulos
was met with a strong backlash by the
majority of revelations came from those University of Liverpool
opposition and social media users who
working in the entertainment sector,
accused the Prime Minister of attempting
causing a public sensation. However,
to criticise information gateways he
49
https://medianalysis.net/2020/12/12/ta-mesa-enhmerosis-stin-epochi-tis-pandimias/
82 / 83

AND ONLINE SKAI News (incl. radio) 16
51 Newsbomb.gr 33
19
ANT1 News 18
43 Dikaiologitika.gr 16
31
TOP BRANDS Alpha News 16

40 In.gr 13
27
% Weekly usage ERT (incl. ERT3 & ERA1) (public broadcaster) 15

38 News247.gr 16
26
MEGA 14
34 Proto Thema online 12
26
Weekly use 14
34 14
24
Star News Kathimerini online
TV, radio & print
Open News 14
32 Newsit.gr 12
22
Kathimerini 11
17 CNN Greece online 13
22
TV, radio & print
Real News (print & radio) 11
17 SKAI online 10
20
Weekly use
online brands Proto Thema 9
15 Newsbeast.gr 12
19
More than 3 days per week Regional or local newspaper 11

15 Iefimerida.gr 10
19
online brands To Vima 10
14 mixanitouxronou.gr 11
18
Ta Nea 8
12 Zougla.gr 10
18
BBC News 6
11 Lifo.gr 11
18
CNN 5
10 Capital.gr 10
17
Regional or local radio news 4

7 Naftemporiki online 9
16
CHANGING MEDIA
12%
PAY
Smartphones are now far ahead of computers in terms of weekly
use, with 70% and 55% respectively. More than two-thirds
(69%) of Greeks online get their news via social media, pay for
a much higher share than most countries in our sample. ONLINE NEWS

2016–21
TV 2016–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
96% Social media
89%
69% 72% 70%
66% 67% Printed newspapers
55%
50% 50% TV 47%
31% 28%
22% 20%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

As in most other countries
53 35 12
trust in news increased, by BBC
62 24 14
Dikaiologitika.gr 45 47 8
ITV
four percentage points in News overall News I use Kathimerini 60 22 18
FT 45 50 5
Greece. Despite the increase, ERT News 58 21 21
Channel 4 42 50 8
Greece is still well behind
32% (+4) 33%
Sky 39 52 9
most other countries in trust. Ta Nea 39
57 22
51
21
10
Guardian
The survey took place in in.gr
Times 39
56 24
51
20
10
January/February 2021 and =38/46 Alpha News 38
56 23
55 7
21
Local newspaper
thus does not reflect Ant1 News
Independent 33
55 24
58
21
9
controversies over protest Real News
Telegraph 30
54 25
56
21
14
news coverage in March 2021. news247.gr
Mail 16
53
47
29 18
37
Efimerida ton HuffPost
Sintakton 52 24 24
35% 22%
13 74 13
Proto Mirror
Thema 50 25 25
11 58 31
Star News 50 25 25
Sun 10 50 40
SKAINews
News 6 48 19 76 33
18
Buzzfeed
Newsbomb.gr 47 27 26
0% 100%
37%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 52% (-5) 76% 4 Viber 23% (+6) 64%
2 YouTube 33% (+1) 78% 5 Instagram 15% (-1) 50%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 23% (+1) 63% 6 Twitter 12% (-1) 25%
HUNGARY
STATISTICS with allies of Prime Minister Viktor
Orbán buying into media companies to
Population 9.7m
manipulate public opinion and influence
Internet penetration 89% voting. But the trend took a major step
forward in July 2020 with the firing of the
editor-in-chief and consequent resignation
The of the editorial board of Index, the leading
Coronavirus- online site, and a major remaining bastion
related public of independent media in Hungary. The
changes followed the acquisition of a
health and 50% stake in the firm controlling Index’s
socio-economic crisis has shaped finances by a pro-Orbán media manager,
Hungarian media in 2020 in Miklos Vaszily, CEO of the pro-government
broadcaster TV2. Index had been seen
numerous ways: not only did it set as a trusted online news source on both
the agenda, but combined with sides of the political spectrum. It was
strong political factors, it further very widely used by news consumers,
regardless of their political stance, in spite,
shrank the space for independent or even because of, its critical reporting of
journalism, and contributed to misdeeds by government and opposition
the polarisation of the public. alike, a rarity in the highly polarised
political environment.
News consumption increased in the first
The takeover and subsequent events Independent media outlets responded to
half of 2020, especially from television and
at Index were not unexpected, but they the challenges posed by the deteriorating
online, with radio and print lagging behind.
shook the shrinking Hungarian public situation in a variety of ways: many
The increase was due to people’s need for
sphere by further increasing polarisation introduced crowdfunding campaigns and
information amid the unfolding crisis, and
and decreasing the chance of critical paywalls, which is reflected in the increasing
because life under lockdown meant more
information reaching the public. Some of numbers of our respondents who pay
time at home. During the first wave of the
the former journalists of Index started a for news; strengthened their audience
pandemic, traditionally trusted online
new news portal, Telex, funded by audience engagement activities; produced content
news portals and the main television
donations. The fundamental changes at in a variety of formats such as podcasts and
channels were the leading sources of news,
Index did not shake the portal’s position videos; and others became masters in data
with public service media gaining some
as one of the leading news sources, but its journalism and visualisation to make up for
ground in news consumption.50
trust score fell. the lack of publicly available information on
Even though news outlets experienced a the pandemic.
Aside from the politicised distribution of
bump in reach early on in the pandemic,
state advertising and the case of Index, Though these efforts are valuable, they
this was not generally reflected in revenues,
politics shaped the media in other ways. cannot do everything one would want from
as total advertising spend dropped by an
The ruling parties introduced legislation independent journalism. This is especially
estimated 38% year-on-year.51 This posed
restricting press freedom in the name of troubling in a time where research
immense challenges for media companies,
‘preventing the pandemic’ or ‘averting suggests that public service media are
especially for print and for smaller,
the consequences of the pandemic’, failing to fulfil their remit and – according
independent media outlets, while media
which tended to encourage journalistic to independent research – have been
outlets with ties to the government received
self-censorship. The Hungarian focused on promoting the government
significant state funding in the form of state
government was criticised for not narrative.53 The dearth of widely used,
advertising.52 Hence, the gap between the
providing clear and credible information, widely trusted, robust independent
financial stability of non-government and
with government data on the pandemic news provision risks contributing both to
pro-government media is widening.
often inaccurate, difficult to interpret, polarisation and politicisation of public
In addition to the pandemic and the or simply absent. Similarly, reporting on discourse and, at worst, can put lives
economic crisis, politics left a deep mark on the pandemic was very constrained, with at risk in a situation where trustworthy
Hungarian media in 2020. The country was journalists unable to ask direct questions information is a question of life and death.
already ranked 89th out of 180 countries in at official press conferences, and only the
government-controlled National News Eva Bognar
the 2020 Reporters Without Borders Press
Agency allowed to report from hospitals Center for Media, Data and Society,
Freedom Index and had established itself
and vaccination points. Central European University
as a leading example of media capture,
50
https://nmhh.hu/dokumentum/213415/NMHH_PSYMA_COVID_JELENTES_fin.pdf
51
https://wecan.net/learning-to-ride-the-waves-of-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR1dpVYJQRov5v6fLp8XteHhTuhszy4n8blnaBzWQb_ae7CYqXMz4ZQCkyE
52
h https://media1.hu/2021/03/24/k-alaku-valsagot-okozott-a-koronavirus-a-magyar-mediapiacon/?fbclid=IwAR2IDe94RKTbKpMrLtPIwifIpRnba-
7FkYrBnZopQtp6DL-3Dql74b6JmVQ
53
Mérték Médiaelemző Műhely: Szúrópróba, 28 (2020), https://mertek.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Szuroproba_28.pdf
84 / 85

AND ONLINE RTL Klub 15
51 24.hu 20
39
TV2 13
34 index.hu 18
37
TOP BRANDS ATV 10

28 origo.hu 17
34
% Weekly usage MTV (public TV news) 9

19 444.hu 16
29
Hír TV 10
19 hvg.hu 16
28
Weekly use 9
19 11
24
Retro Rádió rtlklub.hu
TV, radio & print
Duna TV 8
15 telex.hu 7
20
HVG 9
15 atv.hu 8
18
TV, radio & print
Blikk 11
14 tv2.hu 8
18
Weekly use
online brands Rádió 1 7
14 blikk.hu 11
16
More than 3 days per week Magyar Rádió (public radio news) 6
13 portfolio.hu 9
15
online brands Regional or local newspaper 7
10 hirado.hu (public broadcaster) 7
11
Bors 6
8 hirtv.hu 6
10
CNN 4
7 168ora.hu 7
10
Euronews 4
7 napi.hu 6
9
Nemzeti Sport 4
6 ripost.hu 5
7
CHANGING MEDIA
14%
PAY
Online continues as the top source for news, while print has
further declined in 2020 and many titles are in deep financial
trouble. Smartphones are the most common devices for news pay for
consumption, with computers a close second. ONLINE NEWS

2016–21
TV 2016–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
88%
85%
Online
72% 68%
63% 60%
50% 50% TV 43%
27%
12% 12% 9%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Hungary, with a highly
53 35 12
polarised public, has one of the BBC
61 24 15
HVG 45 47 8
ITV
lowest news trust scores in our News overall News I use RTL Klub 58 23 19
FT 45 50 5
survey. Low levels of trust in 24.hu 55 27 18
Channel 4 42 50 8
public service media are
30% (+3) 53%
telex.hu 54 28 18
Sky 39 52 9
particularly problematic. The ATV 39
53 25
51
22
10
Guardian
takeover of Index by people Index.hu
Times 39
50 26
51
24
10
with ties to the government is =43/46 Regional/local newspaper 38
48 27 25
55 7
Local newspaper
reflected in a decrease in trust 444.hu
Independent 33
46 29
58
25
9
(-7 percentage points). Népszava
Telegraph 30
44 30
56
26
14
Origo.hu
Mail 16 47 37
Magyar Nemzet 43 28 29
38% 24%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Hír TV 41 24 35
Mirror 11 58 31
MTV 10 40 21 39
Sun 50 40
TV2 6 40 20 76 40
18
Buzzfeed News
Blikk 31 29 40
0% 100%
32%
SHARE NEWS
2 YouTube 26% (-1) 76% 5 Twitter 4% (-) 15%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 12% (-1) 68% 6 Pinterest 3% (-) 22%
IRELAND
STATISTICS with increases of five and eight percentage
points respectively. Nonetheless, more
Population 4.8m
than a quarter of a million people evaded
Internet penetration 92% the national licence fee, which cost the
corporation €50 million in lost revenue.
Coronavirus In the commercial news sector, COVID-19

has dominated has created the perfect storm with a
precipitous downfall in advertising and
the news in lockdowns restricting people’s ability to
Ireland over the buy print newspapers. Companies that
past year, with audiences able sought temporary layoffs, closures, pay
cuts, or redundancies included the local
to follow live press conferences and regional newspaper companies Iconic
with government ministers and Newspapers Group, Johnston Press Group,
health and emergency officials on Local Ireland, and Journal Media publishers
of the digital-born TheJournal.ie. However,
an almost daily basis, along with
in more positive news, our data show
detailed reporting on every aspect TheJournal.ie and the Irish Times increased
of the crisis. Strong interest their weekly online reach by four and seven
percentage points respectively, along with and publishers have put enormous
in COVID-19 appears to have
a four percentage point increase (to 16%) pressure on news media outlets.’ The
reinforced the position of the in people reporting paying for news online. Commission recommendations will be
most trusted brands. The Irish Times reported subscriptions published later in 2021.56
growing in 2020 at three times the rate of
Uncertainty in politics caused instability 2019 (when they reached 90,000), while The European Union’s 2018 Audiovisual
on many fronts in the first half of 2020. Independent.ie reported more than 30,000 Media Services Directorate (AVMSD)
A February election resulted in an subscribers by the end of 2020.54 updated the regulatory environment for
unprecedented three-way split between audiovisual media services and extended
the centre-right parties Fianna Fáil and To offset the dire situation for local radio some rules to video-sharing platforms.
Fine Gael and the Irish republican left- stations, the government asked the The revised directive has not yet been
wing party Sinn Féin. Each won an equal Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to transposed into national legislation.
share of the vote, but Sinn Féin had the implement a waiver of the broadcasting Similarly, the date for the introduction of
most first-preference votes. The latter’s levy, a move which saved the sector almost the proposed Irish legislation, the Online
popularity with young people can partly €1 million. Safety and Media Regulation Bill published
be explained by a strong social media in December 2020, remains unclear. This
To explore new ways to secure the is due in part to the significance of the
campaign, particularly on Facebook. In
sustainability of Irish media into the future, location of tech giants in Ireland and also
the end, coalition negotiations dragged on
the government set up the Future of Media because of potential conflicts between
until June, when Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and
Commission which aired industry and aspects of the proposed legislation and the
the Green Party united against Sinn Féin
expert testimony in a series of ‘Thematic EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
and agreed to form a government.
Dialogues’ in early 2021. Many of the
Interest in public service health submissions focused on the fact that One of the biggest industry stories involved
announcements was demonstrated big tech companies had taken the lion’s the sale of Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp
in March 2020 by the St Patrick’s Day share of the digital advertising spend. radio group to Germany’s Bauer Media
COVID-19 speech by then Taoiseach Leo According to Core’s ‘Outlook 21 – Media Audio. Communicorp owned two high-
Varadkar, which was watched by 1.7 million Forecasts’ report,55 Google and Facebook rating national radio stations, Today FM and
viewers. The subsequent RTÉ nine o’clock ‘accounted for 84.4% of all online Newstalk. This follows other international
television news bulletin was watched by 1.3 advertising investment and 44.6% of the mergers and buy-outs, including Virgin Media
million. Throughout the various COVID-19 total media market’. NewsBrands Ireland, merging with O2 (owned by Telefónica),
lockdowns, the nation’s viewers have the industry’s representative organisation, Independent News and Media (INM) being
turned to the public service broadcaster, summed up the assorted challenges in its sold to Mediahuis, and the takeover by the
RTÉ, in high numbers. This is reflected submission: ‘Declining print circulation, Irish Times of the Irish Examiner.
in the weekly reach figures showing RTÉ draconian defamation laws, changed
advertising models, and a fundamental Colleen Murrell
retaining its place as the top news source
imbalance of power between platforms Dublin City University
in both the offline and online categories,
54
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/operating-profit-at-irish-times-group-up-46-to-3-82m-in-2019-1.4351742; https://www.
independent.ie/business/inm-owner-mediahuis-reports-2020-profit-despite-impact-of-covid-40130082.html
55
https://www.linkedin.com/smart-links/AQErnRDjJhYcYA/01dd9770-4392-4662-b481-30fc3e507c6c
56
https://futureofmediacommission.ie/wp-content/uploads/768.-NewsBrands-Ireland-Submission.pdf
86 / 87

AND ONLINE RTÉ News (public broadcaster) 66
14 RTÉ News online 41
11
Sky News 12
30 TheJournal.ie 17
35
TOP BRANDS BBC News 11

27 Irish Independent online 11
28
% Weekly usage Virgin Media TV News 9

25 The Irish Times online 10
24
Irish Independent/Sunday Independent 12

22 BreakingNews.ie 12
23
Weekly use 8
19 7
16
Today FM Sky News online
TV, radio & print
The Irish Times 9
16
CNN 6
18 Irish Examiner online 6
13
TV, radio & print
Local radio news 8
18 Irish Mirror online 5
11
Weekly use
online brands Newstalk 7
16 Local radio news online 5
11
More than 3 days per week ITV or Channel 4 News 7

12 CNN.com 5
10
online brands Irish Daily Sun 6
11 Virgin Media News online 5
10
Irish Examiner 7
11 MailOnline 5
9
Irish Mirror 8
11 Guardian online 5
9

10 RTÉ TV News: 56% Her.ie/joe.ie 5
8
Irish Daily Mail/Irish Mail on Sunday 7

10 RTÉ Radio News: 30% Regional or local newspaper 5
8
CHANGING MEDIA
16% 41%
PAY
Online remains the main source of news. While COVID-19 has
accelerated the structural decline in print, it also seems to have
fuelled a slight increase in TV and in the use of the smartphones, pay for listen to PODCASTS
in line with trends seen elsewhere. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2015–21
TV 2015–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
83% 81%
76% Online
74% (incl. social media)
68% 72%
Printed newspapers
50% 50% 51% 50% TV

52%
46%
49%
28% 22% 21%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

COVID-19 seems to have
53 35 12
boosted trust over the past BBC
78 11 11
RTÉ News 45 47 8
ITV
year (+5pp) for ‘news overall’ News overall News I use The Irish Times 77 14 9
FT 45 50 5
and for ‘news I use’ (+7pp). BBC News 76 14 10
Channel 4 42 50 8
Public broadcaster RTÉ
53% (+5) 59%
Regional/local radio 75 16 9
Sky 39 52 9
remains the most trusted Regional/local newspaper 39
73 17 10
51 10
Guardian
brand (78%), closely followed Irish Independent
Times 39
74 15
51
11
10
by the Irish Times (77%), with =10/46 Sky News 38
72 16
55 7
12
Local newspaper
Virgin Media News registering Irish Examiner
Independent 33
71 19
58
10
9
a seven percentage point Virgin Media News
Telegraph 30
71
56
18 11
14
increase on last year. Newstalk
Mail 16 47
70 19 11
37
Today FM 69 20 11
34% 19%
HuffPost 13 74 13
TheJournal.ie 64 22 14
Mirror 11 58 31
Breakingnews.ie 62 23 15
Sun 10 50 40
Irish Daily Mail 6 52 22 76 26
18
Buzzfeed News
her.ie/joe.ie 45 32 23
0% 100%
36%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 35% (-4) 64% 4 Twitter 13% (-1) 25%
2 WhatsApp 23% (+4) 69% 5 Instagram 12% (+1) 38%

or email 3 YouTube 18% (-4) 61% 6 Facebook Messenger 11% (+2) 45%
ITALY
STATISTICS online platforms, which already generate
approximately 80% of online advertising
Population 59m
revenues in Italy, who are benefiting from
Internet penetration 93% this increase (+11%), while publishers and
advertising agencies are experiencing
further significant losses in this market too
The COVID-19 (-7%).59
pandemic has
Italian news media have responded in
exacerbated various ways. Several major news outlets
some of the have increased the number of ads on their
historical weaknesses of the websites, as well as their invasiveness. The
trend towards pay models for online news
Italian media sector, contributing is developing further and, although it has
to the decline of overall revenues, so far mainly been used by newspapers’
the fall in newspaper readership, websites, two digital-born news sites, Il
Post.it and VareseNews, have recently
and the lowering of the editorial
introduced membership schemes. Even
standards adopted in news so, our data show that the proportion
reporting. The consequences of people paying for online news is still
low (13%). Government support for news and SkyTg24), the main Italian news
of the pandemic seem to have
organisations includes updating and agency (ANSA), and the main newspapers
been less severe for major online extending the recent system of 50% tax (La Repubblica, Il Corriere della Sera, Il
platforms. credits on all corporate media advertising Fatto Quotidiano, and Il Sole 24 Ore). The
spend (including online) and postponing online reach of the Italian public service
The Italian media environment has the ending of direct press subsidies, long broadcaster RAI is stable, but still far from
traditionally been characterised by a criticised for the influence of political its levels on TV and radio. Interestingly, the
particularly strong television sector and clientelism on the award process. digital-born outlet Fanpage, which has a
a weak and declining newspaper sector. particularly strong social media presence,
However, online advertising revenues There were some major changes retains its position among the top Italian
overtook television advertising revenues of ownership and leadership in the online news players that it has achieved
for the first time in 2019, and now represent newspaper sector. The Agnelli-Elkann in recent years. Good online results have
almost half (49%) of overall advertising family, the largest shareholder of Fiat also been achieved by local outlets like
revenues in the Italian media sector.57 Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), bought the Quotidiano.net (8%), La Stampa (8%), Il
De Benedetti family’s controlling stake in Messaggero (8%), and digital-born outlets
Because of the severity of the COVID-19 GEDI, one of the largest Italian publishing like HuffPost Italia (11%) and Il Post.it (8%).
pandemic, Italian media increased groups, which publishes the daily national
the space given to the news, and both newspapers La Repubblica and La Stampa, On the editorial side, coverage of the
television and online news outlets have as well as several local newspapers and COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the
seen a significant increase in audience radio stations. A new editor-in-chief has shortage of specialist science journalists in
reach. During the March and April 2020 been appointed for La Repubblica, and Italy, as well as a tendency to focus news
outbreak, for example, Italian prime-time his attempts to adopt a more neutral coverage on speculation and leaks about
newscasts drew over 50% audience share, editorial line for the traditionally centre- possible changes to Coronavirus-related
with an increase of approximately 5% on left leaning newspaper have been followed restrictions, rather than on the actual
the previous year.58 by the resignations of several high-profile decisions, together with sensationalist
journalists. Carlo De Benedetti, the former and often contradictory coverage of facts
However, the pandemic has also produced publisher of La Repubblica, launched a new related to the pandemic and vaccines. This,
a sharp drop in advertising revenues, which newspaper in September 2020, Domani, together with the spread of disinformation,
are the main funding source for many also aimed at centre-left readers. In might have contributed to the audience’s
Italian outlets, and exacerbated the decline addition, some titles have closed, including dissatisfaction and lack of trust in news.
in newspaper circulation. In the first nine the online-only Lettera43 and the local
months of 2020, total revenues for the newspaper Il Trentino. Alessio Cornia
Italian media sector fell by €780m, with Dublin City University
considerable decreases observed in both The online news market is still mainly
the newspaper (-15%) and broadcasting dominated by legacy players. The
sectors (-8%), while online advertising websites with the widest online reach
grew (+7%). As the Italian communication are those of the established commercial
authority has pointed out, it is the major TV broadcasters (Mediaset’s TgCom24
57
https://www.agcom.it/relazioni-annuali
58
https://www.agcom.it/relazioni-annuali
59
https://www.agcom.it/osservatorio-sulle-comunicazioni
88 / 89

AND ONLINE RAI TV News (Tg1, Tg2, Tg3, TgR) 46
12 TgCom24 online (Mediaset) 24
10
Mediaset TV News (Tg4, Tg5, Studio Aperto) 10

42 SkyTg24 online 8
22
TOP BRANDS SkyTg24 12

32 ANSA online 10
20
% Weekly usage TgCom24 (Mediaset) 15

32 La Repubblica online 8
20
RAI News24 12
26 Fanpage 10
19
Weekly use 10
22 8
16
Tg La7 Il Corriere della Sera online
TV, radio & print
La Repubblica 11
17 RAI News online (public broadcaster) 8
14
Il Corriere della Sera 8
13 Il Fatto Quotidiano online 6
12
TV, radio & print
RAI radio news (Gr1, Gr2, Gr3) 7
12 Il Sole 24 ore online 9
12
Weekly use
online brands Porta a Porta 8
12 HuffPost 7
11

12 Commercial radio news online 5
11
online brands Non è l’Arena 9
11

11 Notizie Libero online 6
11
Piazza pulita 9
11 Yahoo! News 6
10
Dritto e Rovescio 7
10 TgLa7 online 4
9
Il Sole 24 Ore 6
9 Quotidiano.net (La Nazione online, etc.) 5
8
CHANGING MEDIA
13% 31%
PAY
Newspaper readership continues to fall steadily while television
news viewership is more stable than in many other countries.
The smartphone is the main device used to get online news. pay for listen to PODCASTS
ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2013–21
TV 2013–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
74% 75% 68%
Printed newspapers
59% 58%
50% 47% 50% TV
42%
27% 25%
18% 16%
14%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

After an 11-percentage point
53 35 12
fall in 2020, trust recovered all BBC
82 13 5
ANSA 45 47 8
ITV
of that this year but is still News overall News I use SkyTG24 76 16 8
FT 45 50 5
relatively low. The most Il Sole 24 ore 74 19 7
Channel 4 42 50 8
trusted brands are generally
40% (+11) 47%
Tg La7 69 20 11
Sky 39 52 9
those that are known for lower Il Corriere della Sera 39
68 20
51
12
10
Guardian
levels of political partisanship. Regional/local newspaper
Times 39
68 22 10
51 10
Least trusted are outlets with =26/46 RAI News (public broadcaster) 38
67 19
55 7
14
Local newspaper
a pronounced partisan bias La Repubblica
Independent 33
65 20
58
15
9
and the popular digital-born La Stampa
Telegraph 30
62 24
56
14
14
outlet Fanpage. Mediaset News
Mail 16
61
47
19 20
37
Il Fatto Quotidiano 58 24 18
32% 20%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Porta Mirror
a Porta 54 23 23
11 58 31
Il Giornale 51 27 22
Sun 10 50 40
Libero Quotidiano 47 24 76 29
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Fanpage 45 29 26
0% 100%
40%
SHARE NEWS
2 WhatsApp 30% (+1) 84% 5 Twitter 8% (-1) 18%

or email 3 YouTube 20% (-4) 67% 6 Telegram 7% (+1) 28%
NETHERLANDS
STATISTICS
Population 17m There was some debate within the
Internet penetration 96% media on the right way to cover the
government’s response to COVID-19. In
particular, remarks in early March 2020
The Dutch by De Volkskrant’s editor-in-chief, Pieter
media Klok, about how, given fear of the virus,
news media should ‘speak with one voice’
landscape is and not ‘magnify contradictions’ led to
characterised by accusations, especially in the alternative
increased media concentration, blogosphere, of mainstream media’s
supposed one-sidedness and retreat from
strong growth of digital news its watchdog function.
use, and the appearance of
The international English version of Dutch
alternative and sometimes
membership-based online news site De
strongly partisan sources. Correspondent closed on 1 January 2021.
The founders said The Correspondent was
2020 saw a drastic reduction in pluralism no longer sustainable after an increase in
within the Dutch media landscape and membership cancellations in part due to
the commercial market is now dominated COVID-19. Their critics, particularly among
by two Belgian publishers. DPG Media US members, blamed the closure on the
– owner of national daily titles such as failure to place a US office at the heart of
AD and De Volkskrant along with a large the English-language edition. Metro, the
number of regional papers – acquired last free newspaper in the Netherlands,
Sanoma, the largest owner of magazines ceased publication in 2020, citing the bookshop chains Bruna and AKO were
and the leading online news site Nu.nl. collapse of the advertising market due to criticised for selling print copies of Gezond
Mediahuis, owner of national newspapers COVID-19. Verstand. Minister of the Interior Kajsa
De Telegraaf and NRC, expanded its grip Ollongren argued that bookshops should
on the regional market by acquiring NDC In March 2021 PublicSpaces – aimed decide what they sold, but suggested
mediagroep. This unparalleled media at ‘providing an alternative software placing Gezond Verstand next to the
concentration and ownership of several ecosystem that serves the common interest Fabeltjeskrant (the Fables Newspaper), a
titles by consolidated groups raises and does not seek profit’ – organised reference to an old children’s TV show in
questions about both the external and a conference designed to kickstart which a puppet owl read fables. YouTube
internal pluralism of the Dutch media. international cooperation and build a deleted two of Café Weltschermz’s
network of organisations and developers videos suggesting the anti-malaria drug
Although both commercial and public ‘committed to fixing the internet’. Founded hydroxychloroquine provided protection
TV and radio faced declining revenues in 2018, PublicSpaces’ initiative to against COVID-19. A court later ruled the
from advertising, audiences were boosted reimagine ‘the internet as a public space’ is removal of these videos was justified.
by the crisis, with 6.9 million people on supported by, among others, the Ministry of
average watching news and current affairs Interior and the Dutch public broadcasting Even though the Netherlands ranks
programmes every evening compared organisation NPO. fourth for trust overall, violence against
to 6.1 million in 2019.60 DPG Media and journalists is becoming increasingly
Mediahuis appear to have benefited most Several initiatives aimed at providing an common. In January 2021 alone, journalists
from the COVID-19 crisis. Both publishers alternative to what they call ‘mainstream reported 39 cases of intimidation, threats,
saw increased revenues in 2020, driven by media’ have attracted attention over the and assault to PersVeilig, which runs a
strong growth in digital subscriptions, with past year: De Andere Krant (The Other reporting website, hotline, and helpdesk
Mediahuis reporting digital subscriptions Paper/Side), Gezond Verstand (Common for journalists under attack. That number
up by 47% in 2020.61 In March 2021, their Sense), and Café Weltschmerz. These represents almost a third of the 141 reports
national title NRC reported a record- publications often question (scientific) received for the whole of 2020.
breaking 300,000 subscriptions, the consensus and government policy related
highest since its creation in 1970. In our to issues including COVID-19, 5G, and Irene Costera Meijer and
2021 survey, 17% of our respondents climate change. Other news media, Tim Groot Kormelink
reported paying for news online, a three politicians, and experts have denounced Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
percentage point increase on 2020 and up them for spreading disinformation and
from 11% in 2019. conspiracy theories. In October 2020,
60
https://kijkonderzoek.nl/images/Persberichten/2020/Jaarpersberichten/210107_Factsheet_coronacrisis_-_kerncijfers_TV_2020.pdf
61
https://www.mediahuislimburg.nl/actueel/2020-kanteljaar-in-de-digitale-transformatie-van-mediahuis/#:~:text=Op%20de%20Nederlandse%20
markt%20steeg,met%20maar%20liefst%20%2B16%25
90 / 91

AND ONLINE* NOS News (public broadcaster) 61
12 NU.nl 41
11
RTL (incl. RTL Z and EditieNL) 10

29 NOS News online 9
28
TOP BRANDS SBS News 8

22 Algemeen Dagblad online 8
26
% Weekly usage Regional or local newspaper 6

18 De Telegraaf online 7
22
Free local papers 14

18 RTL News online 6
15
Weekly use 6
17 5
11
Algemeen Dagblad Regional or local newspaper online
TV, radio & print
Other NPO TV news programmes 8
16 Regional or local TV news online 5
11
De Telegraaf 6
15 de Volkskrant online 4
8
TV, radio & print
15 SBS News online 3
7
Weekly use
online brands Regional TV news 5
13 MSN News 4
7
More than 3 days per week Regional radio news 5

11 indebuurt.nl 3 5
online brands de Volkskrant 3
8 Geen Stijl 3 5
CNN 4
6 NRC online 3 5
Non-daily regional or local newspaper 5

6 Linda News 3 5
* Due to a scripting error in the original survey,
brand reach data in the Netherlands comes BNR Nieuwsradio 3
6 BBC News online 2 4
from a separate re-poll conducted from
26 March to 6 April 2021 (N=1504). BBC News 2 5 Nederlands Dagblad online 2 4
CHANGING MEDIA
17% 28%
PAY
News consumption went through the roof during the
first months of the COVID-19 crisis, but eventually usage
returned to 2019 levels. Hyperlocal news site indebuurt pay for listen to PODCASTS
(In the Neighbourhood) became a relatively popular news ONLINE NEWS in the last month
source reaching 5% of the population.

2015–21
TV 2015–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
80%
76% 64%
50% 43% 50% TV 46%
42% 37% 42%
32%
25% 24%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in news is high at 59%,
53 35 12
but lower amongst the young BBC
80 13 7
NOS News 45 47 8
ITV
(18–34). People who strongly News overall News I use Regional/local newspaper 75 18 7
FT 45 50 5
distrust the news are RTL News 74 17 9
Channel 4 42 50 8
protesting online and in
59% (+7) 65%
NU (Nu.nl) 73 18 9
Sky 39 52 9
demonstrations. The most AD (Algemeen Dagblad) 39
72 19
51
9
10
Guardian
trusted news source, NOS, De Volkskrant
Times 39
71 20
51
9
10
removed its logo after its =4/46 Het Financieele Dagblad 38
69 23 8
55 7
Local newspaper
vehicles were targeted by Trouw
Independent 33
69 22
58
9
9
protesters against COVID-19 or NRC Handelsblad
Telegraph 30
69
56
22 9
14
CO2 reduction measures. Hart van Nederland
Mail 16
63
47
22 15
37
BNR news radio 63 27 10
31% 20%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Metro 58 29 13
Mirror 11 58 31
De Telegraaf 58 22 20
Sun 10 50 40
LindaNews
News 6 42 33 76 25
18
Buzzfeed
Geen Stijl 34 31 35
0% 100%
21%
SHARE NEWS
2 WhatsApp 22% (+2) 73% 5 Twitter 8% (+1) 16%

or email 3 YouTube 15% (-) 52% 6 LinkedIn 5% (+1) 20%
NORWAY
STATISTICS Faced with the consequences of lockdown
measures, the government poured public
Population 5.4m
funding into general industry support
Internet penetration 98% packages, and also instigated a special
€30m pandemic press support scheme.
Longstanding press subsidies still help
The Norwegian support the plethora of local newspapers
media and a handful of national ones, and
landscape a relatively new initiative to support
innovation adds to the existing scheme,
mixes strong making it comparatively wide-ranging
national publishers and public and generous.
service media, with a reputation Public service broadcaster NRK retained
for innovation in content and its central position in the news landscape,
business models. A year into the as the most used news source offline, and
the second most used one online (where
pandemic, Norwegians report
weekly reach increased by 8pp) as well as
increased trust in, and willingness the most trusted Norwegian news brand.
to pay for, news. While NRK retains a broad remit across
platforms and seems to have strong public
Norway remains the country with the legitimacy, criticism of its online activities
highest number of consumers (45%) in particular by commercial providers
willing to pay for online news, up three continues, and the Ministry of Culture has
percentage points since last year (and 11pp launched a review which is due to report
since 2019), with growth skewed towards in 2021.
the well-off. Given the strong tradition of launches, a continued strong presence
reading print newspapers, the transition to There was a continued focus in the news from the NRK, and a degree of attention for
digital subscriptions has been promoted on #MeToo in 2020 and an increased popular ‘podcast stars’ previously restricted
with hybrid solutions that typically bundle awareness and debate on racism and to television entertainment personalities.
paper and digital content. This, and the discrimination in Norway. The coverage
followed international events, such as the In Norway, as elsewhere, the pandemic
absence of freesheets, explains why
murder of George Floyd in the USA and focused public attention on misinformation
Norway remains the leading country in
the Black Lives Matter movement, which spread through online media. In our survey
the survey in paying for online news.
heightened discussions of representation we see that 45% are concerned about what
New audiences paying for news was not the in media and the dominance of white is fake and real on the internet when
only positive sign for the media business (male) people in leading news positions. thinking about online news. Since 2019, this
in 2020: Norwegian news providers The NRK also broadcast detailed coverage number has risen three percentage points
experienced an increase in online users, of a 20-year-old racially motivated murder each year, with no apparent bump following
and industry sources suggest the decrease of a 15-year-old boy which triggered new the pandemic. Among the topics on which
in offline audiences also slowed down. discussion about racism. We continue to see Norwegians say they have come across false
While the pandemic shook the business, the interlinkages between social media and or misleading information, Coronavirus is
particularly with advertising spending politics, with topics raised in social media mentioned most frequently (30%), but it
grinding to a halt during early spring quickly finding their way into the news. is closely followed by climate change/
2020, threatening layoffs, major players environment and politics. Specifically on
reported positive figures coming out of Almost four out of ten Norwegians (37%) the pandemic, Norwegian respondents say
the pandemic’s first year. Schibsted, for have used podcasts during the last month, a they fear false and misleading information
instance, which owns the largest quality slight increase on last year. Podcasts reach first and foremost from activists, and see
newspaper Aftenposten, numerous regional the younger age groups particularly, with Facebook as a major source for this.
newspapers, as well as the popular tabloid close to two-thirds (59%) of those under
35 having used podcasts, compared to Janne Bjørgan and Hallvard Moe
VG, reported revenue growth and cost
only 29% of those over 35. Several of the University of Bergen
savings for their news media with a profit
at year end of 10% (EBITDA). Amedia, major newspapers now publish a range
which owns 80 local newspapers as well of podcasts, especially focused on news
as the popular online paper Nettavisen, commentary and weekly summaries of
reported very similar levels (14.7%) and current events. There was a strengthened
managed to keep all their journalists professionalisation in 2020 of this
employed through the year. previously bottom-up medium, with more
92 / 93

AND ONLINE NRK News (TV & radio) (public broadcaster) 56
12 VG Nett 59
11
TV2 News 14
50 NRK News online 10
42
TOP BRANDS VG (Verdens Gang) 8

23 Dagbladet online 11
37

20 TV2 News online 11
34
P4 News (radio) 7
15 Nettavisen 13
27
Weekly use 6
13 5
23
Local radio news Regional or local newspaper online
TV, radio & print
Dagbladet 6
11 Aftenposten online 9
21
Aftenposten 4
11 ABC News online 6
11
TV, radio & print
Local TV news 6
11 Dagens Næringsliv online 5
11
Weekly use
online brands CNN 5
10 Bergens Tidende online 4
9
More than 3 days per week Radio Norge 4

8 CNN.com 5
8
online brands BBC News 4
8 Dagsavisen online 4
7
Dagens Næringsliv 3
6 Adresseavisen online 3
7
SVT (Svensk TV) 3 5 BBC News online 4

7
Bergens Tidende 1 4 NRK TV News: 51% Resett.no 2 5
Klassekampen 2 4 NRK Radio News: 23% Document.no 3 5
CHANGING MEDIA
45% 37%
PAY
Whereas many other countries report a rise in TV consumption,
there is only a slight increase (+2pp) in Norway. Social media are
declining as a source of news, with Facebook’s continued fall pay for listen to PODCASTS
particularly pronounced (-14pp since 2019). ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2016–21
TV 2016–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
86% 85%
Online (incl. social media) 76%
72% 66%
63% 64%newspapers
Printed
54%
50% 50% TV 50%
41% 44%
36%
25%
21%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in news overall is up
53 35 12
significantly, with increases for BBC
838 9
NRK News 45 47 8
ITV
NRK and other national and News overall News I use Regional/local newspaper 80 13 7
FT 45 50 5
local news brands. VG, which TV2 News 78 13 9
Channel 4 42 50 8
was hit by a 2019 ethics
57% (+12) 67%
Aftenposten 76 15 9
Sky 39 52 9
scandal, saw the biggest jump. Dagens Næringsliv 39
74
51
18 8
10
Guardian
‘Alternative’ news sites Resett Times
VG 39
71 15
51
14
10
and Document remain trusted 6/46 Dagbladet 38
66 18
55 7
16
Local newspaper
by a small, but declining, Independent
P4 33
65 23
58
12
9
minority, and are seeing Radio Norge
Telegraph 30
61 26
56
13
14
increased levels of mistrust. Dagsavisen
Mail 16
61
47
27 12
37
Nettavisen 58 24 18
28% 18%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Klassekampen 54 26 20
Mirror 11 58 31
ABC News 47 33 20
Sun 10 50 40
Document.no 31 26 76 43
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Resett.no 26 24 50
0% 100%
23%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 31% (-6) 75% 4 Snapchat 9% (-1) 52%
2 Facebook Messenger 12% (-1) 60% 5 Instagram 7% (-1) 48%

or email 3 YouTube 12% (-1) 57% 6 Twitter 7% (-) 18%
POLAND
STATISTICS and radio stations went off air for 24 hours
on 10 February 2021 in protest – as did a
Population 38m
number of web portals.63
Internet penetration 78%
As an election year, 2020 saw an
intensification of conflict between the
COVID-19 ruling coalition and its critics. Public
affected news service broadcasting, which depends
increasingly on the annual award of
audiences state subsidies to top up declining
and hit media licence income, as expected, acted as a
revenues in Poland as elsewhere. propaganda vehicle for government.64
But government control can occasionally
But in the deeply polarised Polish backfire in surprising ways. When public
media landscape, the pandemic radio’s channel Trojka removed a song
was overshadowed by mounting criticising the ruling party leader from their
weekly chart in May 2020, some prominent
political pressures in a turbulent
journalists resigned in protest. Thanks to
election year. Independent crowdfunding campaigns they launched
newsrooms saw some journalists two new independent stations online. The
incident also hit Trojka’s audience share, news broadcaster, TVN24, and top online
arrested, assaulted, and fined.
which fell to just 1.9% in the quarter ending site, Onet.pl, remain foreign owned, by
And the state started to extend its February 2021, compared to 5.1% for the Discovery Communications and Ringier
control over private media. same period a year before. Axel Springer Polska respectively. But
in addition to the Polska Press sale to
The ruling party pursued its radical agenda Physical attacks on journalists took Orlen, Bauer Media shut seven magazines
in 2020 with the pandemic providing place around two major demonstrations. and sold Interia.pl, the fourth most used
further impetus for its moves to redraw The first in October 2020 was a massive weekly online news source in our survey,
Poland’s media landscape. In November protest against a controversial ruling by to Poland’s biggest media conglomerate,
2020 the state-owned oil company, Orlen, the Polish Constitutional Court restricting Cyfrowy Polsat.
bought Ruch, the biggest newspaper abortions. At least three reporters covering
distributor. Later Orlen bought the largest it, including one from the Gazeta Wyborcza, The pandemic added to financial pressures,
regional daily newspaper group, Polska were injured following assaults by masked forcing publishers and broadcasters to
Press, from its German proprietors, men. Other journalists faced charges cut staff and salaries. The first title to fall
making the government owner of a major or fines after covering protests by the victim was in March 2020 when Wprost
media outlet for the first time since the All-Poland Women’s Strike movement, weekly closed its print edition, a casualty
fall of Communism. Publishers were which played a key role in the October of the closure of newsstands in lockdown.
understandably concerned at a state-owned demonstrations. And then reporters from Six months of temporary government
firm controlling distribution and becoming Newsweek Polska were beaten up by police support helped others but journalist layoffs
a direct competitor. Orlen had already while covering the far-right Independence followed when it ended.
created an advertising agency, Sigma Bis Day March on 11 November, despite
wearing ‘Press’ jackets. Other companies saw subscription spikes
(jointly with state-controlled insurer PZU),
or accelerated digital development.
that is likely to allocate advertising spend by
The courts have also been used by TVN successfully switched its video-on-
state-owned companies.
those affiliated with the ruling party to demand (VOD) business from advertising
Several pro-government titles already suppress independent media, creating to a subscription model and its news arm,
benefit from significant amounts of state a chilling effect. Since 2015 more than TVN24, introduced a premium section
advertising, according to research by 60 defamation lawsuits have been filed behind the registration wall, thought to be a
Tadeusz Kowalski at Warsaw University. against Gazeta Wyborcza and at least 40 step towards paid content. Gazeta Wyborcza
For the weekly magazine Sieci this against Ringier Axel Springer Polska, daily added a premium offer, with interviews
amounted to almost a third (31%) of 2020 owners of Newsweek Polska and Onet.pl, with experts and politicians available
advertising revenues and for the right- the leading online news site. live for subscribers, a behind-the-scenes
wing daily Gazeta Polska Codziennie it was newsletter, and premium podcasts.
Foreign ownership has on occasions been
over half (53%).62 Meanwhile, plans for an
an important bulwark of independence Vadim Makarenko
advertising tax added to pressure on the
in a difficult environment for local media Journalist at Gazeta Wyborcza and former
industry overall. Independent Polish media
but proposals for a ‘Repolonisation law’ Reuters Institute Journalist Fellow
denounced it as an attempt to undermine
would limit this. Both the top rating
press freedom. Commercial TV channels
62
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349410539_Report_Advertising_expenditures_of_state-owned_companies_Poland_2015-2020
63
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/10/polish-media-hold-blackout-in-protest-at-tax-threat
64
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/4/9/455728.pdf
94 / 95

AND ONLINE TVN News (incl. TVN 24) 49
8 Onet.pl 50
16
Polsat News 11
38 WP.pl 13
39
TOP BRANDS RMF FM 12

38 TVN24.pl 10
36
% Weekly usage TVP News (public broadcaster) 7

26 Interia.pl 11
30
Radio Zet 12
25 (Gazeta) Wyborcza.pl 11
20
Weekly use 10
17 8
19
Gazeta Wyborcza RMF24.pl
TV, radio & print
Fakt 9
16 Fakt.pl 9
17
14 Gazeta.pl 9
17
TV, radio & print
Eska 7
14 Polsatnews.pl 8
17
Weekly use
online brands TTV 5
13 TVP.info 5
15
More than 3 days per week Regional or local radio 5

12 Radiozet.pl 7
12
online brands Super Express 8
11 OKO.press 6
11
Newsweek Polska 6
9 Newsweek.pl 8
11
Angora 4
10
Polityka 5
7 NaszeMiasto.pl 5
8
VOX FM 3
7 Wprost.pl 6
8
CHANGING MEDIA
18%
PAY
Interest in all news sources declined this year, with television
news showing none of the growth under lockdown seen
elsewhere. Online news portals Onet and WP remain the pay for
top destinations online. ONLINE NEWS

2015–21
TV 2015–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
84% 81%
81% 84% 81%
70% 65%
Printed newspapers
59%
50% 52% 50% TV 52%
28%
17% 18%
14%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in news overall recovered
53 35 12
the three percentage point BBC
68 21 11
RMF FM 45 47 8
ITV
loss from last year. The News overall News I use TVN News 64 16 20
FT 45 50 5
remaining independent media Polsat News 64 21 15
Channel 4 42 50 8
tend to score better on trust,
48% (+3) 55%
Radio Zet 62 24 14
Sky 39 52 9
while the state-controlled Onet.pl 39
61 21
51
18
10
Guardian
public broadcaster TVP again Newsweek Polska
Times 39
58 24
51
18
10
comes bottom of the trust 16/46 Regional/local newspaper 38
58 28 14
55 7
Local newspaper
ranking, with more distrusting Interia
Independent 33
57 27
58
16
9
(46%) than trusting it (36%). WP.pl
Telegraph 30
57 26
56
17
14
Eska
Mail 16 47 37
Gazeta HuffPost
Wyborcza 53 22 25
46% 37%
13 74 13
Fakt 41 26 33
Mirror 11 58 31
Super Express 39 30 31
Sun 10 50 40
Gazeta News
Polska 6 38 28 76 34
18
Buzzfeed
TVP News 36 18 46
0% 100%
39%
SHARE NEWS
2 YouTube 35% (-1) 72% 5 WhatsApp 12% (+2) 35%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 25% (+1) 63% 6 Twitter 9% (-2) 17%
PORTUGAL
STATISTICS Digital News Report survey data,67 and
by research centre OberCom. Expresso
Population 10m
reported digital paid circulation up by 53%
Internet penetration 78% in 2020, while Público increased by 97%.
However, news brands have generally not
increased digital revenues fast enough to
In a country make up for the significant losses in paid
that repeatedly print circulation, on which most rely.
ranks high in One unusual form of support came from
terms of trust Santa Casa da Misericórdia, the social
in news, digital business models institution that among other things
manages the Euromillions lottery, which
are no longer just about revenue launched an initiative to fund 20,000 free
diversification but have become digital news subscriptions for eight media
critical to survival. And in 2020 outlets (seven general and one sports
brand). Brands used these in different
concerns around COVID-19
ways: the weekly magazine Visão gave
appear to have played a role in some of these free subscriptions to older
making more people willing to citizens attending the University of the 3rd
Age while Público targeted unemployed
pay for digital content.
people.
The impact of COVID-19 added to the Another – albeit controversial – response
longstanding structural problems of was the creation by the Portuguese
Portuguese news companies of falling print government in Spring 2020 of a COVID-19
and advertising revenues and the failure emergency financial media support service OPTO, while public broadcaster,
to replace these with new digital business scheme – based on compensating for the RTP, invested considerable resources
models. estimated revenue loss from cancelled in expanding its existing free streaming
corporate advertising. €11.25m was service, RTP Play. Diário de Notícias, one of
Analysts estimate that COVID-19 hit
awarded to national media brands and Portugal’s oldest newspapers, returned to a
advertising profits by 40–50% in 2020
€3.75m to local and regional outlets. daily print edition, after having abandoned
and the pandemic impacted on all aspects
Debate focused on both the approach and that in June 2018 for a weekly print edition
of the industry. Paid print circulation fell
the amounts awarded to each brand. alongside a daily digital-only presence.
by nearly 20% in Q1 and our data shows
print as a source down six percentage A rise in COVID-19 related disinformation Smaller independent brands such as
points on last year. Television audiences has concerned policymakers and Fumaça, Mapa, Shifter, Divergente,
increased initially, thanks to concern over news organisations. OberCom68 and or Interruptor continue to promote
COVID-19 and more people being at home. MediaLab ISCTE-IUL69 have reported innovation both in journalistic practices
But the radio sector was hit by the collapse how disinformation has been spread in and business models. They generally aim
in commuters listening, which deprived private messaging platforms such as to build long-term sustainability through a
brands of their most profitable advertising WhatsApp, using social media profiles much closer and intimate relationship with
slots. Job losses followed, with a significant that mimic genuine news sources, and their audiences, with start-up funds often
proportion of Portuguese journalists reach wide audiences on social media. coming from a mix of crowdfunding and
either laid off or experiencing salary cuts Several news outlets lifted paywalls for key foundations. The regional media landscape
in 2020.65 One company, the Global Media COVID-19 related content early on and for is also changing, with new projects
Group, owner of brands such as Diário de the first time fact-checking outlets took developing and existing digital brands,
Notícias, Jornal de Notícias, and TSF radio, centre stage in daily news. Polígrafo and such as Medio Tejo and Sul Informação,
underwent a radical restructure in April Observador, the two main national fact- growing steadily.
2020 with 538 temporary layoffs. checkers, feature in prime-time news slots,
on the SIC and TVI TV channels. Ana Pinto-Martinho, Miguel Paisana,
The brighter news is that industry figures and Gustavo Cardoso
show an increase in the numbers paying Despite the pandemic, 2020 saw some ISCTE-IUL University Institute of Lisbon
for online news, albeit from a low base. important strategic developments. The SIC
The COVID-19 bump in digital news private television broadcaster launched
subscriptions was highlighted by the the first Portuguese private streaming
APCT66 (the industry statistics body), by
65
https://www.ics.ulisboa.pt/docs/covid19/RelatorioCOVID19Jornalismo.pdf
66
http://www.apct.pt/
67
Digital News Report survey data also show a substantial bump in digital subscriptions this year. Please note, however, that the 17% figure is likely to overstate the total number of
subscribers, as respondents mention many types of digital payments for news content across online, mobile phones, TV, and radio – not just publisher subscriptions.
68
https://obercom.pt/pandemia-e-consumos-mediaticos/
69
https://medialab.iscte-iul.pt/information-and-misinformation-coronavirus-in-portugal/
96 / 97

AND ONLINE SIC News (incl. SIC Noticias) 70
14 SIC News online 37
14
TVI News (incl. TVI 24) 15

56 Notícias ao Minuto 15
33
TOP BRANDS RTP News (public broadcaster) 13

44 Sapo 12
27
% Weekly usage Correio da Manhã TV 10

26 TVI News online (incl. TVI 24) 10
26
Correio da Manhã (newspaper) 13

23 Observador 12
25
Weekly use 12
22 11
24
Jornal de Notícias Correio da Manhã online
TV, radio & print
Rádio Comercial 9
21 Jornal de Notícias online 13
24
RFM 9
20 Público online 10
21
TV, radio & print
TSF 7
17 Expresso online 11
20
Weekly use
online brands Expresso 9
14 Correio da Manhã TV online 8
17
More than 3 days per week Público 8

13 RTP News online 8
17
online brands Diário de Notícias 8
13 Diário de Notícias online 9
16
M80 4
10 MSN News 6
14

10 Jornal Económico 9
14
A Bola 4
9 Jornal ECO online 5
12
CNN 5
9 Rádio Comercial online 5
11
CHANGING MEDIA
17%
PAY
COVID-19 accelerated the existing downward trends in print,
while TV and online (including social media) showed little
change compared with last year. The smartphone became pay for
the pre-eminent form of access, despite reduced mobility. ONLINE NEWS

2015–21
TV 2015–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
86%
85% 77% 78%
77% 75%
55% 52%
50% 50% TV
47%
34%
27%
21%
15%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

High trust in news remains a
53 35 12
feature of Portugal’s media BBC
81 14 5
RTP News 45 47 8
ITV
landscape, even in a context News overall News I use SIC News 80 12 8
FT 45 50 5
where Coronavirus-related Jornal de Notícias 79 15 6
Channel 4 42 50 8
disinformation steadily
61% (+5) 62%
Expresso 78 16 6
Sky 39 52 9
increased, particularly in Diário de Notícias 39
77
51
17 6
10
Guardian
social media. Public Público
Times 39
76
51
18 6
10
broadcaster RTP remains the =2/46 TVI News 38
74 15
55 7
11
Local newspaper
most trusted news brand, Independent
TSF 33
74 20 6
58 9
while popular news brand Rádio Renascença
Telegraph 30
73
56
21 6
14
Correio da Manhã, which RDP Antena
Mail 1 16 47
72 21 7
37
69 22 9
operates across print, TV, and Notícias ao Minuto
45% 27%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Observador 68 24 8
online, is less well trusted. Mirror 11 58 31
Sapo 67 25 8
Sun 10 50 40
Regional/local newspaper 65 76 27 18
8
Buzzfeed News 6
Correio da Manhã 52 19 29
0% 100%
46%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 48% (-2) 73% 4 Facebook Messenger 14% (-2) 55%
2 WhatsApp 21% (+3) 64% 5 Instagram 14% (-) 48%

or email 3 YouTube 20% (-4) 66% 6 Twitter 11% (+3) 20%
ROMANIA
STATISTICS bulletins for weeks. The level of anxiety
and the public pressure were so great
Population 19m
that members of Parliament voted for a
Internet penetration 74% government they had dismissed through
a censure motion some five weeks earlier.
Politicians from all parties accepted the
Rarely, in the medical arguments for restrictions to fight
three decades Coronavirus, allowing for an easier early
since the fall of implementation of lockdown rules.
Communism, By spring 2021, even as cases rose, the

have Romanians been so hungry mood changed and demonstrations
against government measures started.
for up-to-date information But in January–February 2021, when the
to help them take the right Digital News Report survey took place,
decisions, and journalists so ill there was an extraordinarily high degree of
consensus around COVID-19 containment
equipped to provide accurate
measures. This may help explain the
information, with the necessary increased level of trust seen for most
context and explanation. Yet, media brands surveyed.
during this COVID-19 ravaged Journalists, whether stuck at home or in
year, trust in media has actually their newsrooms, were wholly reliant on
increased slightly. information about the pandemic released
by a mysterious Group of Strategic
The level of interest in news was so high Communication, whose membership
during the pandemic that our 2021 data was kept secret for over a year. During the second half of 2020, the government
reveal the first important change in the the two months allowed by law for the was also accused of trying to buy support
last five years in the top brands online. initial state of emergency, the Group from news organisations.70 Several local
Digi24, the online version of the Digi24 was empowered to block media outlets media organisations say, however, that as
continuous news channel, became the spreading conspiracy theories or obvious the pandemic developed, public money
most used brand, thus overtaking the untruths. The closure of several sites met was the only source of income for many
news site of ProTV, the linear TV channel with protests from the Organisation for newsrooms.
that leads our offline brand list. Digi24’s Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and of the People’s Advocate (a Romanian Limited access to information, closed sites
success appears to be due to the public’s
Ombudsman), asking the government to and newsrooms dependent on government
thirst for immediate updates on COVID-19
produce clear criteria for limitations on subsidies – all these would provide cause for
news. According to data from the Joint
freedom of speech during the lockdown, concern in any democracy. Fortunately,
Industry Committee for Print and Internet
particularly since there was no right of the public showed a lively interest in data
(BRAT) Digi24’s traffic spiked at times of
appeal or redress. Later, when the state visualisation and investigative pieces.
increased concern about COVID-19 or the
of emergency was lifted, closed sites were Whistle-blowers inside the medical system,
announcement of new measures.
allowed to reopen. The actions of the trusted local and national newsrooms, and
While ProTV and Digi24 lead in terms Group of Strategic Communication appear breaking news journalists and civic activists
of both consumption and trust, public to have had a signalling effect – suggesting pressured national and local administrations
service radio and TV are also among the unsanctioned newsrooms were telling the for correct, in-depth data and explanations.
top five most trusted media brands. All truth and should be trusted. The very first investigative piece broke on
five – including the radio news channel Facebook,71 one week into the lockdown,
Europa FM – generally tried to maintain a The government also helped with the and was shared more than 5,000 times.
moderate tone and balanced coverage of creation in May 2020 of a €40m fund All these factors kept institutions in
the crisis, even at times of breaking news. intended to make up for the lockdown power accountable.
losses incurred by commercial media.
Nevertheless, much Romanian news Funds were disbursed as payments Raluca-Nicoleta Radu
coverage is sensationalist, with outrage for advertising the state-run COVID-19 University of Bucharest
the stock in trade for many commentators. prevention campaign. Payments were
By 14 March 2020, when President based on audience size, which meant that
Klaus Iohannis announced the state of some worried about rewarding sensational
emergency and lockdown, reports of the and click-bait-based journalism. With local
‘killer virus’ had been leading daily news and parliamentary elections scheduled for
70
Tăpălagă, D. 20 June 2020, ‘What you are Never Going to Find Out from the Media Financed by the Orban Cabinet’, https://www.g4media.ro/ce-nu-veti-auzi-niciodata-de-la-presa-
finantata-de-guvernul-orban-cum-au-capitalizat-liberalii-moguli-care-nu-aveau-nevoie-sau-nu-merita-ajutor.html.
71
https://www.facebook.com/victor.g.ilie/posts/3302943889739618
98 / 99

AND ONLINE Pro TV 61
13 Digi24 online 35
10
Digi24 12
47 Pro TV News online 10
29
TOP BRANDS Antena 1 13

40 Ziare.com 16
28
% Weekly usage Antena 3 9

33 Adevărul online 14
24
România TV 8
29 Libertatea online 13
24
Weekly use 10
27 13
23
TVR (public broadcaster) Mediafax online
TV, radio & print
B1 TV 9
23 Yahoo! News 10
22
Adevărul 13
22 Stiripesurse.ro 11
20
TV, radio & print
Realitatea TV 9
22 HotNews 10
20
Weekly use
online brands Kanal D 8
21 Ziarul Financiar online 9
18
More than 3 days per week Radio Europa FM 8

19 Evenimentul Zilei 10
17
online brands Radio România (public broadcaster) 7
18 Capital online 10
16
Libertatea 12
18 Antena 3 online 6
16

18 România TV online 6
15
Prima TV News 9
17 DCNews 7
15
Free city paper 9

14 Click online 8
14
CHANGING MEDIA
20%
PAY
Romanian audiences rely primarily on TV and online as news
sources. Our survey, conducted in January–February 2021,
captures this well and coincided with the second phase of pay for
vaccination involving large numbers and a consequent ONLINE NEWS
intense period for news consumption.

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
88% Social media
84% 77%
84%
79% 72%
58% 56%
50% 50% TV 50%
22%
17% 17%
11%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in media increased BBC 35 12
slightly, while trust in social ITV 45

76
47 8
14 10
Pro TV
45 50 5
media decreased. The most News overall News I use
FT
Digi 24 75 15 10
Channel 4 42 50 8
trusted brands try to offer a Radio Europa FM 72 18 10
Sky 39 52 9
balanced picture while many
42% (+4) 46%
Radio România 72 17 11
Guardian 39 51 10
other brands have a TVR 69 17 14
Times 39 51 10
reputation for sensationalist Adevărul 38
66 21
55 7
13
or partisan coverage. Seven =22/46 Local newspaper

Capital 66 21 13
Independent 33 58 9
out of ten respondents HotNews
Telegraph 30
63 22
56
15
14
declare they used more than Antena 1 16
60
47
17 23
37
News in search News in social Mail
seven different sources per Libertatea
HuffPost 13
60 23
74
17
13
60 22 18
week, online and offline (a Evenimentul Zilei 11
41% 29%
Mirror 58 31
Kanal D 10 56 25 19
constant in the last five years). Sun 50 40
România TV 54 18 28
Antena 3 51 16 33
0% 100%
33%
SHARE NEWS
2 YouTube 38% (+6) 77% 5 Instagram 13% (+1) 40%

or email 3 WhatsApp 28% (+7) 70% 6 Twitter 9% (+3) 19%
SLOVAKIA
STATISTICS but politicians’ attacks on the media for
alleged bias only briefly subsided post-
Population 5.4m
election. Gone are media boycotts and
Internet penetration 85% bans from press conferences, but Prime
Minister (until 1 April 2021) Igor Matovič
denounced the press in striking language.
Commercial In September he wrote on Facebook
TV stations that the main media organisations
and digital- are ‘in the hands of oligarchs’ paying
journalists to ‘carpet-bomb’ him and his
born news party. Matovič had proposed a state fund
portals remain the dominant to support investigative journalism, an
news sources for Slovaks, whose idea most news organisations rejected:
state ‘meddling’ in journalism is viewed
media use has been influenced sceptically given Slovakia’s history of
by three key events in 2020: the political interference. Our data imply that
Coronavirus pandemic, a change in the idea was unlikely to be welcomed
by the public: just 26% of respondents
government, and the ongoing trial supported government subsidies for
of those suspected of involvement commercial news organisations.
As reported in the 2019 Digital News Report,
in the 2018 murder of investigative
The government proposed several complaints that management fails to protect
journalist Ján Kuciak. During the other media-related policy initiatives, journalists from political pressure led to
year pressure grew on the Director none of which, however, has yet been several resignations. RTVS management, by
General of the public service implemented. A policy document on contrast, views the proposal as a threat to its
combating disinformation was undergoing independence from political influence.
broadcaster, while many media interdepartmental review in early 2021:
outlets were accused of bias by the proposals envisage cooperation Slovaks are highly exposed to Coronavirus-
with the media and NGOs and a public related fake news, with 64% declaring
the new Prime Minister. they had encountered misinformation
alerting system. Another law is planned to
strengthen protection of journalists and their concerning COVID-19. They cited concern
2020 saw increased public interest in
sources. Controversial plans for a monthly about politicians and political parties as a
information provided by audiovisual and
government newspaper with a distribution source of false or misleading information
internet media, driven by the pandemic.
of up to two million were reported to be (37%) followed by ordinary members of the
Rolling news channel TA3 saw its
ready for public tender in March 2021. public (18%). Only 12% believed the news
viewership rise significantly. Aktuality.sk,
media spread misinformation on COVID-19.
a paywall-free, digital-born news website
Public service broadcaster RTVS had a Politicians, including far-right leader
associated with murdered investigative
difficult year, with Director General Jaroslav Marián Kotleba and former PM Robert Fico,
reporter Ján Kuciak, remains the most
Rezník facing accusations of political used social and mass media to challenge
widely read online brand.
favouritism and financial mismanagement. measures aimed at containing the spread of
The centre-right coalition government The broadcaster was criticised for reacting the virus and the vaccination campaign.
which took office on 21 March 2020 slowly to the first wave of the pandemic
and underestimating its newsworthiness. Newspaper sales continue to decline, but
was immediately faced with a public
Commercial rival Markíza, which has the pandemic did not really accelerate the
health crisis. Its communication policy
a higher audience share than RTVS, trend. Some brands increased their digital
on the pandemic has been criticised as
devoted more of its news programming to subscriptions, though not by enough to
chaotic in a country which won praise for
Coronavirus and was first to introduce a make up for the fall in advertising receipts.
its successful containment of the first
regular prime-time slot on the pandemic. Major publishers expected the impact to be
wave with a pre-emptive hard lockdown,
This became the preferred outlet for more severe than it was, but lack of funds
and pioneered mass testing in the
politicians and experts. However, RTVS has meant existential issues for some left-
autumn. However, by winter the country
(along with TA3) seems to have won the wing, conservative, or local media outlets
succumbed to a catastrophic second
battle of trust according to this year’s survey. not under the wing of large corporations.
wave, during which Slovakia briefly had
the world’s highest per capita death rate Andrea Chlebcová Hečková
Legislation is planned to establish an
from Coronavirus. Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra
independent ethics committee at RTVS,
justified by the need to expand public and Simon Smith
Sections of the media had operated in a
oversight from programme content to Charles University, Prague
state of mutual hostility with the previous
Smer-Social Democracy-led government, relations between management and staff.
72
https://www.median.sk/pdf/MML2020/MMLOmnibus_2020_IV_Najobjektivnejsie_TV_spravodajstvo.pdf
100 / 101

AND ONLINE TV Markíza 55
16 aktuality.sk 47
19
TV JOJ 18
54 topky.sk 17
38
TOP BRANDS TA3 15

48 tvnoviny.sk 15
26
% Weekly usage RTVS (public broadcaster) 15

47 sme.sk 13
26
Rádio Expres 13
29 ta3.com 10
25
Weekly use 16
23 11
23
Nový Čas cas.sk
TV, radio & print
SME 10
15 pravda.sk 11
22
Plus 7 dní 11
14 noviny.sk 12
19
TV, radio & print
Pravda 8
12 pluska.sk 9
16
Weekly use
online brands Fun rádio 7
12 dennikn.sk 8
15

10 hnonline.sk 7
12
online brands Rádio Vlna 5
10 refresher.sk 6
12
Denník N 6
9 dnes24.sk 7
11
Plus Jeden Deň 7

9 hlavnespravy.sk 5
10
Rádio Europa 2 4
8 RTVS TV News: 38% webnoviny.sk 7
9
Rádio Jemné 5
8 RTVS Radio News: 23% startitup.sk 5
9
CHANGING MEDIA
13%
PAY
Slovaks are increasingly reliant on smartphones for access
to news. Print is used as a news source by fewer than one
in five adults; just four years ago nearly one-third relied pay for
on newspapers or magazines. ONLINE NEWS

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
86%
74%
64%
Printed newspapers 64%
58% 56%
50%
54%
50% TV
41%
29%
17% 16%
13%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

While overall trust in news
recovered slightly from last BBC 53
65 20
35 12
15
TA3
year’s low-point, almost all News overall News I use
ITV
RTVS
45
63 20
47 8
17
the surveyed brands saw their FT
Aktuality.sk
45
55 26
50 5
19
42 50 8
trust score fall. The biggest Channel 4
30% (+2) 42%

Hospodárske noviny 55 29 16
Sky 39 52 9
decline (-5pp) affected the Rádio Expres 54 30 16
Guardian 39 51 10
country’s leading news source, Regional/local newspaper 53 32 15
TV Markíza, praised by media =43/46 Times

TV JOJ
39
52 25
51 10
23
critics for its pandemic Pravda
33
52 30
58
18
9
Independent
response. Median’s survey TV Markiza 48 25 27
News in search News in social Telegraph 30 56 14
results on perceived objectivity SME
Mail 16
47
47
29 24
37
43 27 30
confirm this trend.72 Denník N
29% 16%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Korzár 41 38 21
Mirror 11 58 31
Plus 7 dni 37 31 32
Sun 10 50 40
topky.sk 35 33 32
Nový Čas 33 29 38
0% 100%
34%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 55% (+1) 72% 4 Instagram 11% (+3) 29%
2 YouTube 26% (+2) 67% 5 WhatsApp 9% (+4) 29%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 19% (+2) 51% 6 Viber 5% (+1) 20%
SPAIN
STATISTICS support, arguing that loans and a reduction
in VAT rates for digital subscriptions from
Population 46m
21% to 4% were insufficient.
Internet penetration 92%
Plans for a so-called ‘Google tax’ were
approved in February 2020 and came into
Governments force in January 2021. The tax, of 3%, on
and the media digital services and online advertising is
predicted to produce around €1bn in 2021.
tried to unite There has been discussion about how
the country in the revenues should be used to support
the battle against COVID-19, while different sectors in difficulty, including
tourism and journalism. Back in 2014
journalists struggled to provide Spain had pioneered the idea of a ‘link
clarity among often contradictory tax’ or ‘snippet tax’ charging platforms for
messages about the pandemic. aggregating news stories. This included
the payment of copyright fees to news
Meanwhile, as demand for
organisations, but led to the closure of
news increased but traditional Google News Spain in December 2014,
revenues fell, many news and the approach was not at that stage
adopted elsewhere. interviews, also inherit audiences from
organisations pushed forward
their popular entertainment programming.
with pay strategies. Developments in the industry and policy Regional public broadcasters’ reach
arenas were reflected in changes in increased as audiences sought the regional
Spanish publishers have embraced digital the editorial leadership of some of the angle on the pandemic as in Spain many
paywalls in the last year, in the face of major Spanish newspapers: four men key policies are made at the regional level.
increased demand for reliable news were appointed editors-in-chief of major
but declining revenue from print and newspapers: Jordi Juan at La Vanguardia, Several firms modernised their products
advertising. According to industry figures Albert Sáez at El Periódico, Javier Moreno in spite of COVID-19 related difficulties.
the left of centre national newspaper El País back at the helm of El País, and Julián El Periódico and La Razón did their most
reached 100,000 digital subscribers just Quirós at ABC. At the ownership level, radical print and online redesigns in
ten months after introducing its paywall Javier Monzón was dismissed as chairman decades. Catalan-language newspaper
in May 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. of PRISA. His replacement, Joseph Ara overhauled its website and apps for its
El Mundo, which started its pay model in Oughourlian, was approved by the new tenth anniversary. ElDiario.es refreshed
October 2019, reported having 60,000 major shareholders, Amber Capital, its site and its quarterly print magazine,
digital subscribers, also by March 2021. Telefónica, and Vivendi. strengthened its newsletter offer, and
Meanwhile, the digital-born ElDiario.es started collaborating on exclusives and
reached 63,000 paying users as it made Public broadcaster RTVE has new video with the smaller digital native
membership compulsory for full access, leadership. The incoming chairman, infoLibre, of which it bought a 10% share.
with free or discounted fees for those José Manuel Pérez Tornero, sworn in
unable to afford it. Joining the freemium in March 2021, is a well-respected and PRISA started SER Podcast,
trend in 2020 were El Confidencial, La experienced Professor of Journalism but complementing digital-native Podium
Vanguardia, and ABC. Our Digital News politicians faced accusations of appointing Podcast. Podimo arrived in Spain in June
Report data also show some people paying some political party loyalists to the 2020 and Audible in October; both signed
for digital versions of local and regional board. TVE had already made significant up well-known Spanish hosts. Barcelona-
papers. Some Vocento regionals had changes in 2020 to its main broadcast based podcast platform iVoox, founded
operated paywalls since 2015 and La Voz channel, boosting political coverage in in 2008 and with a 20% monthly reach in
de Galicia since 2019. In total, the Spanish its midday schedule and modernising the Spain, launched a subscription service in
media market now records about 400,000 presentation of its news bulletin of record, September 2020. Public radio broadcaster
subscribers to online news services Telediario, and its 24-hour news channel RNE now provides more podcast-exclusive
provided by nearly 30 news brands. registered its highest-ever annual audience content and reached a distribution
share. However, RTVE online remains agreement with Spotify.
Despite soaring digital subscriptions, one of the less well used brands and on
the main traditional media groups (PRISA, TV its reach still lags behind commercial Samuel Negredo, Avelino Amoedo,
Unidad Editorial, and Vocento) lost millions rivals Antena 3 and Telecinco, whose Alfonso Vara, Elsa Moreno, and
from COVID-19’s impact on advertising faster-paced news, with high-profile Jürg Kaufmann
and print’s declining sales. Publishers’ presenters providing more commentary University of Navarra
associations requested more government and sometimes hard-hitting political
102 / 103

AND ONLINE Antena 3 News 46
12 El País online 10
21
LaSexta News 10
32 20 Minutos online 7
15
TOP BRANDS Telecinco News 7

30 elDiario.es 7
14
% Weekly usage RTVE (public broadcaster) 9

28 El Mundo online 6
14
Cuatro News 9
21 Antena 3 online 6
14
Weekly use 6
19 6
13
Local public TV or radio news Regional or local newspaper online
TV, radio & print
El País 10
16 El Confidencial 7
12
13 La Vanguardia online 6
12
TV, radio & print
Cadena SER News 4
12 OKDiario 6
11
Weekly use
online brands Local private TV or radio news 5
11 Marca online 4
11
More than 3 days per week El Mundo 6

11 RTVE News online (public broadcaster) 5
11
online brands 20 Minutos 6
10 Local public TV or radio news online 4
10
COPE News 3
10 Telecinco online 4
10
Marca 4
8 ABC online 4
9
La Vanguardia 4
7 LaSexta online 4
9
El Periódico 4
7 Local private TV or radio news online 3
8
CHANGING MEDIA
12% 38%
PAY
Smartphones overtook computers for digital news access four
years ago, and are now twice their level. Changing habits during
the COVID-19 pandemic may have flattened the slow decline of pay for listen to PODCASTS
tablets. Print’s fall as a news source continued. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2013–21
TV 2013–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
79% 78% Online (incl. social media) 78%
72%
61%
55% 56%
50% 50% TV
35% 36%
28% 26%
17%
13%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in the news remains at its
53 35 12
lowest level since 2015 and the BBC
53 30 17
ITV
general figures show no News overall News I use Antena 3 53 25 22
FT 45 50 5
change on 2020. When users Cadena SER 49 27 24
Channel 4 42 50 8
are asked about specific media
36% (-) 41%
RTVE (public broadcaster) 48 27 25
Sky 39 52 9
brands, trust shows a El País 39
48 29
51
23
10
Guardian
remarkable decrease in all LaSexta
Times 39
46 26
51
28
10
cases and only regional/local =33/46 El Mundo 38
45 28 27
55 7
Local newspaper
newspapers and Antena 3 La Vanguardia
Independent 33
43 31
58
26
9
reach more than 50% of ElTelegraph
Periódico 30
42 34
56
24
14
approval. COPE
Mail 16
41
47
26 33
37
elDiario.es 41 34 25
30% 24%
HuffPost 13 74 13
ABC 40 29 31
Mirror 11 58 31
El Confidencial 39 34 27
Sun 10 50 40
20 Minutos 38 37 76 25
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Telecinco 35 28 37
0% 100%
46%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 39% (-5) 66% 4 Twitter 19% (-1) 33%

or email 3 YouTube 21% (-4) 70% 6 Telegram 8% (+3) 23%
SWEDEN
STATISTICS news. DNR data show that many of the
online subscriptions go to four national
Population 10m
newspapers, Aftonbladet, Expressen, Dagens
Internet penetration 96% Nyheter, and Svenska Dagbladet. Sweden’s
local news sector, comprising more than
a hundred local titles, has also been
Amid continued successful in attracting paying customers
falls in online – accounting for more than a third
revenues from (37%) of the total. However, it should be
noted that subscription data include those
advertising, taking out short-term trial subscriptions
traditional and commercial and special offers. One study found major
news journalism in Sweden is differences between subscribers, with
short-term subscribers showing much
nowadays mainly financed by paid less involvement and activity with the
subscriptions, and increasingly news compared to users with long-term
supported by diverse subsidies. ones.73 Altogether, in 2020 nearly five out
of ten Swedes lived in a household with
Sweden is marked by wide-reaching a subscription for news (print or digital),
broadband access and digital innovation, whereas in the 1980s eight out of ten did.74
with global platform companies also
Despite the pandemic, according to the
gaining a strong foothold. Public service
Swedish Newspaper Association the
broadcasters and newspapers have long
national and local morning newspapers
had a strong presence in the Swedish media
increased their overall reader revenues
market, and nowadays compete for attention
slightly in 2020. The improvement
online alongside a plethora of information
was driven by online subscriptions, larger population. The €144m total for
sources, including alternative news media.
where revenues were up 45% on 2019, 2020 compared to €62.7m in 2019 and
Public service broadcasters, Swedish counteracting the impact of lower income included one-off payments of €29.6m in
Television (SVT) and Swedish Radio (SR), from print subscriptions, down 4%, and general editorial support and €14.8m in
continue to play significant roles in the declining advertising revenues, 21% COVID support. News publishers have
Swedish media landscape, and their down compared to 2019.75 The global generally reorganised to work remotely,
legitimacy is associated with offering platform companies continue to take the using digital platforms and tools such
content for everyone and a wide reach majority of the digital advertising spend as Slack and Teams to coordinate news
among the public. Older citizens regularly in Sweden, leaving publishers struggling production activities.
turn to PSBs, but they must work harder to to compete. Nevertheless, Swedish media
companies have invested heavily in using Our survey findings suggest SVT,
reach the young. In this regard, SR actively
data and analytics to acquire and engage commercial channel TV4, SR, and local
works with third-party platforms such as
online users and to maximise advertising newspapers are the most widely used
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify,
and in 2020 the local news organisation legacy news media, whereas Swedes
focusing on audio and storytelling. SVT is
MittMedia became the global INMA winner predominantly turn to SVT and the evening
also present on third-party platforms, yet
for ‘Best use of data analytics or research’. tabloids Aftonbladet and Expressen for their
tends to be more concerned about allowing
online news. Several alternative online
platforms to collect and analyse metrics
The COVID-19 crisis has affected Sweden news media, Fria Tider, Nyheter Idag, and
about their audiences. Many commercial
and Swedish news media in various ways. Samhällsnytt, which appear near the
news media companies in Sweden
Sweden has not enforced a strict lockdown, bottom of our list of news sources used
have also developed more restrictive
but the authorities have imposed multiple each week, largely appeal to right-wing
approaches to platform companies.
restrictions, and have also increased audiences and secure about 7% weekly
There is a long history of Swedes financial support to all struggling sectors, reach each.
subscribing to newspapers. Nearly as well as more specific subsidies to
the news industry. In 2020 a total of Oscar Westlund
one-third (30%) have paid for online
€144m was granted in direct support Oslo Metropolitan University, Volda University
news in the last year according to the
to commercial Swedish news media, College, and University of Gothenburg.
Digital News Report survey, which places
Sweden among the countries with the placing the Swedish subsidy scheme very
highest percentage paying for online significantly ahead of all the other Nordic
countries even after allowing for Sweden’s
73
Wadbring, I., Bergström, L. ‘Audiences behind the Paywall: News Navigation among Established versus Newly Added Subscribers’, Digital Journalism (2021).
DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2021.1878919
74
Ohlson, J., Blach-Ørsten, M., Willig, I. Covid-19 och de nordiska nyhetsmedierna (Gothenburg: Nordicom, 2021).
75
’Hushållen lägger mer pengar på nyheter’, TU Mediefakta, 11 Mar. 2021. https://tu.se/mediefakta/hushallen-lagger-mer-pengar-pa-nyheter/
104 / 105

AND ONLINE SVT News (public television) 57
14 Aftonbladet online 41
9
TV4 News 16
52 SVT News online 11
34
TOP BRANDS SR News (public radio) 10

34 Expressen online 10
30

21
Aftonbladet 5
15
Weekly use 6
12 6
13
Expressen Dagens Nyheter online
TV, radio & print
Dagens Nyheter 5
10 Nyheter 24 (News 24) 8
12
CNN 5
10 SR News online 6
12
TV, radio & print
BBC News 3
7 Svenska Dagbladet online 5
10
Weekly use
online brands Svenska Dagbladet 3
6 CNN.com 4
8
More than 3 days per week Göteborgs-Posten 3

6 Göteborgs-Posten online 3
8
online brands News media from outside Sweden 3 4 BBC News online 4
8
Dagens Industri 2 4 Fria Tider 3

7
Sydsvenska Dagbladet 2 4 Samhällsnytt 4

7
Uppsala Nya Tidning 3 Nyheter Idag 4

7
Helsingsborgs Dagblad 2 Dagens Industri online 2 5
CHANGING MEDIA
30% 37%
PAY
Swedes continue to mainly use their smartphone for online
news, followed by computers or tablets. These patterns have
remained stable over time, as has social media use, for which pay for listen to PODCASTS
Facebook is most important in general and for news. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2016–21
TV 2016–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
89% Social media
84%
72% 69% 71%
67%
64%newspapers
Printed
56%
50%
43% 47% 50% TV 48%
34%
26% 25%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Half (50%) of Swedes say
53 35 12
they trust the news overall, BBC
77 11 12
SVT News (public TV) 45 47 8
ITV
significantly up from last News overall News I use SR News (public radio) 76 12 12
FT 45 50 5
year. As elsewhere, trust is Regional/local newspaper 71 18 11
Channel 4 42 50 8
higher in the news media
50% (+12) 56%
Dagens Industri 69 21 10
Sky 39 52 9
individuals use, but with Dagens Nyheter 39
67 18
51
15
10
Guardian
unusually low levels of trust Svenska Dagbladet
Times 39
67 19
51
14
10
in news found via social =14/46 TV4 News 38
64 21
55 7
15
Local newspaper
media. SVT, SR, and local Aftonbladet
Independent 33
51 21
58
28
9
media are most trusted, Expressen
Telegraph 30
50 23
56
27
14
followed by quality Ledarsidorna
Mail 16
49
47
31 20
37
45 29 26
newspapers. Nyheter 24
30% 16%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Nyheter Idag 41 33 26
Mirror 11 58 31
Samhällsnytt 41 30 29
Sun 10 50 40
NyaNews
Tider 6 26 26 76 48
18
Buzzfeed
Fria Tider 26 23 51
0% 100%
21%
SHARE NEWS
2 YouTube 14% (-2) 61% 5 Twitter 7% (-1) 14%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 10% (+1) 52% 6 WhatsApp 4% (+1) 22%
SWITZERLAND
STATISTICS listed holding company in 2020. The
new structure includes news companies
Population 8.6m
Tamedia (offering subscription media such
Internet penetration 94% as Tages-Anzeiger) and 20 Minuten (popular
free-sheets) which lost money due to
falling advertising revenues, together with
Swiss media profitable marketing activities and online
operate within marketplaces, but their profits are not
linguistically intended to cover deficits elsewhere.
distinct and The quality of news coverage of the

relatively small markets. Despite pandemic has generally been good, with
multiple angles covered and authoritative
enjoying increasing trust in the journalism.77 This might help explain the
COVID-19 pandemic, most media recent rise in trust (+7pp). Data journalism
companies have only weathered has received a boost, as outlets such as
tagesanzeiger.ch have compared data on
additional economic pressure
the pandemic. A ‘pivot to video’, however,
due to state subsidies, further seems to be limited to tabloid journalism,
cost-cutting, and revenues from with blick.ch launching Blick TV for its
digital news and 20minuten.ch increasing The public service broadcasters, i.e. SRF
non-journalistic activities. in German-speaking and RTS in French-
video output also for mobile news
consumption. Newsletters have become speaking Switzerland, as the most trusted
COVID-19 has hit the finances of
a common feature. Offering more than sources have seen significant increases
Switzerland’s media companies hard,
just a list of news articles, crowdfunded in their online audiences (up 10pp and
particularly those reliant on advertising
start-up Republik (which reported 28,000 6pp respectively), but reach online still
or print sales, with our figures showing a
subscribers in April 2021), for instance, significantly trails that offline. SRF’s move
seven percentage point decline in print as
has used a ‘Covid 19 Uhr’ (COVID 7 pm) to drop some well-known radio and TV
a news source. However, most companies
newsletter to provide more analysis. cultural programmes, and launch digital
remain profitable or have managed to
formats on YouTube and Instagram or a
contain losses, for multiple reasons. Developing digital business models multilingual video streaming platform,
First, many have received emergency remains challenging. Swiss media has been criticised both by commercial
state funding and, like other companies, companies collaborated to create ‘OneLog’, competitors and the cultural sector. RTS
direct support for wage bills during a system to provide users a single login is also under scrutiny after revelations of
the pandemic. Second, several media for online news content – both free and sexual harassment, reflecting growing
companies have intensified cost-cutting paid – from multiple providers, while awareness of gender discrimination and the
measures, including by reducing spend on companies hope to get better data for lack of diversity within the sector as a whole.
journalists. Recent years had already seen advertising. Generally, however, digital is
the rise of a joint venture CH Media (AZ intensifying competition and pressures Media policy is slowly adapting to the
Medien and NZZ Mediengruppe) and the on costs, increasing the need for new digital transformation. A proposed law is
implementation of centralised newsrooms funding models. Most of the top online expected to deliver a 30m Swiss franc direct
sharing national and international news brands are free to access and reliant on subsidy to online news providers, including
across formerly independent news brands. advertising. Watson.ch, an online pure both legacy and digital-born companies
TX Group, which has been following the player specialising in native advertising but that sum pales in comparison with
same path since 2018, plans to further and offering a mix of hard news and soft the planned 80–100m planned to support
centralise news production, sharing news, has recently started a spin-off in print distribution. In an already highly
local news between different titles and French-speaking Switzerland. Ringier, the concentrated media market, this proposed
possibly reducing the coverage of some publisher of Zurich-based tabloid blick.ch, media support might not be enough to
municipalities, which will increase ‘media has recently sold its prestigious French- substantially increase diversity and
content concentration’.76 Loss of distinct language quality paper Le Temps to a non- quality in the online sector.
local coverage matters, particularly in profit foundation (Fondation Aventinus)
Switzerland as a federal country where Linards Udris and Mark Eisenegger
but launches a French-speaking version
many important political decisions Research Center for the Public Sphere &
of blick.ch in June 2021. While some see
are decided at the regional and local Society, Department of Communication and
this as welcome investment in the small,
level. Third, several commercial media Media Research, University of Zurich
underdeveloped French-speaking market,
companies have been diversifying into critics see it as motivated primarily by the
more profitable activities. TX Group, desire to create a single national market
for instance, reorganised as a publicly for online advertising.
76
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1761865
77
http://www.foeg.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:efe9e096-c9a1-4c33-b255-876200f5e40c/Main_Findings_2020.pdf
106 / 107
WEEKLY REACH OFFLINE TV, RADIO AND PRINT (GERMAN) ONLINE (GERMAN)
AND ONLINE SRF News (public broadcaster) 66
17 20 minuten online 49
11
20 minuten 14
44 SRF News online 14
32
TOP BRANDS German public TV news 10

25 Blick and Blick am Abend online 8
27
% Weekly usage Private TV news 8

22 Watson 9
20
German private TV news 9

21 Bluewin News 7
18
Weekly use 7
18 nau.ch 7
17
Blick
TV, radio & print
Private radio news 8
17 gmx 6
12
Regional/local newspaper 9
15 Tages-Anzeiger online 4
11
TV, radio & print
Tages-Anzeiger 6
12 NZZ online 5
10
Weekly use
online brands CNN 4
9 Teletext online 4
9
More than 3 days per week BBC News 4

8 SRF TV News: 47% Regional/local newspaper online 5
9
online brands 6
8 SRF Radio News: 41% CNN.com 4
7
SonntagsZeitung
17% PAY
RTS News (public broadcaster)
20
74 20 minutes online
ONLINE (FRENCH)
54
10
pay for 20 minutes 17

50 RTS News online 17
37
ONLINE NEWS French private TV news 12

33 Le Matin (incl. Sunday) 13
24
French public TV news 12

26 Bluewin.ch 7
20
French 22% | German 15%
24 heures 8
19 24 heures.ch 8
19
Le Matin Dimanche 12
17 Teletext online 7
15
Private radio news 7

16 MSN News 7
11
35%
Le Temps 8
15 Tribune de Genève online 4
10

11 Le Temps online 6
10
Private TV news 6
10 Le Nouvelliste online 4
10
listen to PODCASTS Tribune de Genève 5

10 RTS TV News: 58% Yahoo! News 6
9
in the last month La Liberté 4

9 RTS Radio News:40% Arcinfo.ch 3
9

2016–21
TV 2016–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
82% 82%
69%
61%
Printed newspapers
63% 59% 60%
47% 50%
53%
50% 47% TV
37%
29% 24%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
TRUST DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUST

Overall news trust is up by seven percentage
points, most likely linked to greater reliance on
the media during COVID-19. In terms of brands,
public broadcasters are the most trusted in both
German- and French-speaking areas, followed
51% (+7) 58% 29% 20%
13/46
by local newspapers and quality newspapers.
French 44% French 51% French 24% French 14%
Tabloids and digital-born brands are least trusted.
German 53% German 60% German 32% German 22%
GERMAN FRENCH
SRF News 77 9 RTS News 76 7
Rank Brand For news For All
Regional or local newspaper 68 9 Regional or local newspaper 72 7
NZZ 67 10 Le Temps 72 7
1 WhatsApp 30% (+4) 80%
Tages-Anzeiger 67 11 24 heures 68 8
NZZ am Sonntag 66 10 Tribune de Genève 63 9
SonntagsZeitung 61 13 Le Matin 63 14
2 Facebook 27% (-3) 57%
Private radio news 60 12 Private TV news 63 9
Aargauer Zeitung 54 11 La Liberté 61 8 3 YouTube 24% (-) 63%

Tele Züri 53 16 20 minutes 58 21
20 minuten 53 23 Private Radio news 58 11 4 Instagram 13% (+2) 40%

Bluewin 49 18 Le Nouvelliste 57 9
Watson Arcinfo
45 19 53 12
5 Facebook Messenger 8% (-1) 28%
Blick 38 39 Bluewin 49 15
gmx 37 24 MSN News 32 27
MSN News 37 25 Yahoo! News 30 30

6 Twitter 6% (-) 12%
0% 100% 0% 100%
TURKEY
STATISTICS journalists, have found themselves facing
prosecution for their posts.79 In the second
Population 83m
half of 2020, the Turkish government
Internet penetration 83% amended existing internet laws (mainly Law
no. 5651) to require popular social media
platforms to have a legal base in Turkey with
In a news an in-country representative to respond to
environment content removal requests. According to the
dominated by government, these new regulations – which
raised concerns over freedom of speech –
pro-government are aimed at protecting citizen rights and
voices, citizens looking for are based on the ‘German model’.80 All the
different perspectives are big social networks – including Twitter
which is often at the centre of political
increasingly turning to online debates – have agreed to work within these
news outlets, social media, and new laws. The growing popularity of closed
private messaging apps. But messaging apps such as WhatsApp (30% for
news) and Telegram (13% for news) is likely
independent news organisations due, at least in part, to the pressures on free Communications has recently announced
have faced greater threats to expression applied to other outlets. preparations for its own fact-checking
their editorial and financial platform called ‘Doğru mu?’
Despite this background, smaller online
independence over the last year. news outlets, such as Medyascope, Fox TV (54%), followed by the 24-hour news
dokuz8news, or Duvar, still have a large channel CNN Türk (33%) and Sözcü (32%),
Ranked 153rd out of 180 countries in press social media following and provide a range continue to be the most popular offline
freedom by Reporters Without Borders, of alternative news and commentaries. sources of news. Sondakika.com, CNN Türk
Turkey remains a difficult environment for Podcasts are also gradually becoming a online, and Sözcü online appear to be among
independent journalism. Media outlets, significant source of news commentary as the most used online sources. Sözcü is still
particularly those critical of the well as shows on lifestyle and entertainment. seen as an independent outlet, critical of
government, are under constant political the government, albeit in a difficult political
and financial pressure. In the past year, the The pandemic further damaged the environment. In contrast, the recent
Turkish media regulator, the Radio and political and financial conditions for acquisition of CNN Türk and Hürriyet by a
Television Supreme Council, and the official independent journalism in Turkey. pro-government business group has raised
Press Advertising Agency issued several Journalists working for local and national concerns that their coverage can no longer
broadcast and advertising bans, as well as news outlets were prosecuted or detained be regarded as unbiased. NTV is also seen
imposing fines on outlets seen as critical of for their reporting on COVID-19.81 Print as relatively impartial.
the government. These include Fox TV and newspaper sales, already in decline before
Halk TV and newspapers such as Birgün and the first COVID-19 case, slumped following International brands like the BBC (20%
Cumhuriyet. Olay TV, a TV channel created in the introduction of lockdown measures weekly use online) are increasing their
November 2020, was closed by their main in Turkey. With the oldest (65+) groups presence in Turkey’s digital news market
shareholder after just 26 days, a decision its hardest hit, news brands struggled to reach and providing more Turkish-language
journalists blamed on pressure from their most loyal readers and purchasers of stories. Social media sites, such as Twitter,
government officials unhappy with what print newspapers. YouTube, and Instagram, are an essential
they saw as favourable coverage of a access route for these brands. For instance,
pro-Kurdish opposition party.78 Misinformation has become an increasing +90 – a new online outlet founded as a
concern for many during the pandemic, joint venture between Deutsche Welle,
In addition, thousands of websites and including the Turkish authorities who have BBC, France24, and Voice of America – is
online news have been blocked, and investigated citizens for sharing ‘baseless increasingly popular on Instagram and
legal action has been taken to remove and provocative’ information.82 Turkey has YouTube, and publishes stories on youth
news stories. Despite this, social media a number of internationally recognised poverty and fundamental rights, which are
have become a significant source for fact-checking organisations, such as teyit.org, largely ignored in the traditional media.
independent perspectives, with 61% in our who regularly debunk misleading
data saying they use it for news. However, Coronavirus-related claims. Fact-checking is, Nic Newman
self-censorship on social media has become however, becoming an increasingly contested Senior Research Associate, Reuters Institute
common as social media users, including issue, as the Presidential Directorate of for the Study of Journalism
78
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-26/turkish-tv-outlet-shuts-as-journalists-blame-government-pressure
79
https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2020
80
https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-53480762
81
https://rsf.org/en/news/turkish-journalists-arrested-reporting-covid-19-cases; https://www.coe.int/en/web/media-freedom/detail-alert?p_p_id=sojdashboard_WAR_
coesojportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_col_id=column-3&p_p_col_count=7&_sojdashboard_WAR_coesojportlet_alertPK=63989191
82
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-detains-510-people-for-provocative-covid-19-posts-on-social-media-154989
108 / 109

AND ONLINE Fox TV News 54
11 Sondakika.com 30
13
CNN Türk 13
33 CNN Türk online 13
30
TOP BRANDS Sözcü 13

32 Sözcü online 8
27
% Weekly usage NTV 12

30 NTV online 11
25
Show TV 10
28 Mynet 9
23
Weekly use 10
27 11
22
Habertürk TV TRT news online
TV, radio & print
Hürriyet 16
26 Hürriyet online 13
22
TRT News (public broadcaster) 10
25 Cumhuriyet online 9
20
TV, radio & print
Kanal D News 10
20
Weekly use
online brands ATV News 9
24 Haberler.com 10
18
More than 3 days per week Star TV 10

24 Habertürk online 8
18
online brands Cumhuriyet 12
22 İnternethaber 10
17
Milliyet 11
20 memurlar.net 8
17
Sabah 12
19 Milliyet online 7
16
A Haber 8
19 Ensonhaber 8
15
Halk TV 6
18 AA (Anadolu Ajansı) 7
15
METHODOLOGY NOTE
In 2021 we changed the panel providers for our online survey in Turkey as part of continued efforts to make our data as accurate as possible.
Although we have used the same quotas on age, gender, and region, attempts to interpret change from 2020 to 2021 should be avoided.
See Methodology on p. 6 for further information.

2015–21
TV 2015–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
88%
75% 75%
67% 61% 65%
Printed newspapers
60% 57%
50% 50% 50% TV
40%
30% 24%
19%
0% 0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Fox News, Cumhuriyet, and
53 35 12
NTV are three brands that our BBC
13 71 16
Fox TV News 45 47 8
ITV
respondents rate most highly News overall News I use Cumhuriyet 63 18 19
FT 45 50 5
in terms of trust – with NTV News 62 18 20
Channel 4 42 50 8
partisan brands generally less
41% (-14) 47%
Sözcü 61 18 21
Sky 39 52 9
trusted. Overall trust in the Habertürk 39
60 21
51
19
10
Guardian
news is down this year, though CNN Türk
Times 39
59 17
51
24
10
this headline number could =24/46 TRT News 38
55 14
55 7
31
Local newspaper
have been affected by the Kanal D News
Independent 33
51 21
58
28
9
switch to a new panel provider. AA (Anadolu Ajansı)
Telegraph 30
51 16
56
33
14
Odatv
Mail 16 47 37
Hürriyet 50 20 30
40% 36%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Milliyet 49 23 28
Mirror 11 58 31
Show TV News 49 21 30
Sun 10 50 40
45 27 28
Buzzfeed Birgün
News 6 76 18
Sabah 44 19 37
0% 100%
44%
SHARE NEWS
1 YouTube 40% (-5) 71% 4 Facebook 30% (-19) 54%
2 Twitter 34% (+4) 48% 5 WhatsApp 30% (-1) 72%

or email 3 Instagram 34% (-7) 64% 6 Telegram 13% (+8) 34%
110 / 111
S E C T I O N 3

Americas
AMERICAS
3.25 United States 112
3.26 Argentina 114
3.27 Brazil 116
3.28 Canada 118
3.29 Chile 120
3.30 Colombia 122
3.31 Mexico 124
3.32 Peru 126
USA
STATISTICS Another factor, though, may be declining
attention to the Coronavirus pandemic;
Population 327m
just 31% of US adults were following COVID
Internet penetration 96% news closely in a March 2021 Pew survey,
down from 37% at the end of November
and 57% in March 2020.85
US news
organisations While the early months of the pandemic
coincided with record traffic levels for
have struggled many news outlets, the loss of advertisers,
to cover a distribution, events, and other revenue
pandemic that has claimed more sources took a devastating toll. One
consultancy report suggested the media
than 500,000 lives, along with industry lost more than 30,000 jobs
the contentious 2020 presidential in 2020, with national outlets such
election, a racial reckoning as BuzzFeed, Vice, Vox, and HuffPost
announcing furloughs and layoffs.
marked by nationwide protests,
BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost in February
and a violent attack on the Capitol but subsequently announced cuts racial reckoning. Notably, the New York
by supporters of the outgoing affecting 47 US employees. Times editorial page editor resigned after
staff outcry over a column by Arkansas
president. The unrelenting news Local newsrooms faced particularly acute Senator Tom Cotton calling to ‘send in the
cycle seemed to take a toll on challenges. By February 2021, more than troops’ against protesters, the Philadelphia
audiences as well, with declines in 60 local newsrooms across the country Inquirer’s top editor left in response to staff
had closed, including those owned by rebuke of a ‘Buildings Matter, Too’ headline,
consumption, interest, and trust large chains (CNHI) and local families and editors at Variety and Bon Appetit
in the news. and many that had been operating for stepped down amid concerns about a lack
more than a century.86 These closures, of newsroom diversity. Calls for enhanced
The long-predicted end of the ‘Trump as well as layoffs, furloughs, and reduced representation in newsrooms and news
bump’ showed up clearly in our Digital print days, exacerbated concerns about coverage also spurred the creation of
News Report survey, with a seven the rise of news deserts in the US, The 19th*, a racially, ideologically, and
percentage point drop in the most avid where nearly 1,800 newspapers have socio-economically diverse non-profit
news users (who access once a day or closed since 2004.87 These declines have news outlet led by women and focused on
more), along with a decline of 11 percentage amplified calls for public funding for US covering stories related to gender, politics,
points in respondents who are ‘extremely’ media, including opportunities to confer and policy, including the 2020 election, the
or ‘very’ interested in news. Industry data non-profit status on news organisations pandemic, race, the LGBTQ+ community,
echoed this trend, with national news and create subsidies supporting new health care, and business.
brands especially hard hit.83 Online traffic journalism outlets and initiatives.
to the New York Times and Washington Post Meanwhile San Francisco-based Substack
in February 2021 fell sharply from January’s More positively, the New York Times has been making headlines for attracting
peak – 17% and 26%, respectively – and attracted a record 2.3 million digital-only high-profile journalists away from
was also down year-over-year, according to subscriptions in 2020 and, for the first time, established news outlets with a platform
ComScore data. Meanwhile, by mid-March saw its digital revenue overtake print. The for monetising subscription digital
CNN and MSNBC lost 45% and 26% of Washington Post, whose digital subscriptions newsletters. It now features the likes of
their prime-time audiences respectively, have reached nearly 3 million, announced in Vox co-founder Matthew Yglesias, Rolling
from highs in January. December 2020 that it would add 150 jobs Stone contributing editor Matt Taibbi,
in 2021, resulting in the largest newsroom BuzzFeed senior technology reporter Alex
The collective tuning out was no surprise in the company’s history. Kantrowitz, and New Republic climate
after an unusually bitter election reporter Emily Atkin, with some journalists
culminating in a second impeachment The summer of protests sparked by the
drawing hundreds of thousands of dollars
trial and the political exit (for now) of an death of 46-year-old George Floyd at the
in subscription revenues.
extraordinarily divisive and attention- hands of four Minneapolis police officers
grabbing president. As a former CNN in May 2020 drew millions of people to Joy Jenkins
head predicted in August, ‘What would go the streets across the country and caught University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and
away is the bad guy in the story. There’s no the attention of news audiences. However, Lucas Graves
antagonist. So what are we tuning in for?’84 media organisations faced their own University of Wisconsin-Madison
83
https https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/media-trump-bump-slump/2021/03/22/5f13549a-85d1-11eb-bfdf-4d36dab83a6d_story.html
84
https://digiday.com/media/theres-no-antagonist-news-outlets-mull-the-possible-end-of-their-editorial-and-business-side-trump-bump-bonanza/
85
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/26/attention-to-covid-19-news-drops-but-democrats-still-substantially-more-interested-than-republicans/
86
https://www.poynter.org/locally/2021/the-coronavirus-has-closed-more-than-60-local-newsrooms-across-america-and-counting/
87
https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/loss-of-local-news/loss-newspapers-readers/
112 / 113

AND ONLINE Local TV news 26
8 CNN.com 18
6
Fox News 7
25 Yahoo! News 6
16
TOP BRANDS CNN 8

24 New York Times online 6
15
% Weekly usage ABC News 9

20 Fox News online 5
14
NBC/MSNBC News 5
20 Local TV news online 6
14
Weekly use 9
20 6
13
CBS News NBC/MSNBC News online
TV, radio & print
Local radio news 6
14 Washington Post online 6
12
14 HuffPost 6
11
TV, radio & print
BBC News 4
10 BuzzFeed News 7
11
Weekly use
online brands New York Times 5
11
More than 3 days per week NPR News 4

10 MSN News 5
10
online brands PBS News 5
9 ABC News online 4
9
Newsmax TV 4
9 CBS News online 4
8
USA Today 5
8 Newsmax online 3
8
The Rush Limbaugh Show 3

8 USA Today online 5
8
Washington Post 3
7 NPR News online 4
8
CHANGING MEDIA
21% 37%
PAY
All major channels for news – TV, print, online, and social – saw
parallel declines as regular news sources, with print and TV
dropping to historic lows after small gains in 2020. pay for listen to PODCASTS
ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2013–21
TV 2013–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media

72% 71%
52%
50% 47% 50% TV
45%
42%
27% 28%
16% 18%
16%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Overall trust measures
53 35 12
remained flat in the US, with BBC
58 22 20
Local TV news 45 47 8
ITV
only tiny dips for trust in ‘news News overall News I use CBS News 48 21 31
FT 45 50 5
I use’ and ‘news in social’. ABC News 48 20 32
Channel 4 42 50 8
These findings highlight the
29% (-) 44%
BBC News 47 28 25
Sky 39 52 9
challenges of translating Wall Street Journal 39
46 27
51
27
10
Guardian
2020’s surging news usage into NBC/MSNBC News
Times 39
46 19
51
35
10
long-term trust-building in the 46/46 CNN 38
45 18 37
55 7
Local newspaper
highly polarised American New York Times
Independent 33
44 23
58
33
9
market. Cable news channels NPR News
Telegraph 30
44 25
56
31
14
Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC WashingtonMail
Post 16
43
47
25 32
37
43 26 31
have some of the highest USA Today
22% 13%
HuffPost 13 74 13
HuffPost 36 28 36
levels of distrust. Mirror 11 58 31
Fox News 35 19 46
Sun 10 50 40
Yahoo!News
News 6 34 31 76 35
18
Buzzfeed
BuzzFeed News 30 33 37
0% 100%
31%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 28% (-7) 58% 4 Facebook Messenger 9% (-) 40%
2 YouTube 23% (-1) 60% 5 Instagram 8% (-) 31%

or email 3 Twitter 13% (-4) 25% 6 WhatsApp 6% (+2) 15%
ARGENTINA
STATISTICS perceived as pro-government, regardless
of which party is in power, a result perhaps
Population 44m
of the lack of independent funding and
Internet penetration 93% oversight.
Despite COVID-19, news consumption

Coronavirus has in Argentina declined across television,
placed fresh online, social, and print. Lower print
circulations led to newspapers either
pressures on the setting up, or tightening, paywalls.
news industry Perfil, which publishes print editions
in Argentina, one of the biggest at weekends, told readers ‘every day it
becomes more difficult for us to sustain
media markets in South America. structures that allow us to carry out
Journalists have provided detailed critical, incisive journalism, [which is] by
coverage of the epidemic and definition expensive’.88 The top-selling
print newspapers, Clarín and La Nación,
lockdowns, but lower revenues
which had launched their paywalls in 2017,
left many major news companies reached 300,000 digital subscribers each
dependent on state subsidies. for the first time. Despite the economic
crisis, 15% of respondents reported paying
On the first day of the Coronavirus for online news, compared to 11% a year
lockdown in Argentina, the country’s before. Subscriptions to entertainment
major daily newspapers did something platforms, such as Netflix and Disney+,
unusual: they put aside partisanship also increased. Infobae, the top news brand
and agreed to run the same front-page in weekly usage, remains the only major
headline. On a blue background, the online news outlet with no paywall or the pandemic has further complicated
headline read: ‘We will stop this virus voluntary subscription model. matters. The government launched a
together. Let’s make responsibility go programme to subsidise salaries across the
viral.’ The next few months saw the story Loss in print revenue also led news outlets private sector (ATP, Emergency Assistance
grow – in the following six months, six to expand their video strategies. La Nación to Labor and Production), and several
of the ten most popular stories from the revamped its cable channel, La Nación +, media companies benefited.
websites of La Nación, Clarín, Infobae, which had launched in 2016, hiring
and Página/12 were about the pandemic anchors and journalists and investing A variety of media players – big and small,
(Zunino and Arcangeletti Yacante 2020). in new studios. Perfil, which had set up national and regional – are taking part in
But as deaths increased, and lockdown its own terrestrial television channel Google News Showcase, a programme
measures including school closures in 2018, Net TV, also hired new staff which gives them prominence in Google
became increasingly unpopular, coverage and refreshed its programming. Grupo News listings and helps them monetise
became once again more polarised. Octubre, parent company of left-wing their content. Thirty-one companies are
Outlets generally reverted to type, daily Página/12, launched another taking part, including Clarín, La Nación,
mirroring their normal pro- or anti- cable news channel, IP. These three Perfil, and Infobae, and also regional
government stances. Clarín, La Nación, new networks join TN (owned by Grupo companies such as El Litoral from the
and Infobae adopted a more negative tone Clarín), Crónica, C5N, Canal 26, and Province of Santa Fe. The selected
and Página/12 maintained its alignment América 24, making a total of eight companies include pro- and anti-
with the government. Cable news did news networks in a country of 45 million government media. Smaller media who
the same: TN and La Nación + tended to people. Ratings are low: top-rated TN, were not included fear marginalisation,
oppose President Alberto Fernández and which is also the most popular offline and though it has not been announced how
his policies, while TV channels C5N and IP brand in this report, had an average much each player stands to earn from the
generally supported him. daily viewership of less than 200,000. programme, outlets which were included
Infobae, rather than investing in its own have publicly expressed their satisfaction
Polarised coverage might explain the TV infrastructure, put programmes on with the arrangement.
relatively low levels of trust in news, which YouTube, including a documentary on
only 36% of respondents find credible, and the last days of Diego Maradona, which Eugenia Mitchelstein and
the high levels of distrust in well-known reached more than 3 million viewers. Pablo J. Boczkowski
brands. The Public Broadcasting System, Center for the Study of Media and Society,
which includes Televisión Pública and Although the media industry in Argentina Argentina (MESO)
Radio Nacional, plays a minor role and has been under economic hardship
does not serve as a trusted source. It is since the start of the recession in 2018,
88
https://www.perfil.com/noticias/medios/carta-a-los-lectores-de-perfil-por-el-lanzamiento-del-paywall.phtml
114 / 115

AND ONLINE TN (Todo Noticias) 37
10 Infobae 46
17
Telefe News 12
34 TN online 12
32
TOP BRANDS Canal 13 News 10

26 Clarín online 12
25
% Weekly usage C5N 8

25 La Nación online 11
21
América TV News 8
21 Minuto Uno 9
14
Weekly use 8
21
A24 A24 online 7
14
TV, radio & print
Regional/local newspaper 12
20 Regional/local newspaper online 6
13
Clarín 12
18 Olé 5
12
TV, radio & print
Crónica TV News 8
16 4
10
Weekly use Página/12
online brands Canal 26 News 8
16 Public TV and radio news online 5
10
More than 3 days per week Canal 9 News 8
15 Crónica News online 4
8
online brands TV pública news (public broadcaster) 7
14 4
8
El Destape Web
La Nación 8
12 MDZ online 3
7
Regional or local TV news 4
11 Cadena 3 online 3
7
Radio Mitre News 3
10 La Voz 4
7
Regional or local radio news 4
9 Primicias Ya 5
7
CHANGING MEDIA
15% 29%
PAY
News consumption has been decreasing since 2017. In 2020,
heightened interest in news at the beginning of the pandemic
gave way to fatigue in the final months of the year. pay for listen to PODCASTS
Smartphones lost ground as devices for news, while ONLINE NEWS in the last month
computers stopped their decline.

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
92% Social media
81% 83%
76%
74% 66% 62%
64% Printed
62%newspapers
50% 45% 50% TV

39%
20% 17%
6%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in ‘news overall’ and ‘in
53 35 12
news I use’ increased to BBC
53 29 18
Telefé News 45 47 8
ITV
36% and 47% respectively News overall News I use Infobae 49 30 21
FT 45 50 5
when compared to the TN (Todo Noticias) 47 26 27
Channel 4 42 50 8
previous year but remained
36% (+3) 47%
Olé 47 32 21
Sky 39 52 9
far from their 2018 peak of La Nación 39
46 28
51
26
10
Guardian
41% and 52%. In contrast, Canal 13 News
Times 39
46 28
51
26
10
trust in news in social media =33/46 Regional/local newspaper 38
46 35
55 7
19
Local newspaper
has remained low but stable. Independent
A24 33
44 31
58
25
9
High levels of political Clarín
Telegraph 30
41 26
56
33
14
polarisation affect the Página/12
Mail 16
36
47
31 33
37
35 32 33
media industry in Argentina, TV pública
34% 28%
HuffPost 13 74 13
C5N 35 24 41
with many well-known Mirror 11 58 31
MinutoSun
Uno 10 34 40 26
brands attracting strong 50 40
La Voz 6 33 40 76 27
18
levels of distrust. Buzzfeed News
Perfil 32 38 30
0% 100%
45%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 56% (-9) 80% 4 YouTube 24% (-2) 73%
2 WhatsApp 36% (-2) 86% 5 Twitter 12% (-2) 23%

or email 3 Instagram 25% (+2) 62% 6 Facebook Messenger 7% (-3) 35%
BRAZIL
STATISTICS day, Facebook and Instagram removed
similar posts – Mark Zuckerberg said it was
Population 211m
an example of Facebook removing false
Internet penetration 71% information. By 13 April 2021, Aos Fatos (To
the Facts), an independent fact-checking
agency, said it had identified 2,805 false or
Brazil has been misleading statements made by President
among the Bolsonaro during his 833 days in office.
nations worst The president has also attacked the press
aggressively. A report by the National
affected by Federation of Journalists in January 2021
Coronavirus – with the second blamed his rhetoric for a rise in attacks
highest death toll after the US by on journalists. In 2020 it counted 428
verbal and physical assaults, including two
early 2021. The media have been homicides – the highest number since the
highly critical of far-right President early 1990s. The president himself was
Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the responsible for 175 of the verbal attacks, it
said.90
crisis, which included a series of
false statements about a disease The Brazilian Association of Radio and
Television Broadcasters said a survey had
he has described as ‘a little flu’.
found 7,900 posts were being published
The media have, however, also online every day which contained
come under attack. derogatory language towards the press.
Reporters Without Borders said that
Brazil’s most influential newspapers, Bolsonaro, along with his relatives and
including O Globo, Folha de S. Paulo, some government officials, had created an Conversely, streaming services, led by
and O Estado de S. Paulo, criticised atmosphere of ‘hatred and distrust toward Netflix, had a boom year as people spent
Bolsonaro’s repeated statements which journalism in Brazil’. more time at home. Leading TV station
downplayed the pandemic. In particular Globo, which in 2015 launched its own
they highlighted his COVID scepticism, COVID-19 hit the advertising market streaming service, Globoplay, showing a
his prioritising of the Brazilian economy hard, and seems to have accelerated the combination of telenovelas, sport, and
over social distancing, and the federal migration to digital platforms. Overall international programming, has now
government’s delay in ordering vaccines. circulations of the ten best-selling introduced more than 80 of its podcasts
newspapers fell by 9.2%, but the digital onto the platform as it extended into
Free-to-air TV networks – still very popular proportion of their readership rose to audio. It also announced partnerships
– have been split on the issue. Some, like 64% in the first half of 2020. Virtually with independent content producers to
Rede TV and Record TV, seem to be more all papers have tightened their paywalls, diversify its podcast portfolio.
positive towards the administration. But but many have also been offering digital
Globo, the largest TV broadcaster, has subscriptions at significant discounts. A significant investment came with
strongly made the case for following WHO The shift might also have something to do the launch of the Brazilian version of
recommendations. The press generally with readers being concerned – at least in CNN as a paid 24-hour news channel.
supports following a scientific approach. the early stages of the pandemic – about The Atlanta-based network licensed
the risk of infection from paper. O Globo its brand to a new Brazilian company
The president has made misleading claims reassured readers that this was unlikely if led by journalist Douglas Tavolaro and
about Coronavirus and treatments, including simple hygiene measures, such as washing billionaire entrepreneur Rubens Menin,
promoting hydroxychloroquine which he said hands, were taken. which at launch said it would be hiring
helped cure him, and he has also criticised 400 journalists around the world. Almost
mask-wearing. In November he stated he Commercial television broadcasters are all of its programmes are Brazilian-made.
would not take any vaccine.89 More than still the main force in the country’s media Tavolaro left the venture after 12 months.
400,000 Brazilians had died by May 2021. landscape but have continued to lose
ground to social media as a source of news. Rodrigo Carro
In March, Twitter removed two of the Free-to-air TV’s share of the advertising Financial journalist and former Reuters
president’s posts which included videos market remained stable at 51.9% but Institute Journalist Fellow
where he could be seen walking among Brazilians are showing themselves
dozens of supporters and attacking stay- unwilling to pay for online news, and paid
at-home measures. The company said TV lost more than 800,000 subscribers as
the videos violated its rules. The next the trend of cord-cutting continued91.
89
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-bolsonaro-vaccine-idUSKBN28704L
90
https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/attacks-journalists-brazil-2020-bolsonaro/
91
www.teleco.com.br
116 / 117

AND ONLINE TV Globo (incl. Jornal Nacional) 46
8 Globo News Online (incl. G1) 48
13
Record TV 10
36 UOL online 20
45
TOP BRANDS TV SBT (incl. SBT Brasil) 10

29 Record News online (incl. R7.com) 13
34
% Weekly usage GloboNews (24 hour channel) 10

25 O Globo online 15
27

24 Yahoo! News 10
20
Weekly use 11
24 11
18
BandNews (all news radio) Folha de S. Paulo online
TV, radio & print
O Globo 12
22 Terra.com.br 11
17
CNN 7
16
TV, radio & print
TV Band News 9
18 MSN News 8
16
Weekly use
online brands Folha de S. Paulo 8
13 Band News online 8
16
More than 3 days per week Commercial radio news 6

12
online brands Veja 8
12 O Estado de S. Paulo online 7
11
Rede TV (incl. Rede TV Notícias) 6

10 Free city paper online 7
11
Free city paper 6

9 Rede TV News online 6
9
O Estado de S. Paulo 5
9
BBC News 4
8 Jornal Extra online 6
9
METHODOLOGY NOTE
17%
PAY
In 2021 we changed the panel providers for our online survey in
Brazil as part of continued efforts to make our data as accurate as
possible. Although we have used the same quotas on age, gender, pay for
and region, attempts to interpret change from 2020 to 2021 should ONLINE NEWS
be avoided. See Methodology on p. 6 for further information.

2013–21
TV 2013–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
90% Social media
83% 83%
75% Online (incl. social media) 77%
61%
50% 50%
50% TV
47%
36%
23%
12% 14% 8%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

The uncertainty brought by
53 35 12
the health crisis apparently BBC
67
19 14
Jornal do SBT 45 47 8
ITV
strengthened people’s News overall News I use Record News 66 18 16
FT 45 50 5
appetite for reliable Band News 64 21 15
Channel 4 42 50 8
information. Overall trust in
54% (+3) 52%
Sky 39 52 9
the news is relatively high by UOL 39
60 24
51
16
10
Guardian
international standards with Globo News
Times 39
58 15
51
27
10
trust much lower in news =7/46 O Globo 38
57 17 26
55 7
Local newspaper
published on social media. O Estado de S. Paulo
Independent 33
56 23
58
21
9
TV brands tend to be most Folha Telegraph
de S. Paulo 30
56 21
56
23
14
trusted along with local and Rede TV News
Mail 16
53
47
31 16
37
53 23 24
regional newspapers. Revista Veja
48% 34%
HuffPost 13 74 13
RevistaMirror
Época 52 28 20
11 58 31
Valor Econômico 49 37 14
Sun 10 50 40
Yahoo!News
News 6 48 34
76 18
18
Buzzfeed
Metrópoles.com 42 41 17
0% 100%
47%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 47% (-7) 72% 4 Instagram 30% (-) 61%

CANADA
STATISTICS La Presse launched a new brand for its
sponsored content, Studio XTRA La Presse,
Population 37m
and surveyed readers about an ad-free
Internet penetration 90% paid subscription for its digital daily news.
A group of six regional dailies in Quebec,
CN2i, adopted an online subscription model
Canadian media offering access to all publications.
companies
As part of the licence requirements for its
continue to acquisition of an over-the-air television
build new network, renamed Noovo, Bell Media
revenue sources, from tech created a French-language news service
including regional broadcasts, and hired 60
services to parcel delivery, to staff. The French-language market leader,
offset the accelerated decline of TVA, increased its regional news offerings
advertising. The long-term effects a few weeks before the launch. Both TVA
and CTV, the leading English network,
of the pandemic on the industry
have rebranded their online streaming In February 2021, nearly 100 newspapers
remain uncertain. services. Global News is offering local printed a blank front page as part of a
news streams for Montreal, Winnipeg, and national campaign to bring attention to
The Canadian advertising market was Halifax in addition to Calgary, Edmonton, the impact of global tech giants such as
among the hardest hit globally in 2020. and Toronto. Google and Facebook on the sustainability of
One year into the pandemic, 40 media journalism. The Canadian government tabled
outlets have closed permanently and the Discussion of racial diversity and legislation to extend broadcast regulation
status of 19 ‘temporary’ closures is still inclusion in Canadian newsrooms to digital audiovisual content providers.
undetermined. The media sector reported intensified in response to the Black Lives Foreign-based digital services will be forced
1,200 permanent job losses; 1,800 more Matter movement and racist incidents to charge sales tax; a corporate level tax on
job cuts are still in the balance. 92 Many in Canada, such as the death of Joyce digital companies operating in Canada will
newspapers have suspended or reduced Echaquan, a young Atikamekw woman, take effect in 2022. However, in the context
print distribution. Although digital ad who recorded verbal abuse from hospital of a minority government, an election before
spending increased, online news sources workers on a Facebook Live video. the end of 2021 is a real possibility.
were not spared: HuffPost Canada ceased New diversity initiatives include New
its operations in March 2021. Canadian Media, a news site dedicated In addition to increased government ad
to immigrant and minority ethnic money (especially public health messages)
News organisations’ websites offered free reporting, Room Up Front, a minority since the beginning of the pandemic, a
(non-paywalled) online content related photojournalist mentorship programme, number of previously announced direct
to Coronavirus for several months; some and youth news site The Pigeon. public subsidies are coming into effect.
created specialised newsletters which Dozens of journalists have been hired
are still running a year later. Coverage of New partnerships and collaborations through a government grant to cover rural
the pandemic was largely supportive of also emerged during this challenging and underserved audiences, including
public health measures, which led to some year. APTN, Canada’s national Indigenous First Nations communities. Some media
criticism, but also online harassment. television network, joined forces with news organisations will also now be able to
In Quebec City, a talk radio station lost organisations in Australia and the United issue tax receipts for donations; some
several advertising clients for giving regular States to produce The Anti-Indigenous online news subscriptions are now eligible
airtime to ‘COVID sceptics’. Handbook, an investigative reporting for a tax credit. Media literacy and anti-
project. Other initiatives of note include disinformation projects spearheaded by
The crisis has forced some publications to a new national non-profit association for media outlets and journalism associations
step up the pace of digital innovation. The independent news organisations, Press have received public funding as well.
Globe and Mail credits a homegrown AI Forward; a directory of local news sources
(Artificial Intelligence) tool called Sophi for hosted by CBC; and a vote for unionisation Colette Brin
helping it reach 170,000 digital subscribers by the employees of Canadaland, a news- Director, Centre d’études sur les médias,
and bring in millions of dollars of revenue. focused podcast. Université Laval.
Sophi also assists with editing the homepage,
allowing journalists to focus on finding and During the public broadcaster’s licence Professor Brin is also chairperson of the
reporting stories.93 The Toronto Star parent renewal hearings, concerns were raised Independent Advisory Board for Canada’s
group, Torstar, meanwhile, launched a about CBC/Radio-Canada’s focus on journalism tax credit programme and is a
package delivery service and is branching advertising revenue and its French- member of the Steering Committee for the
out into online gaming. Online newspaper language sponsored content service. Digital Citizen Initiative.
Editor’s note: In a previous version of this page, we stated wrongly that La Presse was considering a paid subscription for its digital daily news.
92
Wechsler, S. ‘A Year of Mapping Media Impacts of the Pandemic in Canada’, J-Source, 11 Mar. 2021. https://j-source.ca/article/a-year-of-mapping-media-impacts-of-the-pandemic-in-
canada-covid-19-media-impact-map-for-canada-update-march-11-2021/
93
https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/phillip-crawley-interview-globe-and-mail-canada/
118 / 119
WEEKLY REACH OFFLINE TV, RADIO AND PRINT (ENGLISH) ONLINE (ENGLISH)
AND ONLINE Global News 33
12 CBC News online 27
9
CTV News 11
32 CTV News online 9
26
TOP BRANDS CNN 8

30 CNN.com 6
23
% Weekly usage CBC News (public broadcaster) 10

27 Global News online 7
19
Local radio news 7

22 Yahoo! News 7
14
Weekly use 9
18 8
14
CityTV News Globe and Mail online
TV, radio & print
CP24 4
16 MSN News 8
14
TV, radio & print BBC News 8
14
Community newspaper 9
14 HuffPost 8
12
Weekly use
online brands Toronto Star 5
11 Toronto Star online 7
12
More than 3 days per week Fox News 6

11 BuzzFeed News 7
11
online brands Local daily newspaper (eg Calgary Sun) 6
10 CP24 online 2
10
13% PAY
TVA/LCN Nouvelles
62
9 TVA Nouvelles online
ONLINE (FRENCH)
36
11
pay for Radio-Canada/ICI RDI (public broadcaster) 12

49 Radio-Canada/ICI RDI online 11
34
ONLINE NEWS Journal de Montréal ou Québec 12

26 La Presse online 9
29
Local radio news 5

13 Journal de Montréal ou Québec online 10
24
English 14% | French 12%
13 MSN News 8
15
TV5 4
9 Le Devoir online 5
10
CNN 3
8 Local radio online 5
10
33% Le Devoir
CTV News
L’actualité
4
7
3
6
4
6
Narcity.com
HuffPost
Yahoo! News 5
8
6
10
6
9
listen to PODCASTS
CBC News 4
6 Other regional or local newspaper website 5
7
in the last month 4
6
Métro Le Soleil or regional daily online 3
6
English 35% | French 26%

2016–21
TV 2016–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media

71% 64%newspapers 62%
61% Printed
55%
50% 48% 50% TV 46%
36% 39%
24% 26%
16%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
CHANGING MEDIA DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUST

The context of the pandemic accelerated the decline
of print news sources. Since 2020, smartphones
have surpassed computers as preferred devices for
online news – by a majority of both English- and
French-speaking Canadians.
45% (+1) 51% 31% 18%
=19/46
English 44% English 49% English 31% English 18%
French 54% French 61% French 36% French 23%
ENGLISH FRENCH
Global News 71 12 ICI Radio-Canada Info/ICI RDI 79 6 Rank Brand For news For All
CTV News 71 12 La Presse 74 8
Regional/local newspaper TVA Nouvelles/LCN

70 10 72 14
1 Facebook 41% (-) 69%
CBC News/Newsworld 68 14 Le Devoir 71 7
BBC News 67 13 La Presse Canadienne 70 7
CityTV News 66 12 Regional/local newspaper 69 7

2 YouTube 27% (-) 67%
Globe and Mail 66 13 Journal de Montréal ou Québec 67 14
National Post 60 15 L’actualité 64 9 3 Facebook Messenger 18% (+5) 52%

CNN 59 21 TV5 59 8
Toronto Star 57 16 CTV News 58 10 4 Instagram 13% (+3) 35%

CP24 55 15 The Montreal Gazette 57 11
MSN News 47 20 24 Heures 53 12

5 Twitter 11% (-2) 20%
HuffPost 44 22 Métro 49 12
Yahoo! News 39 25 MSN News 49 19

6 WhatsApp 8% (+2) 22%
Fox News 33 45 HuffPost 45 14
0% 100% 0% 100%
CHILE
STATISTICS After these changes, tensions between the
government and the media eased slightly,
Population 18m
only for them to rise again in April 2021
Internet penetration 77% when the minister accused the New York
Times and the Washington Post of covering
Chile’s rise in infections unfavourably. The
COVID-19 has country’s vaccination roll-out has been the
given the media fastest in South America – and also ahead
the opportunity of global averages.
to rebuild public The challenges of COVID-19, along with

trust, which was undermined the consequences of the protests, led
to a period of soul searching. Journalists
during student-led protests in and others examined their role in
2019 where news organisations society and what needed to change. The
were seen to take the side protests had highlighted a crisis in trust
in establishment powers, including the
of large economic interests.
media – one popular slogan had been ‘Turn
Efforts to report the pandemic off the TV’, in part a reflection of a feeling
in an independent fashion have that daily journalism had not done its duty
in prioritising accurate information above
helped journalists restore some
commercial interests or holding those in
credibility, but have also led to power to account. These sentiments about
conflict with the government. television news do not extend to radio.
As the pandemic took hold, the Chilean There was a discernible effort by the
minister of health took aim at the media, media to rebuild trust with its audiences weekend and in certain regions. Capital,
accusing them of, among other things, – this was particularly felt in TV stations a magazine, also stopped printing. Most
wanting to ‘sell by inventing lies’. The changing their approach to morning publishers hope audiences will migrate to
minister also refused to answer a question programming. Where previously they had digital equivalents.
at a news conference, an event which shown four hours of entertainment chat,
they started offering politics and current There will be several elections in 2021,
became a Twitter trending topic. The
affairs, with opinionated journalists some with more than one round. Critical
exchanges have highlighted changing
debating with members of congress and positions are up for election, including
relationships between the media and those
mayors. The change was so marked that the president, parliamentarians, mayors,
in power. Until now, there has not been
sanctions were introduced in parliament and governors, but also the drafters of
a strong cultural expectation that daily
for congress members who neglected their a new constitution, the development of
journalism would fulfil a watchdog role.
duties because they had been participating which arose out of the social protests.
That seems to have evolved in the aftermath
in morning shows. Coverage of complex issues with a
of social protests which gripped the country
multitude of candidates will be a
in the months before the pandemic.
Some outlets have tried to rebuild trust daunting task for the media.
After the minister in question left office, by strengthening their own editorial
processes or by introducing fact-checking To help voters choose, some media,
his replacement initially made an effort
initiatives, especially concerning including CNN Chile, 24horas.cl, La Tercera,
to improve relations with the media – and
misinformation about COVID-19. The role and some independent sites, are inviting
communication with the public – by staging
of fake news and citizens’ responsibilities users to take surveys which will, they say,
daily Coronavirus news conferences. These
on social media have become a subject of provide an indication of which candidates
found a significant audience on television,
national debate. they will have more affinity with.
as viewers looked for information on the
outbreak and how they should respond to Francisco Javier Fernández Medina and
Despite the interest in COVID, falls in print
it. News websites and portals introduced Enrique Núñez-Mussa,
circulation continued, and the biggest
counters that tracked the number of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
newsrooms, including in television, have
cases, deaths, and the rate of infection
responded by making dramatic rounds
based on official figures. Most sites also
of layoffs. Copesa, the parent company
introduced special sections, and La
of La Tercera, cut more than 200 jobs and
Tercera, one of the biggest newspapers,
ceased printing La Cuarta, leaving just four
offered readers its Coronavirus coverage
journalists to write a web version of the
without charge.
paper. La Tercera is now only printed at the
120 / 121

AND ONLINE Chilevisión News 46
13 Emol.com 28
16
MEGA News 12
42 Bío Bío Chile online 8
24
TOP BRANDS Canal 13 News 14

39 24horas online 8
24
% Weekly usage TVN news (public broadcaster) 13

36 Meganoticias.cl (MEGA) 7
22
CNN 11
27 Lun.com 10
22
Weekly use 12
25 12
21
24 Horas Elmostrador online
TV, radio & print
Bío Bío Chile 6
20 t13.cl 9
20
Las Últimas Noticias 12
18 CNN.com (incl. Cnnchile.cl) 11
20
TV, radio & print
Cooperativa 7
13 Latercera.com 14
20
Weekly use
online brands La Red 7
12 Chvnoticias.cl 6
16
More than 3 days per week El Mercurio 7

11 Cooperativa online 7
15
online brands La Tercera 8
11 El Mercurio online 9
13
Free city newspaper 8

11 Theclinic.cl 7
12

10 Ciperchile.cl 6
11
ADN 5
11
La Cuarta 7
9 Lacuarta.com 7
11
CHANGING MEDIA
12% 35%
PAY
Television was an important source of news during the
COVID-19 crisis, but social media are equally popular as
a way of finding and consuming news in Chile. pay for listen to PODCASTS
Newspaper readership continues its sharp decline in ONLINE NEWS in the last month
line with global trends.

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 93% 100%
Social media
80% 84% 81%
76% 69% 74%
50% 50% TV 51%

46%
31%
23% 18%
8%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Although overall trust (36%)
53 35 12
has increased, it remains low BBC
59 23 18
Bío Bío Chile 45 47 8
ITV
by international standards and News overall News I use Cooperativa 57 24 19
FT 45 50 5
still more than ten points CNN Chile 57 24 19
Channel 4 42 50 8
lower than before Chile’s
36% (+6) 39%
Sky 39 52 9
recent social protests. Falling ADN 39
51 28
51
21
10
Guardian
trust in the news found in Chilevisión
Times 39
50 26
51
24
10
social media (32%) can be =33/46 24 Horas 38
46 27 27
55 7
Local newspaper
explained by a growing Free city newspaper
Independent 33
43 32
58
25
9
awareness of misinformation MEGA News
Telegraph 30
42 26
56
32
14
in such platforms, added to TVN News (public broadcaster)
Mail 16
42
47
27 31
37
41 26 33
greater dependence on official Canal 13
36% 32%
HuffPost 13 74 13
El Mercurio 41 24 35
government information Mirror 11 58 31
Emol.com 41 27 32
about COVID-19 that has been Sun 10 50 40
La Tercera 41 28 31
18
broadcast daily and live on TV Buzzfeed News 6 76
Lun.com 35 28 37
and radio.
0% 100%
48%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 54% (-9) 78% 4 YouTube 24% (-3) 75%

or email 3 Instagram 27% (-1) 60% 6 Facebook Messenger 9% (-5) 39%
COLOMBIA
STATISTICS budgets have been reduced by economic
contraction.
Population 49m
Internet penetration 63% Specialist niche digital native media such
as El Paciente Colombiano, Conversemos
de Salud, and La Silla Vacía, took the
The difficult opportunity to provide detailed health
implementation and science coverage. But more generalist
media struggled to report on COVID-19
of the peace because of a lack of specialists in their
process newsrooms. A tendency to politicise public
between FARC guerrillas and the issues did not help either.
government, which ended more False information about COVID-19 and

than 50 years of conflict, has, vaccines on social media has been a
concern. Traditional media have been
along with social protests and
collaborating on editorial initiatives to
COVID-19, dominated the news. counter misinformation, reinforcing the
The pressures of the pandemic idea that they are trustworthy sources.
have accelerated the digitisation For instance, ‘Vera, the Voice of Truth’
is a series of radio spots produced by a The El Tiempo newspaper website is by far
of newspapers and magazines. conglomerate of stations, featuring the the most used news site (40%), followed
metallic tone of a female bot who corrects by the online versions of El Espectador
Coronavirus disrupted Colombia’s printing misinformation (and embodies the social and Caracol TV (27%). But some digital
industry, with distribution networks being responsibility of traditional radio stations). native media are growing in importance.
affected by lockdowns. Many people were
For example, Las2Orillas offers alternative
not willing to buy or receive papers in Google and Facebook strengthened news, emphasising social inequalities, and
public places. Some regional papers, like alliances with digital native media like publishing stories written by its users (Nota
El Mundo from Medellín, stopped printing La Silla Vacía and Colombiacheck to spot ciudadana or Citizens’ stories). Conversely,
for financial and logistical reasons, but and correct misinformation about the Pulzo, the main news aggregator, has
others, including El Espectador and El pandemic. Facebook reached an agreement a business model based on clicks and
Tiempo, began sending subscribers print with the Colombian government and the advertising, with an audience mostly under
editions in bags as a COVID-19 preventive World Health Organisation (WHO) to 35. The majority of its content comes from
measure. Free newspapers like Publimetro tackle fake COVID-19 news, adding a link in other national and international media.
suspended printing and launched PDF Colombians’ newsfeeds to official Ministry
editions together with social media of Health information. There is very high mobile use in Colombia,
content distribution campaigns to retain with more than eight out of ten respondents
traditional advertisers in digital formats. The most common forms of using mobile phones for news consumption.
misinformation claim ‘miraculous cures’, In this (online) survey, online sources stand
Traditional news publishers like El Tiempo, promote hazardous treatments, and out as people’s main source of information
El Espectador, and Semana magazine, which undermine vaccines. But there are also (87%), outperforming traditional media like
had been already struggling with their plenty of politically motivated distortions TV (58%) and print (24%). Facebook (67%)
business models, introduced or tightened about lockdown plans. The scale of and WhatsApp (45%) are the main social
their paywalls to compensate for shrinking coverage of the pandemic, along with networks to get news.
income. the social protests and peace process
implementation, have led to some signs of Mobile internet is dominant here, thanks
Colombian media has historically been waning public interest in these issues, but to competition between networks, low
dominated by publishers and broadcasters both will probably get fresh momentum levels of fixed line internet access in some
with strong ties to the political and with the approach of presidential elections areas, and government programmes
business elites. That influence seems to in 2022. that have encouraged its use. Higher
be transferring to the digital world, but
concentrations of connectivity in urban
new players and social media are clearly Audiences still turn to TV as the main areas compared to rural ones and security
changing consumption trends. traditional information provider during pose challenges for the future.94
long lockdowns – Caracol TV (59%) is by
Online and TV news consumption far the top brand for traditional sources Víctor García Perdomo
increased hugely as people looked for weekly. But this surge in TV viewing may Universidad de La Sabana
information about the pandemic, but drop once the country returns to normality.
this interest has not been converted into
advertising income because advertising
94
GSMA, ‘Country Overview: Colombia’ (2020). https://data.gsmaintelligence.com/api-web/v2/research-file-download?id=28999732&file=Country%20overview%20Colombia.pdf
122 / 123

AND ONLINE Noticias Caracol TV 59
10 Eltiempo.com 40
15
Noticias RCN TV 9
36 El Espectador.com 10
27
TOP BRANDS Regional TV news 9

28 Noticias Caracol TV online 10
27
% Weekly usage El Tiempo 15

25 Las 2 Orillas 11
22
Q´Hubo 12
21 Semana.com 10
22
Weekly use 8
19 8
22
Noticias Caracol Radio Regional TV news online
TV, radio & print
NotiCentro 1 CM& 7
18 Pulzo 11
22
El Espectador 10
16 Regional newspapers online 8
20
TV, radio & print
Noticias RCN Radio 8
16 Noticias RCN TV online 8
19
Weekly use
online brands NTN24 8
15 Noticias Caracol Radio online 6
13
More than 3 days per week Blu Radio 6

13 Free newspapers online 7
12
online brands CNN 7
13 Minuto30 5
12

12 RCNRadio.com 5
12
Señal Colombia (public broadcaster) 6

10 CNN.com 6
12
Revista Semana 6
9 Yahoo! News 6
10
CableNoticias 5
9 La Silla VacÌa 5
9
CHANGING MEDIA
15%
PAY
Smartphones have been widely adopted in Colombia and,
for many, they are now the main or only access point for the
internet and internet news. Social media news use (70%) pay for
is also amongst the highest in our survey. ONLINE NEWS
SOURCES OF NEWS DEVICES FOR NEWS
TV Online (including social media) Computer Smartphone
58% 87% 39% 83%

Print Social media Tablet
24% 70% 7%

Regional TV news channels
53 35 12
such as Citytv, TeleAntioquia, BBC
70 20 10
Regional TV news 45 47 8
ITV
and TeleCaribe showed the News overall News I use NotiCentro 1 CM& 68 19 13
FT 45 50 5
highest levels of trust (70%) in Señal Colombia 66 23 11
Channel 4 42 50 8
our survey among news
40% 45%
El Espectator 64 22 14
Sky 39 52 9
providers – perhaps because El Tiempo 39
64 21
51
15
10
Guardian
they are closer to communities Noticias Caracol Radio
Times 39
55 22
51
23
10
and their issues – followed by =26/46 Semana 38
54 22 24
55 7
Local newspaper
CM& and public broadcaster Noticias Caracol TV
Independent 33
54 21
58
25
9
Señal Colombia. RCN TV and El Colombiano
Telegraph 30
53 29
56
18
14
RCN Radio, which support Noticias RCN TV
Mail 16
51
47
21 28
37
51 23 26
right-wing politics, and Noticias RCN Radio
42% 36%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Las2Orillas 46 31 23
Q´Hubo, a tabloid news brand, Mirror 11 58 31
Pulzo 46 30 24
have higher levels of mistrust. Sun 10 50 40
La SillaNews
Vacía 6 45 30 76 25
18
Buzzfeed
Q´Hubo 43 29 28
0% 100%
51%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 67% 84% 4 Instagram 28% 60%
2 WhatsApp 45% 86% 5 Twitter 18% 30%

or email 3 YouTube 34% 79% 6 Facebook Messenger 14% 46%
MEXICO
STATISTICS of testing, mask avoidance, and a slow
vaccination roll-out.
Population 131m
Internet penetration 65% The president’s attacks could be one
reason for falling trust in the media among
Mexicans – this is just one of a handful
On top of all of countries in this year’s survey to see
the problems declining figures.
facing the media Though by no means alone in seeing its

in Mexico – a trust figures falling, digital-native news
brand Aristegui News saw the biggest
polarised society, economic
drop in confidence, perhaps as a result
contraction, COVID-19 – there of the attacks by the president and his
are also frequent attacks from a government on publications with greater
political influence. In our 2019 report we
populist president who accuses
noted that brands which seemed to have
the media of unfair coverage an affinity with the then new president,
and corruption. The president is including Aristegui, might have been
getting more popular, and people expecting to benefit from higher trust
levels. That has not happened.
are trusting the media less.
Another reason, though, could be the
Every day at 7am, the President of spread of false and misleading information.
Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador In our survey, 69% said they had seen false
(also known as AMLO), holds a press or misleading information about Coronavirus
conference. Broadcast live, the mañeneras and 52% about politics in the preceding week traditional TV and radio are still the most
– morning briefings – give the president – both figures are considerably higher than popular media overall and receive the
the opportunity to address the nation. the all-market average. most advertising revenue. Traditional press
Often, journalists who challenge him find continue to play an important role.
themselves on the end of a verbal bashing. Social networks and messaging apps are
He prefers to take questions from what widely used in Mexico for news, especially Many news outlets launched dedicated
he refers to as ‘blessed social networks’ or by lower educated groups. When it comes editorial sections and even webinars to
from sympathetic fringe characters such as to spreading misinformation, people say cover the pandemic. Most were offered for
a bowtie-wearing YouTuber.95 they are most concerned about the role free, and even the websites of traditional
played by Facebook (28%), followed by newspapers such as El Economista and
López Obrador enthusiastically uses messaging apps such as WhatsApp (26%), El Financiero lowered their paywalls.
YouTube to connect with voters on news websites (15%), search engines (7%), The news industry was not included in
social media, going over the heads of YouTube (6%), and Twitter (4%). the government’s financial support to
the traditional media, parts of which he businesses facing the impact of COVID-19,
accuses of having acted as propagandists It was hoped that the election of López one element of which was a further decline
for his predecessors.96 His own government Obrador would see a reduction in violence in advertising.
has, however, been generous in its state against journalists, but things have not
advertising for supportive outlets. improved. In just a few days in 2020, three The virus has not derailed the president.
journalists were shot dead, taking the An undersecretary responsible for COVID
The approach is working for the president, year’s tally to nine. At least 120 journalists prevention faced criticism when he said
whose popularity – around 50% at the have been killed since 2000. that, if the president had been a carrier of
time of writing – is arguably one of the the virus, he could not infect more people
highest figures in the history of Mexico. The established media face audience because of his moral strength. For his part,
An economic nationalist who comes from polarisation, declining advertising revenue, the president said he would ‘put on a mask
the left, he espouses equality, vilifies the and the need to respond to digital shifts in when there is no corruption’.
intelligentsia and appeals to the largest, consumer habits. Digital-born competition
lower income, segments of society. has blossomed in the past decade as María Elena Gutiérrez-Renteria
Combined with his aggressive tone towards consumers have discovered a rich variety Universidad Panamericana
those who question him, the approach of content offers and formats. UnoTV,
has echoes of Trump and Bolsonaro. part of Carlos Slim’s América Móvil, which
Like them, his handling of COVID-19 has began life by sending news via SMS and
been criticised, in his case for low rates grew into an influential news website, is
perhaps the most successful. Nevertheless,
95
https://www.chicagotribune.com/espanol/sns-es-prensa-en-tiempo-de-amlo-mananeras-acoso-y-violencia-20200918-qppwgd2hhbhtvk5nhvhvtjxixa-story.html
96
https://www.informador.mx/mexico/AMLO-acusa-amarillismo-en-los-medios-de-comunicacion-20210312-0036.html
124 / 125

AND ONLINE TV Azteca News 43
11 El Universal online 30
14
Televisa News 10
35 UnoTV online 11
25
TOP BRANDS El Universal 14

25 TV Azteca News online 8
24

23 Aristegui News 10
21
Milenio News 8
22 Televisa News online 6
17
Weekly use 9
22 7
16
Imagen News City paper online
TV, radio & print
CNN 8
16 CNN.com 8
16
Reforma 8
12 Imagen News online 8
16
TV, radio & print
Excelsior 8
11 Reforma online 9
14
Weekly use
online brands La Jornada 6
11 Animal Político 7
14
More than 3 days per week Local radio news 4

13
online brands Radio Fórmula News 5
10 El Financiero online 7
13
Local TV news 5
10 La Jornada online 7
12
Canal 22 News (public broadcaster) 5

9 Local TV news online 7
11
El Sol de México 6
9 Latinus (Carlos Loret y Brozzo) online 4
11
El Financiero 4
7 BBC News online 5
10
CHANGING MEDIA
18%
PAY
Online and social media remain the most popular sources of
news in Mexico with our predominantly urban sample. TV and
radio remain important to reach the millions of people who are pay for
not online. The majority of internet news access is now via ONLINE NEWS
smartphones (79%) rather than computers or tablets.

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
91% Social media
84%
72% 70%
50% 51% 50% TV 45%

44%
24% 18%
21%
10%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in the news is low by
53 35 12
international standards, partly BBC
71 17 12
CNN 45 47 8
ITV
due to repeated attacks from News overall News I use El Universal 63 21 16
FT 45 50 5
the president. International Milenio News 62 21 17
Channel 4 42 50 8
broadcaster CNN is the most
37% (-2) 43%
Imagen News 61 22 17
Sky 39 52 9
trusted brand in our survey. El Financiero 39
61 24
51
15
10
Guardian
But two of the most popular Radio Fórmula News
Times 39
61 21
51
18
10
domestic television news 32/46 El Economista 38
61 23
55 7
16
Local newspaper
channels, TV Azteca and Canal 22
Independent 33
60 24
58
16
9
Televisa news, are least trusted Aristegui News
Telegraph 30
60 21
56
19
14
– reflecting polarised attitudes Reforma
Mail 16
59
47
20 21
37
58 24 18
to much of the media. UnoTV
40% 35%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Mirror 11 58 31
Animal Político 54 26 20
Sun 10 50 40
TV AztecaNews
News 6 53 21 76 26
18
Buzzfeed
Televisa News 43 23 34
0% 100%
49%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 60% (-10) 80% 4 Twitter 17% (+2) 32%
2 YouTube 37% (-7) 80% 5 Facebook Messenger 15% (-5) 51%

or email 3 WhatsApp 35% (-4) 82% 6 Instagram 13% (-) 42%
PERU
STATISTICS and TV stations reported losing income
for advertising99 and cut programming
Population 33m
time and staff, and temporarily or
Internet penetration 68% permanently closed some operations.
Regional broadcasters did not benefit
from government stimulus programmes,
The unlike the large media groups, but were
combination of able to get some relief by taking part
the pandemic, in ‘Aprendo en Casa’ a state-run home-
schooling initiative. Election advertising
political has also helped some publishers, but it
instability, and protests has provides temporary relief that might not
severely affected the media be enough to save some media operating
in remote areas.
in Peru. Significant job losses
throughout the country, and a There were also high numbers of attacks
on the press. The most prominent ones
record number of journalists
were recorded during street protests
killed by COVID-19, point to a in November following the removal of
difficult recovery. President Martín Vizcarra by Congress,
and the subsequent swearing in of Manuel
Faced with one of the strictest lockdowns Merino, the head of Congress. More than
in South America, newspapers stopped 40 journalists reported physical attacks
printing and it was months before many and detentions, mostly by police forces
of them returned to the streets. The who are also considered responsible for
fall in advertising has meant that some the death of two protesters. After a week
important papers, such as La República, of protests, peace was restored after (28%). Smartphones were the main way of
have been slow to return to full printed Merino’s resignation and the installation accessing the news – with 80% weekly use.
daily editions. of an interim government led by Francisco Digital versions of traditional newspapers,
Sagasti. such as El Comercio and La República, are
The National Association of Journalists still leaders in online readership, but they
(ANP) reported more than 500 layoffs as Young people are credited with the success are being challenged by digital offerings of
of October 202097 and other estimates, of the demonstrations, even though they radio stations – especially RPP News which
based on tax records, suggest that number were not previously politically organised. also ranks higher in trust – and digital-
– including all related media positions Live video was shared on social platforms native news outlets. Investigative sites
– could reach 2,000. Many jobs are not including, for one of the first times in a IDL-Reporteros and the member-funded
expected to return after the pandemic. The protest, TikTok, where influencers with OjoPúblico appeared in the top 15 outlets
El Comercio Group, the most dominant more than 1,000 followers were able to ranking in trust and readership.
news operation in the country, led with stream live. There were tutorials shared
300 layoffs, including 100 journalists, on social media on how to neutralise the The decline in traditional broadcasting
followed by La República Group with 50 effects of tear gas, and videos sharing the increases the risk of news deserts
layoffs. Both groups and others have fired location of medical and nursing students developing, especially in interior areas
most of their correspondents in the interior offering first aid and law students offering which relied heavily on local media for
regions. El Comercio Group also closed legal help. Several traditional and digital information about the Coronavirus and
the free newspaper Publimetro and ended media operations also joined the platform, politics. Though digital outlets informally
the print edition of El Bocón, a 26-year-old and Peru now ranks fourth among the report large rises in audiences, relatively low
sports newspaper. countries in this survey for TikTok usage – internet penetration in Peru (68%) means
26% of participants use it for any purpose access will not be shared universally.
In addition, ANP recorded 135 journalists and 7% specifically for finding, sharing, or
killed by COVID-19 in 2020,98 one of the consuming news. Lourdes M. Cueva Chacón
largest numbers of journalist deaths in the San Diego State University
world. Most of them (80%) lived outside As in many other countries, access to
the capital, Lima, demonstrating the news via the digital media is consolidating.
precariousness of the working conditions Among those surveyed, social media is the
of journalists, who often operate most popular way to access news (70%),
independently. Regional and local radio higher than both TV (63%) and print
97
International Federation of Journalists, 2020. https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/latin-america/article/peru-163-periodistas-fallecidos-y-500-despedidos-
durante-la-pandemia.html
98
ANP (Asociación Nacional de Periodistas del Perú), 2020. https://www.facebook.com/ANPgremiodelaprensaperuana/posts/3772350269523201
99
http://www.concortv.gob.pe/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Informe-Final-Radio-y-TV-COVID-19-.pdf
126 / 127

AND ONLINE América News 48
15 El Comercio online 28
12
ATV News 14
44 RPP News online 9
27
TOP BRANDS Latina News 12

43 La República online 12
25
% Weekly usage TV Perú News 14

31 Peru.com 19
25
RPP News (Radio Programas del Perú) 11

29 Perú21 online 11
24
Weekly use 11
25 7
20
Panamericana TV News ATV News online
TV, radio & print
Diario Trome 12
23 Latina News online 7
19
Diario El Comercio 14
21 Exitosa News online 7
18
TV, radio & print
Radio Exitosa 9
20 TV Perú online 7
14
Weekly use
online brands Canal N 10
20 Diario Oficial El Peruano online 7
13
More than 3 days per week Diario Perú21 11

19 Gestión online 6
13
online brands Diario La República 12
19 CNN.com 6
12
Diario Correo 10
15 Canal N online 6
11
Willax TV News 5
15 Diario Correo online 5
11
CNN 7
12 Ojo Público 7
10
Diario Ojo 7
10 Trome online 4
10
CHANGING MEDIA
16%
PAY
Online and social media remain the most popular sources of
news in Peru with our more urban sample. TV and radio remain
important for the millions of people who are not online. The pay for
majority of internet news access is now via smartphones (80%). ONLINE NEWS
63% 85% 22% 80%

28% 70% 7%

Four out of ten respondents
53 35 12
trust the news overall, slightly BBC
65 21 14
El Peruano 45 47 8
ITV
higher for sources people use News overall News I use RPP News 64 21 15
FT 45 50 5
themselves. State-run media, TV Perú News 61 22 17
Channel 4 42 50 8
El Peruano (newspaper) and TV
40% 43%
Canal N 56 23 21
Sky 39 52 9
Perú News, rank highly for El Comercio 39
55 23
51
22
10
Guardian
trust – even though the Gestión
Times 39
54 26
51
20
10
government itself is not often =26/46 La República 38
54 25
55 7
21
Local newspaper
trusted. The need to access Exitosa
Independent 33
52 25
58
23
9
official information during the Panamericana News
Telegraph 30
49 29
56
22
14
pandemic could explain this Latina News
Mail 16
47
47
26 27
37
47 29 24
phenomenon. Correo
42% 37%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Local radio or newspaper 45 33 22
Mirror 11 58 31
América TV News 44 25 31
Sun 10 50 40
IDL Reporteros 44 29 76 27
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Trome 30 29 41
0% 100%
52%
SHARE NEWS
2 WhatsApp 42% 80% 5 Facebook Messenger 18% 50%

or email 3 YouTube 35% 78% 6 Twitter 13% 23%
128 / 129
S E C T I O N 3

Asia Pacific
ASIA PACIFIC
3.33 Australia 130
3.34 Hong Kong 132
3.35 India 134
3.36 Indonesia 136
3.37 Japan 138
3.38 Malaysia 140
3.39 Philippines 142
3.40 Singapore 144
3.41 South Korea 146
3.42 Taiwan 148
3.43 Thailand 150
AUSTRALIA
STATISTICS former Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh and is still
in operation.
Population 26m
Internet penetration 86% With a diversified portfolio including print
and online publishing, Seven West is the
second largest commercial TV network in
2020 was Australia. In May 2020, they sold Pacific
one of the Magazines to Bauer Media Group. The
AU$40 million deal was approved by
toughest years the Competition Authority, but the deal
in the Australian coincided with the pandemic, leading to
news media’s history. More than mass job cuts and the closure of many
titles including NW, OK!, Harper’s Bazaar,
150 news titles were closed and Elle.
or suspended100 – in part as a
It is not all gloom and doom. While our
response to COVID-19. Australia
figures show a continuation of Australia’s
was also in the spotlight because modest level (13%) of people paying for
of government moves to introduce news online, there has been a flurry of
a mandatory ‘news media new start-up news organisations and new
online mastheads during the pandemic.
bargaining code’ as a way of News Corp started to publish digital-only
resetting the relationship between news in major centres of regional Victoria,
tech platforms and journalism. New South Wales, and South Australia.
In regional towns, community-based
COVID-19 provided the trigger for a radical newspapers have emerged, particularly
round of redundancies and closures in the in places where existing newspapers had its far-reaching Digital Platforms Inquiry
Australian news industry. Leading the job been closed. A few short-term COVID-19 report in December 2019. The report
losses is Australia’s largest news company relief packages have been offered from the urged strong action by the government
News Corp Australia, which suspended the government, including an AU$50 million to regulate the operations of large digital
print editions of 112 suburban and regional public interest news-gathering programme platforms such as Facebook and Google.
mastheads, axing almost 1,000 jobs. News (PING). The Australian Communications After much discussion, a major outcome
Corp reported a 22% decrease in revenue and Media Authority also supported small was the passing into law of the world’s
in the 2019–20 financial year. In April, and regional publishers with AU$5m of first News Media and Digital Platforms
Australian Community Media, which owns innovation funding. Mandatory Bargaining Code in March
160 regional newspapers including the 2021. This encouraged a swathe of deals
Public broadcaster ABC had a mixed year. between media companies and Google
Canberra Times and the Newcastle Herald,
It was already anticipating implementing and Facebook, which Rod Sims, Australia’s
suspended non-daily print editions and
more than 200 job cuts, of which 70 competition regulator, estimated as
shut down four printing sites.
came from the news division, due to a being worth A$100m ($77m) annually to
Much of this upheaval predates funding freeze by the federal government journalism101 (the deals are private, so no
COVID-19, but the pandemic prompted an imposed prior to the pandemic. As a result, details are publicly available). Whether
acceleration of trends established by the signature programmes such as 7:45am, these deals are enough to solve the
industry’s decades-long struggle to replace ABC radio news bulletins and ABC Life were industry’s problems is unclear but they
falling advertising revenue. With print discontinued. But as with some other public should help. Another outcome was the
only being used by less than one-fifth of broadcasters, the pandemic seemed to development of the voluntary Australian
Australians as a source of news it has been boost ABC’s audiences. Our survey shows Code of Practice on Disinformation and
particularly hard for the newspaper and ABC consolidating its position as the leading Misinformation, which has been adopted
magazine businesses. offline source, overtaking News.com.au in by Twitter, Google, Facebook, Microsoft,
online reach, and opening up a bigger gap Redbubble, TikTok, Adobe, and Apple
Those pressures impacted on the newswire with other providers – while remaining the in Australia.
service, Australian Associated Press (AAP), most trusted Australian news brand.
which was slated for closure in February Sora Park
2020 (before COVID-19 hit) after its major On the political front, there have been News and Media Research Centre,
shareholders Nine and News Corp decided policy changes that will affect the University of Canberra
it was no longer commercially viable. Australian and global news industries for
However, it was thrown a lifeline by a group years to come. The Australian Competition
of philanthropists and investors led by and Consumer Commission published
100
Public Interest Journalism Initiative, ‘Newsroom Changes January 2019–March 2021’, The Australian Newsroom Mapping Project (2021). https://anmp.piji.com.au/
101
Murphy, H., Smith, J. ‘Facebook Agrees to Pay News Corp for Content in Australia’, Financial Times, 15 Mar. 2021.
130 / 131

AND ONLINE ABC News (TV & radio) (public broadcaster) 40
11 ABC News online 26
9
Channel 7 News 13
39 News.com.au 8
22
TOP BRANDS Channel 9 News 13

36 7News.com.au 6
17
% Weekly usage Channel TEN News 9

19 nine.com.au 7
17
SBS News 8
15 Guardian Australia online 5
11
Weekly use 5
11 4
10
Commercial FM radio news BBC News online
TV, radio & print
11 Sydney Morning Herald online 5
10
Sky News 4
10 The Age online 5
8
TV, radio & print
BBC News 4
10 CNN.com 3
7
Weekly use
online brands Herald Sun 5
9 Sky News online 3
7
More than 3 days per week The Australian 4

8 Daily Telegraph online 3
7
online brands Daily Telegraph 4
8 Herald Sun online 4
7
Prime7 4
8 The Australian online 4
7
Commercial AM radio news 2

7
CNN 3
7 ABC TV News: 34% The New Daily online 2
6
WIN Television 4
7 ABC Radio News:17% Australian Financial Review online 2 5
CHANGING MEDIA
13% 31%
PAY
News access has been declining overall in recent years,
with print declining by 16 percentage points since 2018.
Mobile devices continue to increase as a source of news, pay for listen to PODCASTS
with 62% accessing news on their smartphones each ONLINE NEWS in the last month
week.

2016–21
TV 2016–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media

73%
65% 60%newspapers
Printed 62%
61%
50% 52% 50% TV 51%
47% 45%
38%
27%
20% 19%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in news is up by five
53 35 12
percentage points, placing BBC
70 18 12
ABC News 45 47 8
ITV
Australia in the mid-range News overall News I use SBS News 69 20 11
FT 45 50 5
among the 46 countries. Regional/local newspaper 62 27 11
Channel 4 42 50 8
This improvement reflects
43% (+5) 49%
Channel 7 News 61 23 16
Sky 39 52 9
the trend for greater reliance Channel 9 News 39
61 22
51
17
10
Guardian
on the news media in a crisis. Australian Financial Review
Times 39
57 31
51
12
10
The Australian news media 21/46 Nine.com.au 38
57 24
55 7
19
Local newspaper
have been particularly The Australian
Independent 33
55 28
58
17
9
active in disseminating Sydney Morning Herald
Telegraph 30
53 30
56
17
14
official health advice News.com.au
Mail 16
52
47
29 19
37
52 31 17
during the pandemic. The Age
31% 18%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Sky News 50 25 25
Mirror 11 58 31
Guardian online 49 33 18
Sun 10 50 40
Herald Sun 6 49 31
76 20
18
Buzzfeed News
Daily Telegraph 47 31 22
0% 100%
27%
SHARE NEWS
2 YouTube 20% (-1) 61% 5 WhatsApp 9% (+1) 29%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 11% (-1) 51% 6 Twitter 9% (-1) 18%
HONG KONG
STATISTICS between journalists and the authorities.
From one side the police chief expressed
Population 7.5m
concerns about suspected ‘fake reporters’
Internet penetration 89% who allegedly obstructed and even
attacked the police at protest sites.102 From
the other, journalists pointed to instances
A new National of being pepper-sprayed and police officers
Security Law displaying reporters’ ID cards in front of
has deepened live cameras. The police announced, in
September 2020, their revised definition
already serious of ‘media representatives’ to encompass
concerns about diminishing only those affiliated with media outlets
press freedom and editorial registered with the Hong Kong government
– as well as internationally recognised and
independence in Hong Kong. ‘reputable’ overseas media. Ostensibly
This follows a challenging time this was to allow frontline police officers to
for the news media in reporting quickly verify the credentials of journalists,
but press groups argued that this was de
prolonged citizen protests amid a facto accreditation of media professionals
major health pandemic. by a government entity that unfairly capital from business interests in China,
prejudiced against freelancers, student which held direct control or stakes in nine
The National Security Law was unilaterally reporters, and emerging online media.103 of the 26 mainstream media outlets in
imposed on Hong Kong by China in June 2017.104 This has increased further following
2020, raising concerns that new sweeping Some media professionals were not the purchase of Hong Kong’s oldest local
police powers can be used against spared from the politically charged and Chinese-language paper, Sing Tao Daily, by
journalists and news media organisations frequently violent nature of the protests. the daughter of a real-estate tycoon in 2021.
under the guise of law violations against Around 20 staff from the Apple Daily had
‘secession’, ‘subversion’, ‘terrorism’, and their personal information revealed on Hong Kong’s only public broadcaster Radio
‘collusion with foreign forces’. Of particular an anti-protest website (a tactic known as Television Hong Kong (RTHK) continues
concern was the broad nature of the doxxing). There were also instances where to be embroiled in controversies. In
definitions, such that giving airtime to a protesters harassed reporters and camera one instance the popular satirical show
foreign critic of China or interviewing a crews from news outlets perceived to be Headliner, which first aired in 1989, was
proponent of Hong Kong independence pro-government. suspended indefinitely after RTHK was
could be construed as violating the law. reprimanded by the regulatory body
The impact of Coronavirus exacerbated because of the show’s negative depiction
Indeed, soon after the law’s enactment the already severe economic of the police. The release of a recent
the owner of the pro-democracy Apple environment for the news media. The government report criticising RTHK’s
Daily, Jimmy Lai, was arrested for alleged largest pay TV operator i-Cable laid off management in February 2021105 and
collusion and over 100 police officers raided 40 staff from the news department, the installation of a new head in March
the office of the newspaper. Moreover, which led to further resignations in 2021 who had no previous broadcasting
some overseas journalists had their visa protest – although the company made a experience suggest that the Hong Kong
applications delayed or rejected without commitment not to make more cuts for government is taking steps to rein in
explanation. Most notably, the Hong Kong two years. Bought by tech giant Alibaba the editorial independence of the public
Immigration department rejected the visa in 2015, the English-language daily South broadcaster.
application of New York Times correspondent China Morning Post (SCMP) instituted
Chris Buckley, who had earlier been three weeks unpaid leave for all staff While its 80th ranking in the 2021 World
expelled from China. This led to the and cut the salaries of top management. Press Freedom Index106 far exceeds China’s
newspaper’s decision to relocate a third of Faced with declining ad revenue, both 177th rank, this still marks a precipitous
its Hong Kong staff to Seoul, South Korea, as the Apple Daily and SCMP introduced decline from its 18th position in 2002.
executives cited the uncertain environment paywalls, while popular independent
posed by the new law. online news outlets such as Citizen News Michael Chan, Francis Lee, and
and Stand News rely on donations. Hsuan-Ting Chen
The policing and on-the-ground reporting Chinese University of Hong Kong
of the Anti-Extradition Law protests Despite these challenging conditions,
(2019–20) had earlier exposed tensions Hong Kong’s news media continue to attract
102
Police Act on ‘Fake Reporters’, https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/11/223220/Police-act-on-’fake-reporters’
103
‘FCC [Foreign Correspondents Club] Expresses Solidarity with Press Organisations Following Hong Kong Police Revision of Media Definition Reports’, https://www.fcchk.org/fcc-
expresses-solidarity-with-press-organisations-following-hong-kong-police-revision-of-media-definition-reports/
104
Lee, Francis L. F. 2018. ‘Changing Political Economy of the Hong Kong Media’, China Perspectives, 2018/3. https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/pdf/8009
105
Police Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, The Governance and Management of Radio Television Hong Kong Review Report (Hong Kong: Government of Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, Feb. 2021). https://www.cedb.gov.hk/ccib/en/consultations-and-publications/reports/rthkreview.pdf
106
Erosion of Press Freedom, https://rsf.org/en/hong-kong
132 / 133

AND ONLINE TVB News 56
9 TVB News online 38
8
RTHK News (public broadcaster) 9

28 Apple Daily online 6
29
TOP BRANDS Headline Daily 9

28 Hk01.com 10
27
% Weekly usage Apple Daily 8

27 Yahoo! News 9
27
NowTV News 6
23 RTHK News online 8
24
Weekly use 8
18 8
24
Oriental Daily News Headline Daily online
TV, radio & print
AM730 6
15 Stand News 9
21
Commercial radio 4
12 Now TV News online 7
21
TV, radio & print
Sky Post 5
12 Oriental Daily News online 7
18
Weekly use
online brands i-CABLE News 5
11 AM730 online 5
13
More than 3 days per week Sing Tao Daily 4

9 i-CABLE news online 4
10
online brands BBC News 3
8 Sky Post online 3
9
Ming Pao 3
9
Hong Kong Economic Times 3

6 Sing Tao Daily online 4
8
CNN 3
6 Bastillepost 5
8
Metro Radio 3
6 BBC News online 3
7
CHANGING MEDIA
23%
PAY
Usage of all types of sources dropped in 2021, probably
because the 2020 survey registered unusually high levels of
news consumption during the Anti-Extradition Bill protests. pay for
The decline in print media usage is particularly striking. ONLINE NEWS

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
74%
68% 67%
61%
50% 48% 50% TV
37% 35%
25% 26%
21%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

As social protests and the
53 35 12
pandemic subsided, the BBC
62 28 10
NOW TV News 45 47 8
ITV
information environment also News overall News I use RTHK News 59 23 18
FT 45 50 5
became less contentious, and Commercial radio news 54 32 14
Channel 4 42 50 8
fake news and rumours were
40% (+10) 45%
i-CABLE News 54 31 15
Sky 39 52 9
relatively less frequently Headline Daily 39
53 30
51
17
10
Guardian
shared. This might explain an Ming Pao
Times 39
52 32
51
16
10
increase in overall trust in the =26/46 Yahoo! News 38
52 35
55 7
13
Local newspaper
news as well as trust in ‘the Sing Tao Daily
Independent 33
50 31
58
19
9
news I use’, ‘news in search’, AM730
Telegraph 30
50 35
56
15
14
and ‘social media’. Apple Mail
Daily 16
49
47
21 30
37
Stand News 49 27 24
26% 22%
HuffPost 13 74 13
TVB News 48 21 31
Mirror 11 58 31
Oriental Daily News 48 27 25
Sun 10 50 40
HK01 6 45 3276 23
18
Buzzfeed News
Bastillepost 35 42 23
0% 100%
40%
SHARE NEWS
2 WhatsApp 36% (-14) 83% 5 WeChat 13% (-3) 47%

INDIA
STATISTICS corporate ownership, with no regulations
on cross-media ownership. A culture of
Population 1400m
24×7 news channels operating on ‘breaking
Internet penetration 54% news’ models and polarised debates often
distort and sensationalise news.
Indian media In October last year, news channels faced

are extremely a credibility crisis as their Television Rating
Points (TRPs) published by the Broadcast
diverse, with Audience Research Council (BARC) came
thousands of under scrutiny. Republic TV and two
outlets operating in multiple Marathi entertainment channels were
accused by the Mumbai police of tampering
languages. Much of the media with metering devices installed in selected
is controlled by large, for-profit sample households to boost their ratings.
corporations, many of them Despite these accusations, the considerable
popularity enjoyed by Republic TV’s
privately held, and mainly funded
online and offline platforms – which have
by advertising. But these business both increased considerably since our
models are being disrupted by a last survey in 2019 – perhaps indicate the
growing popularity of right-wing ideology come up with controversial new proposals
rapid shift to online consumption
propagated by the ruling party in India. to expand the scope of existing legislation
– and the impact of COVID-19. to social platforms, news websites, and
India is one of the strongest mobile- Over the Top (OTT) content providers.
Legacy print news brands, including the focused markets in our global survey, with In an apparent step to limit false and
most popular in the survey – Times of India, 73% accessing news through smartphones objectionable information on social media
Hindustan Times, and The Hindu – and and just 37% via computer. India has more platforms, new guidelines expect platforms
newspapers in general, have borne the than 600 million active internet users, to trace the origin of information that can
brunt of the slowdown. The pandemic many of whom access the internet only be misleading or objectionable based on an
has hit print circulation and decreased through mobile phones – aided by low data order from a court or competent authority.
advertisements, leading companies charges and cheap devices. Authorities have on several occasions
to slash salaries, cut jobs, and close asked platform companies to block posts,
editions across the country due to the Among our respondents, WhatsApp,
including those by activists, journalists,
drastic decline in economic activity in YouTube, and Facebook are widely used
and opposition politicians.
one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. for news and there have been serious
The industry has also had to cope with problems with misinformation and hate DigiPub, a group of digital news
reduced government and commercial speech. Individual members of the ruling organisations formed in 2020, says
advertisement spending,107 which fell BJP and groups aligned with the party these rules go against the ‘fundamental
by more than half since the start of the are alleged to systematically spread false principles of news’, giving control to the
pandemic. Leading news channel NDTV and misleading information via social government to remove news content
announced salary cuts for a time, while media and other platforms.108 In late 2020, online. India has consistently slipped in the
digital born-operator The Quint furloughed Facebook India’s policy head resigned after Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without
staff and was forced to close its planned accusations that the company deliberately Borders in the last few years, occupying
TV division after three years’ unsuccessful took a lenient line on ruling party 142nd position out of 180 countries.110 RSF’s
attempts to get a broadcasting licence. supporters who allegedly violated hate 2021 report notes journalists in India face
speech rules with anti-Muslim posts.109 In increasing violence, trolling, and threats of
Despite the growing popularity of digital response, the number of independent fact- rape and death on social media, along with
media with our surveyed audience, which checking organisations has grown in recent excessive use of sedition laws for criticism
tends to lean towards an urban and years, with support from international of the government or its policies. Freedom
educated population, television remains tech companies and foundations, while House changed India’s status from ‘free’ to
the most popular source overall. India has mainstream media organisations have a ‘partly free’ country earlier this year.111
altogether 392 news channels, dominated formed dedicated fact-checking and
by regional language channels and private debunking teams. Anjana Krishnan
players. Broadcast television channels, like Research Associate, Asian College of
print media in India, are self-regulated and With the growing popularity of online Journalism, Chennai
often have strong political affiliations and platforms, the Indian government has
107
For the period 2019–20, government ad spending in print was only $1.20 billion, compared to $2.74 billion in 2018–19, which in turn was almost half of $4.28 billion spent in 2017–18.
https://caravanmagazine.in/data/fine-print
108
https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/how-modi-shah-turned-a-women-s-rights-ngo-into-a-secret-election-propaganda-machine_in_5ca5962ce4b05acba4dc1819
109
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-54715995
110
https://rsf.org/en/india
111
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege
134 / 135

AND ONLINE The Times of India 44
15 NDTV online 35
13
NDTV (24-hour news) 16

42 The Times of India online 11
31
TOP BRANDS India Today TV 16

24
% Weekly usage Republic TV 10

29 Republic TV online 8
22
BBC News 12
27 News 18 online 9
21
Weekly use 11
25 9
21
Hindustan Times Hindustan Times online
TV, radio & print
Doordarshan/DD (public broadcaster) 12
25 India.com 13
21
Times Now 13
24 Yahoo! News 10
20
TV, radio & print
The Hindu 10
24 India Today online 9
20
Weekly use
19 The Hindu online 8
18
More than 3 days per week CNN 10

18 DD News online 7
17
online brands The Indian Express 9
17 Times Now News online 10
17
CNBC TV-18 8
16 The Indian Express online 9
16
The Economic Times 8

16 The Economic Times online 8
16
All India Radio 7

15 CNN.com 6
14
The New Indian Express 6

9 The Quint 7
12
METHODOLOGY NOTE
These data are based on a survey of mainly English-speaking, online news users in India – a small subset of a larger, more diverse, media
market. Respondents are generally more affluent, younger, have higher levels of formal education, and are more likely to live in cities than
the wider Indian population. Findings should not be taken to be nationally representative.
59% 82% 37% 73%

50% 63% 14%

Legacy print brands and
53 35 12
government broadcasters, DD BBC
74 12 14
The Times of India 45 47 8
ITV
News (Doordarshan) and All News overall News I use DD News 73 13 14
FT 45 50 5
India Radio, retain high levels All India Radio 73 14 13
Channel 4 42 50 8
of trust among consumers.
38% 45%
BBC News 73 12 15
Sky 39 52 9
Print brands, in general, are The Indian Express 39
72 15
51
13
10
Guardian
more trusted than television Economic Times
Times 39
71 16
51
13
10
brands, which are far more 31/46 Hindustan Times 38
71 16
55 7
13
Local newspaper
polarised and sensational in The Hindu
Independent 33
70 15
58
15
9
their coverage. Republic TV, CNN
Telegraph 30
68 16
56
16
14
despite its popularity as a Business Standard
Mail 16 47
68 16 16
37
68 13 19
news source, has lower trust NDTV
45% 32%
HuffPost 13 74 13
IndiaMirror
Today 67 17 16
scores than legacy print and 11 58 31
television brands – and the Sun 10 50 40
The Wire 6 55 2376 22
18
highest levels of distrust. Buzzfeed News
Republic TV 54 17 29
0% 100%
48%
SHARE NEWS
1 WhatsApp 53% 80% 4 Instagram 27% 50%
2 YouTube 53% 77% 5 Twitter 19% 37%

or email 3 Facebook 43% 66% 6 Telegram 18% 36%
INDONESIA
STATISTICS on news production and distribution
for Indonesians, foreign ownership of
Population 276m
broadcast media is banned under the
Internet penetration 71% 2002 Broadcast Act. Although the Press
Council is supposed to adjudicate all
media disputes, authorities continue to
Indonesia is the bring defamation charges to the courts.
largest market Defamation is an offence covered by
in Southeast more than 40 provisions of the Criminal
Code. The 2008 Electronic Information
Asia with a lively and Transactions Law likewise provides
and diverse media sector. But criminal penalties for those found guilty of
economic pressures generated by distributing, transmitting, and/or making
electronic information containing libel
Coronavirus, concerns about fake accessible to the public.
news, and the threat of multiple
Indonesia is 87% Muslim, and contains
legal provisions relating to
the world’s largest Muslim population, media have suffered primarily through a
criminal defamation made 2020 but Islam is not the state religion. The loss of advertising revenue. As companies
an especially challenging year for national ideology of Pancasila upholds in the private sector cut their marketing
belief in one god, but the world’s other budgets, local governments stepped up
media businesses
major faiths are also formally recognised. their spending on media, especially in
Since independence in 1945, Indonesia’s the provinces. Most ministries allocated
The resignation of Indonesian president
brand of secular democracy continues to funds to promote their activities through
Soeharto in 1998 ended 32 years of
be contested by those who would prefer a the purchase of advertising, thus helping
authoritarian rule, and launched a new
larger role for Islam. to keep media businesses afloat. Two
era of ‘Reformasi’. This, along with the
newspapers – Koran Tempo and Indo Pos, the
passage of the landmark 1999 Press Law, Social media sites such as WhatsApp, national edition of the Jawa Pos – stopped
with its attendant code of ethics and the YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are publishing print editions in 2020, and
creation of an independent Press Council, extremely popular among users in Indonesia. Suara Pembaruan stopped its print edition
made Indonesia a regional model for press TikTok is gaining popularity with the in February 2021. Other venerable print
freedom. younger generation as elsewhere in the publications, such as Tempo magazine,
region.113 Many politicians and parties used Kompas newspaper, and the Jakarta Post,
But since the fall of Soeharto, powerful
paid commenters, known as ‘buzzers’, and have strengthened their paywalls.
media companies owned by tycoons
automated accounts to generate political
have replaced the state as the primary
propaganda ahead of the general elections in Controversy over the 2008 Electronic
source of censorship, and the Indonesian
April 2019. Much attention has been directed Information and Transactions (ITE) Law
media landscape is dominated by eight
at the use of social media to disseminate continues, as NGOs and press freedom
large commercial entities.112 Although
disinformation (locally known as hoaxes) groups to press for its repeal. The law,
a wide range of privately owned local
and hate speech. The Coronavirus crisis intended to regulate e-commerce,
publications operate across Indonesia’s
in particular has led to an avalanche of introduced instead a range of vague
provinces, the print sector is dominated
misinformation, ranging from the ‘danger’ of and imprecise offences with draconian
by two media conglomerates, the Jawa
thermometer guns to rumours that vaccines penalties, including arrest and detention.
Pos Group and the Kompas-Gramedia
are adulterated with pork. Any kind of electronic communication
Group. Television remains the most
– including social media – is fair game
widely used medium across Indonesia’s On the positive side, Indonesia is also under the law, as are all manner of ‘insults’
vast population, much of which is still home to an exemplary multi-stakeholder including blasphemy.
not online. Major national commercial NGO dedicated to combating online
networks such as TV One and Metro TV disinformation, Mafindo (Masyarakat Data compiled by Amnesty International
amongst others compete with state- Anti Fitnah Indonesia, or the Indonesian Indonesia shows that there were 119 cases
owned Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI). Anti-Hoax Community), and its extensive of ITE Law violation in 2020, the highest
citizen-run programmes stand in stark in six years, with 141 suspects, including
Broadcast media are licensed by
contrast to government-led efforts 18 activists and four journalists.114
the Ministry of Communication and
elsewhere in the region, which generally
Information Technology and the Janet Steele
focus on using the criminal law.
Indonesian Broadcasting Commission Professor of Media and Public Affairs
(KPI), both of which operate independently. The Coronavirus pandemic has affected and International Affairs,
Although there are few restrictions the overall Indonesian economy, and George Washington University
112
Tapsell, R., Media Power in Indonesia (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017).
113
https://theconversation.com/how-tiktok-can-be-the-new-platform-for-political-activism-lessons-from-southeast-asia-155556
114
https://www.amnesty.id/segera-revisi-uu-ite-dan-tegakkan-kebebasan-berekspresi/
136 / 137

AND ONLINE TVOne 53
14 Detik.com 65
22
Metro TV 13
48 Kompas.com 20
47
TOP BRANDS Kompas 17

39 CNN.com 13
36
% Weekly usage CNN 11

36 Tribunnews online 15
31
Seputar Indonesia (RCTI) 12

33 TVOne News online 11
29
Weekly use 11
30 12
29
TransTV Metro TV News online
TV, radio & print
Liptuan 6 (SCTV) 8
22 Kumparan.com 13
25
Koran Tempo 9
18 Liputan 6 (SCTV News online) 10
24
TV, radio & print
TVRI (public broadcaster) 8
17 Tempo.co.id 12
24
Weekly use
15 Okezone 13
23
More than 3 days per week Indosiar 6

14 Viva.co.id 10
20
online brands Tempo 8
14 Idntimes News 9
17
BBC News 6
13 Merdeka.com 10
16
Media Indonesia 6
11 Seputar Indonesia (RCTI News online) 7
15
Republika 6
9 Jawa Pos online 8
15
Koran Sindo 5
9 BBC News online 7
15
CHANGING MEDIA
19%
PAY
Online and social media remain the most popular sources
of news in Indonesia with our more urban sample but TV
and radio remain important for the millions of people who pay for
are not online. The majority of internet news access is via ONLINE NEWS
smartphones (85%) with computers much less popular.
58% 89% 37% 85%

20% 64% 10%

Overall trust in news is low BBC 35 12
(39%) while CNN, which is ITV 45

69
47 8
25 6
CNN
45 50 5
owned by local conglomerate News overall News I use
FT
Kompas 67 27 6
Channel 4 42 50 8
Trans Media, ranks the highest TVRI 66 29 5
Sky 39 52 9
in brand trust at 69%.
39% 42%
Detik.com 64 29 7
Guardian 39 51 10
Interestingly, the news brand SCTV (Liputan6) 62 31 7
Times 39 51 10
with greatest reach (TVOne) is TVOne
38
62 26
55 7
12
also one of the brands with a 30/46 Local newspaper

Tempo 60 30 10
Independent 33 58 9
large minority (12%) that say Local television news
Telegraph 30
58
56
36 6
14
they do not trust it, which Tribunnews 55 34 11
37
News in search News in social Mail 16 47
some may attribute to its more PikiranRakyat.com
HuffPost 13
53
74
39 8
13
52 38 10
sensational style of reporting. Okezone 11
37% 31%
Mirror 58 31
Sindonews.com 10 52 39 9
Sun 50 40
Merdeka.com 51 41 8
Suara.com 49 43 8
0% 100%
39%
SHARE NEWS
1 WhatsApp 60% 87% 4 Instagram 38% 66%
2 YouTube 46% 79% 5 Twitter 22% 37%

or email 3 Facebook 42% 65% 6 Telegram 18% 41%
JAPAN
STATISTICS digital platform Asahi Shimbun Digital
has acquired 3.75 million registrations,
Population 126m
of whom 320,000 are paid subscribers.116
Internet penetration 95% Asahi has also stepped up its use of daily
and weekly newsletters, including an
article series delivered ahead of online
The Japanese publication. The series, ‘Another Note’,
media brings personal and compelling stories
landscape from frontline journalists.
has long been Paying for online news remains at a

dominated by five nationwide TV relatively modest level in Japan, though
it has increased slightly this year to
networks and a small number 10% (+2pp). Nikkei and Asahi are the
of high-circulation newspapers. most successful publishers in terms of
But print readership is falling subscription according to Digital News
Report data, along with Yomiuri, whose full
and many news organisations
digital subscription is still entirely linked
are being forced to embrace to print. But efforts have been hampered
digital change. by the popularity of free services such as
Yahoo! News, SmartNews, and Gunosy between the Okinawa Times newspaper
Japan has had relatively few Coronavirus that aggregate online content from and Kyodo news agency, which was able to
cases and has been one of the few multiple publishers. Yahoo! Japan and Line provide the support of a veteran defence
countries to have avoided a nationally merged their operations by placing the reporter with 25 years’ experience.
mandated lockdown – but the media two under a holding company in 2021 to
industry has not emerged unscathed. compete better with US and Chinese tech Such newsroom alliances have previously
Already-decreasing print circulation sank rivals. They will, however, keep their news been unheard of in Japan’s company-
by a further 7% in 2020, outstripping the services separate. centred journalistic culture, but have
previous year’s fall.115 On top of a rising been encouraged by the global impact of
tide of subscription cancellations, many One new entrant to the subscription the Panama Papers investigation in 2016
readers looked to avoid contact with market this year has been SlowNews, and other collaborative projects. During
physical newspapers, partly out of fear of which specialises in long reads and tough the tenth anniversary of the Great East
catching the virus. investigations. With a monthly payment Japan Earthquake of 2011, dozens of news
of 1,650 yen, or £11, it combines local media joined a Twitter hashtag #bosai-
Meanwhile, a number of media companies journalism with in-depth reports from ima-dekirukoto (‘what we can do now
accelerated plans for digital transition at the New York Times, ProPublica, and for disaster preparedness’) as a way of
a time of crisis. Nikkei (Japan Economic the Guardian translated into Japanese, aggregating disaster-related stories. The
Daily), which has forged a reputation as along with more than 100 books from hashtag appeared automatically with an
a digital pioneer since it purchased the six major publishers. SlowNews, which emoji of a paper crane, which represents
Financial Times in 2015, abandoned its is a subsidiary of the mobile aggregator care and prayer.
traditional structure of sections such as SmartNews, aims to use any profits to
politics, economics, industry, and foreign support more investigative journalism. More widely, live internet streaming of
news. In its place, Nikkei has created five TV has taken a leap forward this year with
units targeted at different audience needs A trend of growing collaborations across public broadcaster NHK launching a full
– business, lifestyle, finance/markets, Japanese media houses was highlighted online streaming service in April 2020.
society, and policymaking. The change by the breaking of two exclusive stories in Several major private broadcast stations
aims to focus more on distinctive content, February 2021. One carried allegations of are now reportedly planning to add live
rather than continuing to pump out a seemingly organised mass falsification streaming to their joint archive platform
commoditised business information. of signatures in a recall petition against TVer, whose views soared during the
the Aichi Prefectural Governor. Another pandemic.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, another revealed a secret agreement over the use
leader in digital transition, has been of an American base in Okinawa between Yasuomi Sawa
trying to attract new audiences through US Marines and the Japanese Ground Self Journalist and Professor at the Department
Line, Japan’s dominant messenger app. Defence Force. The bogus signature story of Journalism, Senshu University
The liberal daily announced in February was a joint investigation by the Chunichi
2021 that they have now 5 million Line newspaper from Aichi and Nishi-nippon
friends, who receive Asahi’s news bulletins (West-Japan) newspaper from Fukuoka. The
and alerts every day. Meanwhile, its military story involved deep collaboration
115
https://www.pressnet.or.jp/english/data/circulation/circulation01.php
116
https://www.mediatechnology.jp/entry/2020/10/12/100000
117
https://www.chosakai.gr.jp/wp/wp-content/themes/shinbun/asset/pdf/project/newsd/20210300_710.pdf#page=1
138 / 139

AND ONLINE NHK News (public broadcaster) 49
9 Yahoo! News 54
6
Nippon TV News (NTV) 15

45 NHK News online 4
12
TOP BRANDS Asahi TV News 13

40 Nippon TV News online 4
10
% Weekly usage Fuji TV News 14

39 Fuji TV News online 4
9
TBS News 16
39 Asahi TV News online 4
8
Weekly use 9
20 3
8
TV Tokyo News TBS News online
TV, radio & print
19 Nikkei (Japan Economic Daily) online 3
8
14 Asahi Shimbun Digital 3
7
TV, radio & print
Yomiuri Shimbun 2
13 Yomiuri Shimbun online 2
6
Weekly use
online brands Asahi Shimbun 2
9 TV Tokyo News online 3
6
More than 3 days per week Nikkei (Japan Economic Daily) 2

8 MSN News 2 5
online brands Mainichi Shimbun 2 5 Toyo Keizai online 2 5
CNN 2 4 Regional or local newspaper online 2 5
BBC News 2 4 Abema TV online 2 5
Sankei Shimbun 1 4 Sankei News online 2 4
Weekly Bunshun 3 4 Nikkei Business online 2 4
CHANGING MEDIA
10% 25%
PAY
Traditional forms of media such as TV and print have declined in
importance over the last few years. Newspaper readership has
more than halved since 2013. Japanese engage with online news pay for listen to PODCASTS
primarily through aggregators like Yahoo! News. They also tend to ONLINE NEWS in the last month
use social networks less, and have taken longer to fully embrace
smartphones.

2013–21
TV 2013–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
85%
69% 68%
63% 55%
58%
50% 50% TV 47%
27%
24% 19%
17%
10%
6%
0% 0%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Overall trust in the news has
53 35 12
risen by five percentage points BBC
60 28 12
NHK News 45 47 8
ITV
in the last year while trust in News overall News I use Nikkei (Japan Economic Daily) 55 35 10
FT 45 50 5
social media has fallen by two Local newspaper 54 34 12
Channel 4 42 50 8
points. The news media were
42% (+5) 43%
Nippon TV News (NTV) 54 33 13
Sky 39 52 9
widely consulted during the TBS News 39
53 33
51
14
10
Guardian
pandemic, with greater impact Fuji TV News
Times 39
51 34
51
15
10
than the national government =22/46 TV Asahi News 38
50 32
55 7
18
Local newspaper
and a long way ahead of social Yomiuri Shimbun
Independent 33
50 36
58
14
9
media, according to a survey Yahoo! News
Telegraph 30
48 37
56
15
14
from the Japan Press Research Sankei Shimbun
Mail 16
47
47
39 14
37
46 37 17
Institute.117 Public broadcaster MainichiHuffPost
Shimbun
27% 21%
13 74 13
Asahi Shimbun 45 34 21
NHK remains the most trusted Mirror 11 58 31
HuffPost Japan 31 52 17
news brand. Sun 10 50 40
Weekly Shincho 28 46 76 26
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Weekly Bunshun 28 42 30
0% 100%
13%
SHARE NEWS
1 YouTube 24% (+5) 57% 4 Facebook 6% (-) 19%
2 Line 18% (+2) 39% 5 Instagram 4% (+1) 21%

or email 3 Twitter 16% (+1) 31% 6 Niconico 2% (-) 8%
MALAYSIA
STATISTICS pandemic or current state of emergency
that is not to its liking … The publication
Population 33m
of such information with “intent to cause,
Internet penetration 89% or which is likely to cause fear or alarm to
the public, or any section of the public” is
punishable by three years in prison and a
After the fine of 300,000 ringgits (€20,000).’118
collapse of
Journalists and other media professionals
a reformist face renewed intimidation after 22
government in months of relative freedom. Two
February 2020, renewed political internationally reported incidents were
the July 2020 police investigation of an
instability and a national state Al-Jazeera documentary on the arrest of
of emergency, ostensibly as a undocumented migrant labourers and the
result of COVID-19, have reversed questioning of a South China Morning Post
(SCMP) journalist who had reported on
hopes for improvement in media
migrant arrests.119
freedom in Malaysia.
More recently, graphic artist Fahmi
For a brief period of 22 months – from May Reza and political cartoonist Zunar
2018 until February 2020 – the Malaysian were detained and investigated by the
media environment was one that held police under the Sedition Act, the Penal Political actors have again stepped in to
out hope, despite the technological and Code, and the CMA. Fahmi’s ‘crime’ was own and control the Malaysian media
economic pressures, especially on the satirising the Malaysian Queen, while environment in anticipation of an early
print media. A new coalition government, Zunar’s was for ‘mischief and abuse of the general election in 2022. A new online
Pakatan Harapan (PH), was in power for internet over a caricature’ of the Chief news portal, The Vibes (thevibes.com)
the first time in the 61-year history of Minister of the state of Kedah.120 was launched in September 2020, said
Malaysia’s general elections. PH promised to be backed by opposition leader, Anwar
reform in many areas, including the In February this year, the country’s Ibrahim. Most online portals still provide
media, where it repealed a controversial most popular independent online free access, although some, like The
Anti-Fake News Act and set the wheels in newspaper, Malaysiakini, was found Malaysian Insight (TMI), have followed
motion for an independent national Media guilty of contempt by Malaysia’s highest the path set by Malaysiakini of adopting a
Council. But due to its inexperience and court, for posting five critical readers’ subscription-based model.
external resistance, many of these hopes comments about the Lord President
remained unfulfilled when the coalition and the judiciary. The portal was fined The biggest Malaysian media
suddenly collapsed. a whopping MYR500,000 but, more conglomerate, Media Prima, has also come
tellingly, it took Malaysiakini only six under the spotlight with recent share
Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the hastily hours to raise the sum from public acquisitions by former BN second finance
assembled Perikatan Nasional (PN) donations. Now Malaysiakini appears to minister, Johari Abdul Ghani. Two years
coalition government initially suspended be besieged again, together with local ago, Media Prima was bleeding financially
parliament, locked down the country, and Chinese-language portal, China Press. for economic and technological reasons.
convinced the Malaysian King to declare a In April, both were summoned by the But the past year or so has seen a revival
national emergency, beginning 12 January Home Ministry over ‘unfavourable’ – of its fortunes due to the fresh injection
until 1 August 2021. albeit accurate – reports about a careless of funds by prominent Malaysian tycoon,
statement on rape made by the Deputy Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.121
The emergency gives PN exceptional Inspector General of Police.
powers over the media. It already has These manoeuvres point to a familiar
an arsenal of draconian legislation at Structurally, television remains a key pattern close to general elections where
its disposal, the main ones being the source of news for many of the older the dominant political parties consolidate
Communications and Multimedia Act generation who are not internet-savvy. their control over the media. It has also
1998 (CMA) and the Sedition Act 1948. More creative and critical formats, such been reported that online media are being
These powers allowed PN to issue an as Awani’s Consider This current affairs targeted this time around.
anti-fake news emergency ordinance on talk show, have drawn in a more urban,
12 March this year ‘that effectively bans questioning audience. Zaharom Nain
any information about the Coronavirus University of Nottingham in Malaysia
118
Reporters Without Borders, Mar. 2021. https://rsf.org/en/news/new-malaysian-ordinance-threatens-very-concept-truth.
119
Bangkok Post, July 2020. https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1947336/malaysia-probes-al-jazeera-documentary-about-migrant-arrests
120
Free Malaysia Today, Apr. 2021. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/04/28/zunar-hauled-up-over-cartoon-on-axing-of-thaipusam-holiday/
121
Media Prima’s diverse media empire includes all four of Malaysia’s free-to-air television stations, the New Straits Times press, popular radio stations Fly FM and HotFM, and leading
outdoor advertising company, Big Tree.
140 / 141

AND ONLINE TV3 News 53
11 Malaysiakini 50
23
Astro Awani (24-hour news) 14

38 Astro Awani online 16
40
TOP BRANDS Harian Metro 15

27 The Star online 10
29
% Weekly usage Berita Harian 13

25 Berita Harian online 9
25
Radio Televisyen Malaysia (public broadcaster) 9

23 Harian Metro online 9
24
Weekly use 11
23 7
19
The Star Sinar Harian online
TV, radio & print
Sinar Harian 11
19 Free Malaysia Today 10
19
Utusan Malaysia 10
18 Malaysia Today 13
19
TV, radio & print
TV9 News 7
16 Bernama.com 11
17
Weekly use
online brands 8TV News 4
15 Utusan Malaysia online 7
16
More than 3 days per week NTV7 News 8

14 CNN.com 7
15
online brands New Straits Times 7
12 Yahoo! News 6
13
CNN 5
13
BBC News 6
11 NST online 5
11
Bernama News Channel 6

10 The Malaysian Insight 7
10
Al-Hijrah 5
10 Malay Mail online 4
9
CHANGING MEDIA
16%
PAY
Print has continued its decline as a source of news. Increasing
use of smartphones to get news has coincided with the
increasing popularity of online news media. Television news pay for
has become more attractive partly due to the various ONLINE NEWS
lockdowns forcing many to stay at home.

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
86% 88% 85%
72%
67% 65%
Printed newspapers
57% 55%
50% 50% TV
45% 45%
40%
24%
18%
12%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Overall trust in the various
53 35 12
media has increased BBC
70 22 8
Astro Awani 45 47 8
ITV
considerably as compared to News overall News I use The Star 65 24 11
FT 45 50 5
the past two years. The TV9 News 65 26 9
Channel 4 42 50 8
pandemic and lockdowns have
41% (+16) 43%
Radio Televisyen Malaysia 65 24 11
Sky 39 52 9
resulted in greater TV3 News 39
64 24
51
12
10
Guardian
dependence on the main news Regional or local newspaper
Times 39
63 28
51 10
9
sources for information on the =24/46 Berita Harian 38

62 25
55 7
13
Local newspaper
threats and challenges of the Malaysiakini
Independent 33
60 25
58
15
9
virus. Astro Awani, a 24-hour Sinar Harian
Telegraph 30
60 27
56
13
14
news channel with innovative, Harian Metro
Mail 16
58
47
28 14
37
57 25 18
often critical, news and current UtusanHuffPost
Malaysia
35% 24%
13 74 13
The MalaysianMirror
Insight 55 34 11
affairs programmes, still leads 11 58 31
Yahoo! Berita 55 35 10
in the area of brand trust. Sun 10 50 40
FreeBuzzfeed
MalaysiaNews
Today 6 55 76 33 12
18
Sin Chew Daily 51 34 15
0% 100%
47%
SHARE NEWS
2 WhatsApp 54% (+3) 83% 5 Telegram 20% (+8) 45%

or email 3 YouTube 36% (+3) 75% 6 Twitter 16% (+1) 29%
PHILIPPINES
STATISTICS Broadcasting Company replaced DZRH
Network News with MBC Network News,
Population 111m
which now simulcasts three times a day
Internet penetration 78% on its flagship and provincial radio and
television stations. TV5 converted its
primetime newscast Aksyon to Frontline
Major revenue Pilipinas and fielded more anchors. Last
drops arising February, GMA Network rebranded GMA
from prolonged News TV, its second free-to-air channel,
as GTV (Good TV), adding more sports,
COVID-19 entertainment, and lifestyle programmes
lockdowns have forced significant to its existing line-up of news and current
downsizing of the Philippine affairs programmes.
media. The media environment The newspaper industry has been hit
has also been reshaped by the particularly hard as COVID-19 curtailed
distribution. The Philippine Daily Inquirer
closure of a major free-to-air TV
(PDI), one of the biggest dailies, offered Locally produced news and current affairs
network. Journalists that have early retirement to employees, let go podcasts include those from ANC, Puma
been critical of the government of several columnists, shut down its Podcast, and the Manila Times. PDI and
Metro section, and shrank the number the Philippine Center for Investigative
continue to face attacks and
of its pages. Earlier, it closed its free Journalism are newcomers.
online harassment. paper Inquirer Libre and tabloid Bandera,
keeping the latter only online. In March, Over the past year, a number of Filipino
The Philippines somewhat defies the trend PDI launched a digital subscription journalists have been dogged by ‘red-
in many countries that has seen TV viewing package where its Inquirer Plus mobile tagging’, where they are labelled state
surge as lockdowns grounded people at app combines access to one of eight enemies, subversives, or communists
home. By February this year, at the time the local newspaper partners. It says this by the police and military, including via
Digital News Report survey was conducted, strategy will help local journalism remain social media. In September, Facebook
TV usage had slid to 61% (–5pp) with an sustainable and is in keeping with the removed more than 100 fake accounts
even bigger decline in print consumption to growing subscription model worldwide. traced to police and military units in the
16% (–6pp). The decline in TV viewing may Philippines for engaging in ‘coordinated
have been partly influenced by the closure At least a dozen big community papers inauthentic behaviour’.124 Maria Ressa
of ABS-CBN’s free-to-air stations after the temporarily ceased publication, returning and Rappler continue to be the subject
House of Representatives refused to renew later in the year with reduced pages or of political attacks and a series of threats
its franchise to operate. The once profitable frequency. The newspaper association and lawsuits that Reporters Without
media giant continues online and via a Philippine Press Institute has been Borders describe as ‘a clear and present
number of pay television channels but laid supporting struggling community papers danger to press freedom’. She is not alone.
off nearly 5,000 of its 11,000 employees, by paying for some of the stories they post One female editor from the red-tagged
including a third from its news staff, and on its website, PPI News Commons. alternative news site Manila Today was
chalked up losses of $150m as of the third arrested on charges of illegal possession of
quarter of 2020. Going digital makes sense in a country that firearms and explosives on 10 December,
spends the greatest amount of time online International Human Rights Day – though
By contrast, the rival GMA Network in the world (nearly 11 hours per day), she was released months later. In Central
enjoyed a 79% jump in profits particularly on social media (more than Philippines, a 22-year-old ‘red-tagged’
(US$80.6m), from the previous year for four hours).122 Social media as a source of female journalist has been languishing
the same period, while other big publicly news have risen to 72% (+4) in our survey, in jail for more than a year on charges of
listed media houses reported significantly with TikTok even becoming a destination illegal possession of firearms.
reduced profit. Besides benefiting from for news among Filipinos (6%) alongside
the airtime advertising resulting from Facebook (73%), YouTube (53%), Facebook Meanwhile, a bill seeking to renew the
ABS-CBN’s closure, GMA’s online and Messenger (36%), and Twitter (19%). franchise of ABS-CBN has been filed in
digital ad sales grew 36%. It has launched both chambers of Congress. But chances
a DTT receiver, GMA Affordabox, and Despite the overall slight drop in podcast that the network would operate its free-to-
mobile dongle, GMA Now. listenership from a year ago (–3pp to 54%), air stations again while President Rodrigo
podcasting remains especially popular Duterte is in office appear to be slim.
Many big television networks have taken with younger users. A survey for Spotify
to rebranding or reformatting programmes bears this out,123 prompting the platform Yvonne T. Chua
in a bid to engage consumers. Manila to sign up 16 Filipino podcasts exclusively. University of the Philippines
122
https://wearesocial.com/digital-2021
123
https://culturenextvol1-sea.spotifyforbrands.com/ph
124
https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/removing-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-china-philippines/
142 / 143

AND ONLINE GMA Network (24 Oras, Saksi, GMA News TV) 59
10 GMA News online 53
11
ABS-CBN (TV Patrol, ANC, Kapamilya) 9

40 ABS-CBN News online 10
43
TOP BRANDS Philippine Daily Inquirer 19

31 Philippine Daily Inquirer online 18
37

30 Rappler 15
32
The Philippine Star 18

28 Yahoo! News 14
30
Weekly use 17
25 13
25
Manila Bulletin The Philippine Star online
TV, radio & print
TV5 (Frontline Pilipinas, One Balita Pilipinas) 8
20 CNN.com 10
23
Super Radyo DZBB (Super Balita) 7
15 Manila Bulletin online 12
21
TV, radio & print
Local radio news 7
21
Weekly use
online brands Teleradyo 7
13 BuzzFeed News 11
20
More than 3 days per week PTV News 5

12 PEP.ph 9
17
online brands DZRH News (Manila Broadcasting Co.) 6
11 CNN Philippines online 8
16
BBC News 4
9 MSN News 7
12
Balita 6
9 BBC News online 5
11

8 SunStar online 5
11
Radyo Pilipinas News/DZRB 4

7 Manila Times online 6
11
CHANGING MEDIA
17%
PAY
Dependence on smartphones to access online news, including
on social media, has grown among Filipinos (+3pp) during what
was one of the world’s longest lockdowns due to COVID-19. pay for
Not surprisingly, consumption of traditional media, particularly ONLINE NEWS
print, has gone down.
61% 87% 39% 78%

(-5) (+2) (-) (+3)
16% 72% 12%

(-6) (+4) (-2)

Overall trust in news among
Filipino internet users has BBC 53
74
35
17
12
9
GMA Network
risen (+5pp), but has fallen in News overall News I use
ITV
Manila Bulletin
45
69
47 8
23 8
45 50 5
social media (-2pp) amid FT
TV5 68 24 8
Channel 4 42 50 8
concerns over misinformation
32% (+5) 37%
Philippine Star 68 23 9
Sky 39 52 9
on the internet, especially Philippine Daily Inquirer 66 22 12
Guardian 39 51 10
information about Coronavirus Super Balita DZBB 65 26 9
10
from government, politicians =38/46 Times
DZRH
39
64
51
27 9
and political parties, and Regional/local newspaper
Independent 33
64 28 8
58 9
ordinary people. Distrust in TeleRadyo 63 27 10
news brands has declined PTV
Mail 16
60
47
27 13
37
59 31 10
except for Rappler, which Radyo Pilipinas
30% 20%
HuffPost 13 74 13
ABS-CBN 57 22 21
government supporters Mirror 11 58 31
Abante 47 36 17
continue to attack. Sun 10 50 40
Rappler 45 26 29
Bulgar 40 38 22
0% 100%
47%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 73% (-) 86% 4 Twitter 19% (+3) 33%
2 YouTube 53% (+4) 85% 5 Instagram 12% (-) 41%

or email 3 Facebook Messenger 36% (+3) 76% 6 TikTok 6% (+4) 22%
SINGAPORE
STATISTICS trust – which is up by nine percentage
points – as residents found themselves
Population 5.8m
relying on the news media for important
Internet penetration 88% and accurate information, amid the flurry
of fake news online.125
Trust in the Last year, the Singapore government

news media issued several correction orders under its
Protection from Online Falsehoods and
in Singapore Manipulation Act (POFMA), a law passed in
has increased May 2019 that empowers ministers to issue
significantly in a year marked corrections or take down orders against
online falsehoods.
by the COVID-19 pandemic,
a historical election that saw Some of the orders targeted posts viral social media posts. It has since
by opposition parties during the amassed a large following and been
the political opposition make
campaign,126 while others targeted recognised as a registered news media
unprecedented gains, as well as COVID-19 related claims, such as one outlet in Singapore.
layoffs in one of the two media posted by the States Times Review (STR)
on Facebook claiming that COVID-19 Offline and online news platforms in
conglomerates in the country. The Singapore are covered by an extensive
spread in schools in May 2020.127
pandemic and the elections also regulatory system. The Newspaper and
saw the government invoke the Operated outside the country, the STR is Printing Presses Act governs the licensing
a website critical of the administration of newspaper companies while the
country’s ‘fake news law’ several that has been called out for publishing Broadcasting Act regulates the licensing of
times, sparking criticisms. sensationalised and inaccurate accounts, broadcasting services as well as internet
and it is also used weekly by 7% of our content providers, including online
Mainstream news media brands remain survey respondents. While the website news sites. In 2013, the government also
the most trusted news sources, with had been banned in Singapore since 2018, required individual licensing for online
MediaCorp’s round-the-clock news followers could still access its Facebook news sites that publish regular articles on
network Channel News Asia (CNA) being page until the government ordered Singapore news and current affairs and
the most trusted (79%) followed by local access to be blocked in February have large numbers of monthly visitors.129
the newspaper The Straits Times (77%) 2021. While Facebook complied with the
published by the Singapore Press Holdings government order, it expressed concern In terms of specific social media platforms,
(SPH). SPH publishes most of Singapore’s ‘about the precedent this sets for stifling WhatsApp and Facebook both saw
local newspapers, including Chinese- freedom of expression in Singapore’.128 significantly lower usage for news this year,
language Lianhe Zaobao, Malay-language The government justified its move by though Telegram, another messaging app,
Berita Harian, and Tamil-language Tamil saying swift actions were needed against is up three percentage points to 14% for
Murasu. Mediacorp operates all the local COVID-19 related falsehoods that can news. WhatsApp remains the most popular
television stations and most radio stations trigger public panic. social app overall, however, and the
in Singapore. Singapore government has made full use
Mediacorp’s CNA remains the most of this platform, sending daily WhatsApp
Initially praised internationally for its popular traditional news brand, used updates on COVID-19 to subscribers.
handling of the COVID-19 virus, Singapore weekly by 39%, followed by SPH’s The
went through pockets of panic buying as Straits Times (38%) and Mediacorp’s In September 2020, SPH announced the
the number of positive cases exponentially Channel 5 (27%) and Channel 8 (25%) layoff of 140 of its employees from its media
rose in dorms occupied by migrant workers newscasts. CNA’s website was also the sales and magazines operations, citing the
in March 2020 – leading to nearly two most used digital brand (48%), followed impact of COVID-19 on advertising. In May
months of lockdown. by the online-only Mothership.sg (42%) 2021 it announced it would be transferring
which is now just ahead of the website of its media business to a not-for-profit
Singapore held its general elections in company to focus on new funding streams
The Straits Times. While it has climbed over
July 2020, where the ruling party won the to support quality journalism.130
the years to be the second most used news
majority of the seats, as expected, but its
website in Singapore, it ranks significantly
share of total votes shrank as the political Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
lower in brand trust. Founded in 2014,
opposition gained ground. A combination Wee Kim Wee School of Communication
Mothership.sg is known for its bite-sized
of the elections and the pandemic may and Information, Nanyang Technological
articles, many of which are sourced from
help explain the increase in news media University, Singapore.
125
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/covid-19-coronavirus-forwarding-whatsapp-message-fake-news-12670016
126
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/pofma-correction-directions-issued-to-4-facebook-pages-1-website
127
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/government-directs-states-times-review-correct-post-about-covid-19-cases-schools
128
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/facebook-blocks-singapore-users-access-states-times-review-pofma-12446952
129
https://www.gov.sg/factually/content/what-is-the-licensing-framework-for-online-news-sites-all-about
130
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sph-to-restructure-media-business-into-not-for-profit-entity
144 / 145

AND ONLINE MediaCorp Channel News Asia 39
12 Channel News Asia online 48
15
The Straits Times 14

38 Mothership.sg 17
42
TOP BRANDS MediaCorp Channel 5 News 11

27 Straits Times online 14
40
% Weekly usage MediaCorp Channel 8 News 8

25 Yahoo! News 9
25
CNN 7
16 Today online 10
20
Weekly use 6
13 8
16
The New Paper STOMP
TV, radio & print
MediaCorp Radio News 4
11 CNN.com 6
15
BBC News 4
9 AsiaOne.com 8
15
TV, radio & print
Lianhe Zaobao 4
8 BBC News online 6
13
Weekly use
online brands Lianhe Wanbao 3
6 The Online Citizen 7
12
More than 3 days per week The Business Times 3

6 All Singapore Stuff 7
12
online brands MediaCorp Suria Berita 2 5 The New Paper online 6
11
Shin Min Daily 3 5 Mustsharenews.com 5

9
Berita Harian 2 4 Zaobao online 2

7
Other foreign media 1 3 States Times Review 5

7
MediaCorp Tamil Seithi 2 South China Morning Post (SCMP) 4

7
CHANGING MEDIA
14% 28%
PAY
Online news remains the primary way of getting news, though the
use of social media for news has declined slightly compared with
last year. Singaporeans turned more to TV during the COVID crisis pay for listen to PODCASTS
but print use has fallen further – halving in just five years. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
85% 83%
72%
57% 57%
50% 53% 50% TV 52%
47% 46%
27%
21%
17%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in the news increased to
53 35 12
45%, with respondents also BBC
79 16 5
MediaCorp Channel News Asia
ITV 45 47 8
trusting more the news that News overall News I use The Straits Times 77 16 7
FT 45 50 5
they use. Trust in news MediaCorp Channel 5 News 76 18 6
Channel 4 42 50 8
obtained in search engines and
45% (+9) 50%
MediaCorp Channel 8 News 75 20 5
Sky 39 52 9
social media remained at MediaCorp Radio News 39
72
51
22 6
10
Guardian
similar levels to last year. BBC News
Times 39
71
51
24 5
10
18/46 CNN 38
70 23 7
55 7
Local newspaper
Today online 69 25 6
Independent 33 58 9
Lianhe Zaobao 65 27 8
Telegraph 30 56 14
The New Paper
Mail 16 47 37
Yahoo! News 58 32 10
26% 18%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Shin Min Daily 54 33 13
Mirror 11 58 31
Mothership.sg 53 34 13
Sun 10 50 40
The Online Citizen 39 4076 21
18
Buzzfeed News 6
All Singapore Stuff 37 43 20
0% 100%
32%
SHARE NEWS
1 WhatsApp 40% (-7) 88% 4 Telegram 14% (+3) 38%

or email 3 YouTube 25% (+1) 73% 6 Twitter 7% (-) 18%
SOUTH KOREA
STATISTICS Against this backdrop, media companies
are trying to slash costs and diversify
Population 51m
revenue streams. Broadcasters have
Internet penetration 96% increased the proportion of online and
mobile ads, while taking active steps to
produce and distribute content through
News online platforms. Newspapers have
consumption introduced unpaid leave and cut staff.
and trust in A survey conducted by Korea Press
Foundation,134 found that a third (31%)
news media of newspaper companies have already
have both increased since the reduced the number of pages or plan to
outbreak of COVID-19, but media do so. While many companies are hoping
for governmental support such as tax
outlets are struggling to shore up cuts, some are experimenting with new
finances that have been adversely business models, including paid digital
affected by the pandemic. subscription.
In South Korea, news consumers tend to

Koreans have come to depend more on the
pay for a mix of diverse content such as
news over the last year as the pandemic
YouTube Premium or bundled content
has impacted both lives and livelihoods.
services offered by telecom service
This is likely to be a key factor in the
providers. Few people are willing to pay a
sharp rise in trust (+11 percentage points)
subscription just for news – and most of
in this year’s survey, while trust (and
the rest (80%) say they would be very or
consumption) of social media has fallen.
somewhat unlikely to pay in the future.
Much of this has been driven by increased Media bias has long been regarded as a
reliance on television news and increased Online reader payment has been slow chronic problem of the Korean media –
reach for both scheduled news bulletins to take off in South Korea because of especially when it comes to politics. Many
and live news channels. the strength of online portals that offer respondents to our survey feel that news
a convenient package of free news from coverage is often particularly unfair when
A survey by the Korea Press Foundation,131
multiple publishers. For many years these it comes to representing different political
also found widespread dependence on
portals have paid publishers significant opinions as well as people from a lower
television as a source of news about
sums to license content – rather like socio-economic class. With Korea set to
COVID-19, along with the big online portals
Facebook and Google are starting to do hold the presidential election in 2022,
Naver and Daum. Three-quarters (72%)
elsewhere. But in 2020 the largest portal, fairness of media coverage on serious
of respondents said their news usage
Naver, announced it would be switching topics such as politics and the economy is
had increased over the last year. Use of
back to an advertising revenue share expected to be a critical issue.
OTT streaming services like Netflix has
model and announced plans to offer an
increased and overall viewing time is up, This year’s survey also finds that the vast
additional subscription-based model
after years of decline. majority of Korean respondents still
for premium content. Publishers are
considering whether to sign up for the hold out the hope that media outlets will
But media outlets have been struggling
new service which would provide a share offer objective news, carrying a variety of
to cope with the financial fallout from
of profits but might risk building deeper perspectives that help consumers make
the pandemic. According to industry
connections on their own websites. up their own minds. At the same time, last
research,132 corporate ad spending for 2020
year’s report showed that the proportion
is projected to fall by 5% for television,
While YouTube remains the most widely of respondents who prefer ‘news reflecting
print, and other media, while online ads are
used platform for Korean users, Facebook, their views’ was also high. This suggests that
expected to rise. The decline in corporate
KakaoTalk Messenger, and Instagram there is both political bias in news production
ads has hit broadcasters more severely
are emerging as fresh news sources. Also and readers’ bias in their consumption of
than newspapers, which can still rely on a
notable is the increased industry focus on news which may be hard to balance.
steady stream of government advertising –
email newsletters, with a variety of new
levels of expenditure have risen every year Se-Uk Oh
services from start-ups to mainstream
since 2016.133 For this reason, terrestrial Korea Press Foundation, and
media companies, even if usage levels
broadcasters issued a joint statement So-Eun Lee
remain low.
calling for emergency financial support Pukyong National University
from the government.
131
Korea Press Foundation, Changes in the Everyday Life After COVID-19 in Korea. https://www.kpf.or.kr/front/research/consumerListPage.do
132
Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation, Korea Advertising Expenditure Research. https://adstat.kobaco.co.kr/sub/expenditure_report_view.do?MENU=ad_data&BBS_ID=1308
133
https://www.goad.or.kr/hp/info/govAdStat.do
134
Korea Press Foundation, Newspaper Industry in Korea 2020. https://www.kpf.or.kr/front/research/realityListPage.do
146 / 147

AND ONLINE KBS News (public broadcaster) 47
13 Naver 62
12
YTN 12
44 Daum 8
29
TOP BRANDS SBS News 14

41 YTN online 8
26
% Weekly usage MBC News 13

39 KBS News online 7
23
JTBC News 13
38 JTBC News online 9
22
Weekly use 11
35 8
21
Yonhapnews TV MBC News online
TV, radio & print
TV Chosun News 10
26 Yonhapnews TV online 8
20
MBN News 9
20 SBS News online 7
19
TV, radio & print
Channel A News 8
20 TV Chosun News online 5
16
Weekly use
online brands Chosun Ilbo 10
18 Chosun Ilbo online 7
14
More than 3 days per week Joongang Ilbo 8

15 JoongAng Ilbo online 8
14
online brands Dong-A Ilbo 7
11 MBN News online 4
11
Korea Economic Daily 6

11 Channel A News online 4
11
Maeil Business Newspaper 6

11 Yonhapnews online 5
11
Hankyoreh 6
10 Dong-A Ilbo online 5
10

8 Maeil Business Newspaper online 5
9
CHANGING MEDIA
13% 49%
PAY
The use of TV news, which was declining, has rebounded since the
outbreak of COVID-19. Social media have become much more
important as a source of news, driven by global platforms YouTube, pay for listen to PODCASTS
Facebook, and Instagram. ONLINE NEWS in the last month

2016–21
TV 2016–21*
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
86%
71% 66% 66% 63%
Printed newspapers
60%
50% 50% TV 48%
42%
32%
28%
18% 12% 12%
0% 0%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in the news in general
53 35 12
has surged (+11pp) amid the BBC
56 27 17
YTN 45 47 8
ITV
COVID-19 pandemic, but News overall News I use JTBC News 55 24 21
FT 45 50 5
remains low by international MBC News 53 27 20
Channel 4 42 50 8
standards. Trust in individual
32% (+11) 42%
KBS News 52 26 22
Sky 39 52 9
media brands has also gone SBS News 39
51 27
51
22
10
Guardian
up, with a number of Yonhapnews TV
Times 39
50 29
51
21
10
broadcasters heading the list =38/46 Channel A News 38
41 28
55 7
31
Local newspaper
– including YTN, a 24/7 cable MBN News
Independent 33
41 32
58
27
9
news channel, and public JoongAng Ilbo
Telegraph 30
37 29
56
34
14
broadcaster KBS. Newspapers, TV Chosun News
Mail 16
37 25
47
38
37
37 32 31
by contrast, tend to be less Hankyoreh
26% 21%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Dong-A Ilbo 36 30 34
trusted. Mirror 11 58 31
Kyunghyang Shinmun 35 37 28
Sun 10 50 40
Regional/local newspaper 35 39 76 26
18
Buzzfeed News 6
Chosun Ilbo 35 25 40
0% 100%
25%
SHARE NEWS
1 YouTube 44% (-1) 74% 4 Instagram 12% (+3) 41%
2 Kakao Talk 27% (-) 75% 5 Twitter 7% (+1) 18%

or email 3 Facebook 16% (-3) 39% 6 Kakao Story 5% (-3) 23%
TAIWAN
STATISTICS information to citizens. Technology was
widely used, including apps showing the
Population 24m
numbers of masks left in each drugstore.
Internet penetration 93% The Taiwan FactCheck Center, a non-profit
organisation made up of journalists and
educators, stepped up its efforts to debunk
Despite its false information. Other approaches
proximity enlisted members of the public to help verify
to mainland the authenticity of information via apps like
News Helper and Cofacts LINE BOT.
China, Taiwan
managed to keep the COVID-19 Despite these efforts, rumours and
conspiracies still spread, not least from
outbreak at bay without the need mainstream media outlets from the China
for lockdowns. Early warning Times media group. Two of its pro-China TV
about the threat came via posts channels were fined for exaggerating the
extent of the virus spread and for ‘violating
on a popular online bulletin
the principles of fact verification’ by the
board, enabling the government National Communications Commission
take decisive measures to cut (NCC). The ChungTien News Channel had
falsely claimed in a headline that Taiwan
travel across the Taiwan Strait.
was ‘to be locked down in six days’. Another
channel in the group, Chinese Television,
One early morning in mid-December 2019,
had reported that 148 soldiers had been
doctors at the Center for Disease Control
infected and were spreading the virus in
(CDC) came across a post on Taiwan’s
local communities, whereas in fact 24
online bulletin board system (PTT). The
sailors from a naval ship had tested positive is linked to the popular messaging app of
post included a screenshot of messages
and had been quarantined.135 ChungTien the same name, has also gained popularity
sent by Chinese doctor Li Wenliang,
has been repeatedly fined during its six-year and both organisations have started
indicating that at least seven cases of
licence period for 25 breaches of media to provide more of their own content,
atypical pneumonia had been reported
regulations ranging from biased reporting including commentaries, online polls, and
in Wuhan, China. The information was
to spreading misinformation. discussions.
initially covered up in China and Doctor
Li was later punished for leaking the As a result of these breaches and its More than two-thirds of Taiwanese use
information – before succumbing himself failure to improve internal controls, social media (including Line, Facebook,
to the disease. Taiwan had suffered greatly ChungTien’s licence renewal was rejected and YouTube) for all purposes and most
during the SARS epidemic in 2003, and the in November 2020 by the NCC and it of them also use the networks for news.
government was quick to close its border ceased broadcasting. The opposition Because social media are seen as a key
with China at the end of January – two Chinese Nationalist party protested that source of misinformation – as well as
months before the European Union acted. the government had interfered with disinformation from foreign forces – the
press freedom and undermined Taiwan’s government is proposing regulation via
The government was also proactive in
democracy. ChungTien’s news channel a new digital communication bill. This
creating campaigns around frequent
continues to operate online and there is would require platforms to consult local
hand washing, keeping a social distance,
an ongoing battle to take its crucial slot fact-checking organisations, tell the public
and wearing masks and distributed these
on cable television. If this slot is given about false information circulated, and
messages through daily press conferences,
to Public Service Television, this could publish annual reports in how they are
as well as social media channels including
give more prominence to a news service handling so-called ‘fake news’.
Line and Facebook. The government
which has gained support from a small but
also requisitioned both terrestrial and Lihyun Lin
influential audience in recent years.
satellite television channels to broadcast a National Taiwan University
public health video produced by the CDC. Aggregators play an important part in
Taiwanese citizens have historically low online news consumption in Taiwan.
trust in the news but the media’s role in Yahoo! News remains the most used digital
emphasising public health messages may news source (39% weekly use). It provides
have contributed to a significant rise this a convenient one-stop for news from
year to 31% (+7pp). A range of NGOs and multiple news providers, along with email,
health organisations also contributed to blogs, and games. Line News (34%), which
the effort to bring accurate and updated
135
Taiwan adopts a co-regulation approach whereby the public can file complaints about news programmes that are then judged by experts. A content review committee is composed
of media scholars, professionals, and NGO representatives who decide if the contents have violated the regulations. The NCC makes the final decision.
148 / 149

AND ONLINE TVBS News 42
11 Yahoo! News 39
11
Eastern Broadcasting News 10

31 ETtoday online 14
38
TOP BRANDS Sanlih E-Television News 11

29 Line News 10
34
% Weekly usage Formosa TV News 10

25 TVBS News online 12
32
Apple Daily 11
23 EBS News online 9
23
Weekly use 10
20 9
23
Liberty Times Sanlih E-Television News online
TV, radio & print
China TV News (CTV) 7
18 Apple Daily online 9
20
Taiwan Television News 8
17 ChungTien News online 7
18
TV, radio & print
ERA News 7
15 United Daily online 8
16
Weekly use
online brands United Daily News 7
15 Liberty Times online 7
16
More than 3 days per week Next TV 5

13 Business Weekly online 7
12
online brands Unique Satellite TV News 5
13 China TV News online 5
12
Public Television Service News 5

12 CommonWealth Magazine online 8
12
China Times 5
11 cnYes.com 5
11
Business Weekly 7
11 Storm Media 8
11
Chinese Television System News 5

11 Taiwan Television News online 4
10
CHANGING MEDIA
14%
PAY
With the routine of most Taiwanese unaffected by the pandemic,
news consumption has decreased in the past year across all
media sources (television, print, internet, and social media). pay for
Print consumption has halved over the last five years. ONLINE NEWS

2017–21
TV 2017–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
Social media
88%
65%
Printed newspapers
57% 59%
50% 54% 50% TV 55%
41% 41%
19% 20%
14%
0% 0%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Trust in news has risen seven
53 35 12
percentage points at a critical BBC
52 38 10
Public Television Service 45 47 8
ITV
period. Public service News overall News I use Business Weekly 51 40 9
FT 45 50 5
television remains the most CommonWealth Magazine 51 41 8
Channel 4 42 50 8
trusted in our survey, followed
31% (+7) 38%
TVBS News 50 39 11
Sky 39 52 9
by the economic news media Economic Daily 39
49 43 8
51 10
Guardian
(CommonWealth and Business Ettoday.net
Times 39
45 42
51
13
10
Weekly). The rest of the news 42/46 United Daily 38
44 42 14
55 7
Local newspaper
brands in the polarised media TTV News
Independent 33
44 46
58
10
9
landscape are trusted by one China TV News (CTV)
Telegraph 30
41 46
56
13
14
group, but distrusted by Liberty Times
Mail 16
37
47
41 22
37
37 41 22
another. FormosaHuffPost
TV News
29% 21%
13 74 13
Apple Daily 37 43 20
Mirror 11 58 31
Central News Agency 37 48 15
Sun 10 50 40
SanlihNews
News 6 36 38 76 26
18
Buzzfeed
Storm Media 31 49 20
0% 100%
33%
SHARE NEWS
1 Line 47% (-2) 70% 4 PTT (bulletin board) 7% (-1) 16%

or email 3 YouTube 38% (-3) 65% 6 Instagram 7% (-1) 29%
THAILAND
STATISTICS Thai Rath TV 32, and Channel 7 HD. Radio
remains a popular medium in Thailand,
Population 70m
with MCOT 100.5 News Network attracting
Internet penetration 82% most listeners.
There is often a blurry and somewhat

The media symbiotic line between the alternative
industry in and traditional media. Some prominent
journalists work for traditional media, but
Thailand have also built up an independent profile
is facing a online. On their own websites or via social
period of profound change as a media, they can tackle different subjects or
be more outspoken. Some get additional
result of digital disruption and income from donations or from product
societal change. Student-led placement. In turn, mainstream media
pro-democracy protests fuelled often report what is trending in social
media, allowing them to extend the scope
by social media have helped to
of their coverage without getting into
open up the media that have trouble with the authorities.
long been reluctant to criticise
The print media, which are largely privately
the authorities. run, include a handful of Thai-language
dailies, including Thai Rath Daily, Khaosod,
YouTube and Facebook Lives were at the and Daily News. Many papers have found
heart of the recent anti-establishment it hard to adapt to online, and some have Our survey shows that the majority of
protests that started in 2020 but have closed (M2F) or have cut staff. Post Today Thais (61%) are concerned about being
continued through this year. Alternative and The Nation dailies transitioned to able to distinguish true and fake news on
media have built substantial audiences via online-only in 2019. Newspapers do not the internet, with topics such as COVID-19
social platforms, with content that often charge subscriptions for online news in and politics most frequently mentioned.
openly criticises the government and the Thailand, relying instead on advertising The government passed a wide-ranging
monarchy – something that was previously income or from cross-subsidies from law, the Computer Crime Act, claiming
unheard of in this strongly deferential television if they are part of a bigger to protect citizens137. But critics fear the
country136. Facebook, YouTube, and Line are media brand. vagueness of the provisions and harsh
the most important networks, but Twitter penalties could be used to stifle legitimate
and TikTok have also played essential roles The preferences of Thai people to watch critics of the government.
in the protests, especially with younger or listen to the news rather than read has
users. Beyond news, Thais have embraced been much discussed. This puts further Intense competition has led to a battle
social platforms more widely, with pressure on printed media – despite a for attention amongst media companies,
celebrities and influencers playing a more number of government campaigns to which in turn has increased levels of
prominent role. get younger people to read. It also helps sensationalism and negativity in Thai
explain the popularity of Facebook journalism. Stories that involve insults or
Against this background, traditional Lives and YouTube as key ways in which dramas tend to attract bigger audiences
broadcasters and newspapers have been journalism is delivered – often accessed and are often spiced up with emojis
struggling to adapt. The media are free to from the markets or from public transport or other visual accompaniments. For
criticise government policies and cover due to widely available ‘unlimited data’ instance, crime stories are widely covered,
instances of corruption and human rights packages from many telecom operators. with one recent murder suspect becoming
abuses. But journalists tend to exercise a nationwide celebrity as a result of
self-censorship regarding the military, the Smartphones have been widely adopted in wall-to-wall media coverage. As a result,
monarchy, and other sensitive issues. They Thailand and, for many, they are now the those that still practise more traditional
also face financial pressures as a result main or only access point for the internet journalism are getting left behind, and
of digital change. Following an expensive and internet news. Mobile portals that many worry about the future of serious
battle to win digital television licences in aggregate news from different providers investigations and documentaries.
2014, many channels have had to close are a popular way to access news in
down due to financial losses. Only 15 of the Thailand – valued for their convenience. Professor Jantima Kheokao
licensed 24 stations are still broadcasting Both Line Today (36%) and Pantip.com University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce,
after failing to attract sufficient ratings and (34%) are accessed by more than a third of and Dhanaraj Kheokao
advertising revenue. In our survey, the top our survey respondents weekly. Potsdam University, Germany
three television stations are Channel 3 HD,
136
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-review/how-activists-and-digital-publishers-are-redefining-media-freedoms-thailand
137
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-cyber-idUSKCN1QH1OB
150 / 151

AND ONLINE Channel 3 HD 36
10 Thai Rath online 10
51
Thai Rath TV 32 9
33 Thai PBS News online 13
32
TOP BRANDS Thai Rath Daily 12

31 Khaosod online 9
27
% Weekly usage Channel One 31 10

29 PPTV online 10
23
Channel 7 HD 8
29 MCOT News Network online 9
22
Weekly use 9
25 11
21
Thai PBS (public broadcaster) The Reporter Thailand
TV, radio & print
Amarin TV HD 34 7
25 Matichon online 7
20
PPTV 36 7
23 Voice 5
18
TV, radio & print
MCOT 30 (incl. Thai News Agency) 8
18
Weekly use
online brands Khaosod 9
20 MSN News 9
16
More than 3 days per week Channel 8 News 6

19 CNN.com 5
16
online brands Nation TV 22 6
17 Yahoo! News 10
16
Daily News 10
17 Nation online 5
14
True4U News 6
14 Manager online (mgronline) 5
14
Matichon 6
13 Bangkok Post online 6
13
MCOT News Network FM 100.5 6

13 The Standard Thailand 3
11
CHANGING MEDIA
In this (online) survey, online sources stand out as people’s main
source of information (91%), outperforming traditional media
like TV (51%) and print (15%). Facebook (66%) and Line (56%)
are the main social networks for accessing news.
51% 91% 31% 81%

15% 78% 19%

Trust in the media (50%) is
53 35 12
relatively high by regional BBC
70 22 8
Thai PBS 45 47 8
ITV
standards, but traditional Thai News overall News I use Thai Rath 70 21 9
FT 45 50 5
deference towards institutions Channel 7 HD 68 25 7
Channel 4 42 50 8
– including journalists – is
50% 50%
MCOT News Network 68 25 7
Sky 39 52 9
starting to breakdown. Thai Krobkruakao 3 39
68 24 8
51 10
Guardian
PBS and Thai Rath have the Khaosod
Times 39
67 24
51 10
9
highest levels of brand trust, =14/46 Amarin 38

64 25
55 7
11
Local newspaper
with the Nation, which came Matichon online
Independent 33
63 27
58
10
9
under fire in recent protests Matichon Daily
Telegraph 30
63 26
56
11
14
for a pro-establishment/its BangkokMail
Post 16
62
47
29 9
37
58 31 11
business owners’ bias, least Manager
46% 38%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Voice 58 28 14
trusted. This may change Mirror 11 58 31
ISRANEWS Agency 56 35 9
following a recent transfer Sun 10 50 40
ThinkingNews
Radio 6 52 40 18
8
of ownership. Buzzfeed 76
Nation 51 25 24
0% 100%
47%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 66% 80% 4 Facebook Messenger 27% 53%
2 Line 56% 78% 5 Twitter 21% 32%

or email 3 YouTube 53% 79% 6 TikTok 14% 30%
152 / 153
S E C T I O N 3

Africa
AFRICA
3.44 Kenya 154
3.45 Nigeria 156
3.46 South Africa 158
KENYA
STATISTICS region. However, several laws restrict press
freedom and incidents of harassment of
Population 55m
journalists are rarely investigated. This and
Internet penetration 85% the high dependency on advertising leads
self-censorship as the media are often
afraid to ask hard questions about corporate
Kenyan failures and government corruption.
media were
The Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes
suffering from Act of 2018, which criminalises falsehoods
pre-existing and misinformation and penalises those
financial instability before the convicted with a fine of US$50,000 or a
maximum of two years’ imprisonment, has
COVID-19 pandemic as they been used to harass journalists, bloggers,
struggled to come to terms with and other activists who have been critical
digital disruption. Despite these of the government’s handling of the new
Coronavirus. The establishment of a
challenges, the media are still a
multi-agency team to monitor, document,
trusted source of news and the and enforce compliance with media
choices available to consumers broadcasting laws and social media
guidance ahead of the 2022 general with consumers. A digital tax introduced
continue to expand.
election has also had a chilling effect on in January 2021, which is charged on
press freedom. At least ten journalists and subscription-based media, including news,
Kenya leads the region in internet
digital content creators have since been magazines, and journals, may further
connectivity, mobile phone use, and social
arrested or threatened with prosecution dampen the expected growth. More than
media engagement and this in turn has
under the provisions of the Act. They 300 journalists have lost their jobs as part
made the country a pioneer in both digital
have been accused of spreading false and of media cost-saving measures and those
consumption and innovation. Our survey
alarming information on social media about that remain have had to accept hefty salary
shows that most of our Kenyan sample
the new Coronavirus.140 At least ten others cuts (between 30% and 50%).141
(83%) use a smartphone rather than a
were arrested under the Public Order Act
computer to access news each week and the The Kenya Editors Guild and the Media
for allegedly flouting the curfew, even
GSMA estimates that Kenya will have seven Council of Kenya have suggested the
though journalists have been identified as
million new mobile subscribers by 2025.138 creation of a media sustainability fund,
essential service providers and therefore
exempted from the curfew restrictions. but others worry that such a fund could
For most Kenyans, though, free-to-air
make the media even more vulnerable
digital terrestrial TV still remains the most
So-called ‘fake news’ is a phenomenon to pressure from politicians, risking
popular medium – with radio also reaching
of deep concern for consumers, with the further undermining independence. An
a significant proportion of the population
majority (75%) of those surveyed agreeing early casualty of the changing business
via more than 150 licensed stations in
that they found it hard to distinguish circumstances is HiviSasa.com, a digital
multiple languages.
between what is real and what is fake pioneer that closed after it was unable
Media ownership is concentrated when it comes to news on the internet. to identify a viable advertisement-led
among the political elite, reinforcing the Over half of our sample indicated that business model.
perception that the media are ‘captured’ they had come across false or misleading
information about health/COVID-19 (56%) Several local media organisations have
by political and corporate interests to the
or politics (63%) in the last week. partnered with international news
detriment of their public interest role. A
organisations such as the BBC, VOA,
study conducted by the Media Council of
Restrictions around COVID-19 have and DW to re-transmit their broadcasts.
Kenya showed that just ten media owners
affected the sales of print newspapers, The Nation Media Group also joined the
– including the Nation Media Group, The
partly due to fear of infection from surface rapidly expanding podcast market when
Standard Group, Radio Africa Group (Star+),
contact and deprioritisation of spend it launched Afripods, a new platform
the Royal Media Services Group (Citizen TV,
on news in household budgets. Media designed to showcase African content.
Citizen Radio, etc.), and Mediamax (People
organisations have reported losses and
Daily, K24TV, Kameme FM) – dominate Catherine Gicheru
some, like the Nation and the Standard,
the landscape.139 ICFJ Fellow and Director of the Africa Women
are pinning their hopes on the growth
of digital subscriptions, even though Journalism Project142
Kenyan media are considered to be more
vibrant when compared to others in the paying for news online is not popular
138
GSMA, ‘Mobile Economy Africa’, 2020. https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/sub-saharan-africa/
139
Council of Media of Kenya, Media Status Report, May 2012. https://issuu.com/mediacouncilkenya/docs/status_of_media_in_kenya_report
140
https://www.article19.org/resources/kenya-journalists-attacked/
141
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kenyan-editors-in-plea-for-media-journalists-1444020
142
https://theawjp.org/
154 / 155

AND ONLINE Citizen TV 72
13 Citizen Digital 57
11
Daily Nation 33
62 Nation online 23
55
TOP BRANDS KTN News (incl. KTN Home) 19

59 Kenyans.co.ke 27
52
% Weekly usage NTV (Nation TV) 17

47 KTN News (incl. KTN Home) 12
44
The Standard 26
45 The Standard online 19
43
Weekly use 14
32 12
34
Citizen Radio NTV online
TV, radio & print
K-24 16
30 Nairobi News 20
27
CNN 9
24 Yahoo! News 12
24
TV, radio & print
BBC News 10
24
Weekly use
online brands KBC News (public broadcaster) 12
22 CNN.com 8
23
More than 3 days per week Radio Maisha 10

20 The Star online 11
20
online brands The Star 14
20 Al-Jazeera online 5
18
Classic FM 9
19 Citizen Radio online 8
18
The Nairobian 14
19 The Nairobian online 11
18
Radio Jambo 9
17 K-24 online 7
17
The People Daily (free daily) 10

15 Business Daily online 9
15
METHODOLOGY NOTE
These data are based on an online survey of mainly English-speaking, online news users in Kenya – a subset of a larger, more diverse,
media market. Respondents were generally more affluent, younger (18–50 only), have higher levels of formal education, and are more
likely to live in cities than the overall Kenyan population. Findings should not be taken to be nationally representative.
73% 88% 49% 83%

(-1) (-2) (-6) (-)
36% 76% 9%
(-11) (-1) (-2)

Trust in media is relatively high
53 35 12
by international standards, BBC
89 5 6
KTN News 45 47 8
ITV
with 61% saying they trust News overall News I use Citizen TV 89 5 6
FT 45 50 5
most news most of the time. Daily Nation 89 6 5
Channel 4 42 50 8
By contrast, trust is lower in
61% (+11) 65%
NTV 89 5 6
Sky 39 52 9
the news found in social media Citizen Radio 39
87 7 6
51 10
Guardian
or search engines. KTN News, The Standard
Times 39
86 7 7
51 10
Citizen TV, the Daily Nation, =2/46 The Business Daily 38
84 8 8
55 7
Local newspaper
and NTV are the most trusted Radio Maisha
Independent 33
81 11 8
58 9
sources of news. K-24 TV
Telegraph 30
81 10
56
9
14
KBC News
Mail 16 47 37
Taifa Leo 79 11 10
55% 40%
HuffPost 13 74 13
RadioMirror
Jambo 78 12 10
11 58 31
The People Daily 74 14 12
Sun 10 50 40
The Star 6 70 7614 16
18
Buzzfeed News
The Nairobian 58 19 23
0% 100%
54%
SHARE NEWS

NIGERIA
STATISTICS dissemination of misinformation online.
The law will enable the government to order
Population 211m
internet shutdowns and block access to
Internet penetration 73% social media sites. 144
The corollary to government attempts to

Nigeria’s vibrant influence the media is that independently
media scene is owned news brands that are perceived to
be free of political control come out best
characterised in our Brand Trust Scores. Channels TV is
by state and the most trusted brand at 84%, followed
private broadcasters, popular by Vanguard (82%), The Punch (82%), and
the Guardian (80%) – all privately owned
international brands like the BBC daily newspapers.
and CNN, and more than 100
In terms of top news sources accessed, big
national and local print titles,
offline brands like Channels TV and The
many of which are struggling Punch head the list, but international brands
with digital transition. Relations CNN and BBC are popular online with our
between the media and the respondents. The Punch, the Guardian,
and Vanguard have seen more traffic and
government are often difficult. increased online revenue. Industry data
show The Punch’s traffic increasing from
Nigeria’s information minister’s response 17.7 million visits in February to 28.8 million
to the announcement that Twitter had in March. Daily Trust also launched a new
chosen to set up its first African office in product called Trust TV with the aim to
neighbouring Ghana instead of Nigeria capture a younger audience. However, in line with global trends, the
was to blame the media. He said the media pandemic adversely affected advertising
had misrepresented the country when As befits a population where 70% of spend in Nigeria, with analysts forecasting
reporting protests calling for reforms to the citizens are below the age of 30, news that Nigerian newspapers may be forced
Special Anti-Robbery Squad (#EndSARS), consumed on mobile (84%) is more to cut about 10% of staff.147
which spiked in October 2020. ’This is than double the number of readers on
what you get when you de-market your computers (41%), while tablets lag behind Independent radio network Dandal Kura
own country,’ the minister told reporters. at 11%. Nigeria has relatively low data International reported that it had cut salaries
‘Nigerian journalists were … painting charges, ranking 43rd on the recent 230 – for some people by as much as 80% – and
Nigeria as a hell where nobody should live.’ country list of mobile data pricing.145 at least a third of the staff were instructed
This enables the high usage of social not to attend work due to pandemic-related
It’s indicative of the fractious relationship media, a fertile ground for the spread of cuts in advertising spend. Punch reduced its
between the government and media, and misinformation, which includes claims newspaper page count from 48 to 32 pages,
indeed of the inimical conditions in which that consuming cow urine, or a mixture and retrenched workers. The Nation cut 100
Nigerian journalists have to operate. The of garlic and honey, cures COVID. The of its staff, a 20% reduction.
Media Foundation for West Africa said impact is exacerbated by the fact that
Nigeria was among the countries in the misinformation on social media can There are many other examples of what
region where journalists are assaulted, migrate to legitimate news sites.146 is a drastic cut in income for journalists,
attacked, or have had equipment seized and a decline in media resources, with
and destroyed while covering COVID-19.143 The COVID-19 pandemic saw a number the Nigeria Union of Journalists pointing
Journalists reported that, in some states, of media organisations come up with out that only state-owned outlets were
stories relating to the pandemic had to be innovative ideas to quell the spread of relatively unaffected. This is an unequal
approved by the taskforce set up by the state misinformation by ensuring fact-checked dynamic between independent journalism
before they could be published. The 2021 information was available in a number of and state-controlled media and is not an
World Press Freedom Index ranks Nigeria languages. BBC Africa launched a minute- environment currently conducive to the
at 120 out of 180 countries, with journalists long broadcast that aimed to provide an thriving of a free press.
facing harassment, arrest, and prosecution educational aspect as well as provide the
when reporting on corruption and terrorism. audience with updated information. This Adaugo Isaac and Chris Roper
Nigerian lawmakers are currently reviewing broadcast segment was also published on Code for Africa
legislation, with a view to criminalising the the phone app of mobile company MTN.
Editor’s note: After being provided with new evidence, we have removed the assertion that Punch had to cut staff salaries for the reported period.
143
https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/west-africas-press-freedoms-risk-during-coronavirus
144
https://www.voanews.com/press-freedom/rights-groups-sound-alarm-over-waning-press-freedoms-nigeria
145
https://www.cable.co.uk/mobiles/worldwide-data-pricing/
146
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-03-06/nigeria-fights-fake-news-about-coronavirus
147
https://gijn.org/2020/04/27/coronavirus-may-spell-the-end-for-many-of-africas-print-newspapers/
156 / 157

AND ONLINE Channels TV (24-hour news) 52
14 CNN.com 56
17
The Punch 24
54
TOP BRANDS CNN 15

47 Punch online 19
52
% Weekly usage TVC News (24-hour news) 16

45 Vanguard online 17
43
BBC News (TV and radio) 15

39 Sahara Reporters 17
42
Weekly use 21
38 19
42
The Vanguard Pulse.ng
TV, radio & print
The Guardian 20
34 Daily Trust online 13
31
National Television Authority 12
31 News 24 15
30
TV, radio & print
Daily Trust 16
29 Naija gist 16
29
Weekly use
online brands The Sun 18
28 The Daily Post online 15
24
More than 3 days per week Wazobia FM 12

28 Premium Times 8
17
online brands Cool FM 12
22 The Nation Nigeria 8
16
Arise TV News 10
21 Tribune 7
13
ThisDay 13
19 News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) 8
12
Raypower FM 9
17 Online Nigeria 7
12
Silverbird Television news 11

17 Information Nigeria 7
11
METHODOLOGY NOTE
These data are based on a survey of English-speaking, online news users in Nigeria – a subset of a larger, more diverse, media market.
Respondents are generally more affluent, younger (18–50 only), have higher levels of formal education, and are more likely to live in cities
than the wider Nigerian population. Findings should not be taken to be nationally representative.
66% 94% 41% 84%

28% 78% 11%

Trust in news is relatively high BBC 53 35 12
by international standards ITV 45 84 47
7 8
9
Channels TV
(54%), with particularly high News overall News I use FT
Vanguard
45 82 50 5
10 8
scores for independent news Channel 4
Punch
42
82
50
10
8
8
brands. By contrast, social
54% 60%
Sky 39
80
52
12
9
8
The Guardian
media trust is at a low 38%, Guardian
TVC News
39
77
51
12
10
11
10
despite 78% of respondents Times
The Sun
39
77
51
12 11
saying they get news from =7/46 Local newspaper

Arise TV
38
76 13
55 7
11
Independent 33 58 9
social media. WhatsApp and The Nation 76 14 10
Telegraph 30 56 14
Facebook lead at 65% and ThisDay 74 15 11
News in search News in social Mail 16 47 37
63% respectively as sources Premium Times 74 15 11
HuffPost 13 74 13
74 13 13
for news each week. Africa Independent Television
55% 38%
Mirror 11 58 31
The Cable 72 16 12
Sun 10 50 40
News Agency of Nigeria 63 20 17
Stears Business 56 28 16
0% 100%
59%
SHARE NEWS
1 WhatsApp 65% 88% 4 YouTube 34% 70%

or email 3 Twitter 44% 58% 6 Telegram 23% 50%
SOUTH AFRICA
STATISTICS Benefiting from an innovative partnership
with the loyalty scheme of a major
Population 60m
supermarket chain, Daily Maverick claim
Internet penetration 58% a circulation of 31,000 copies per week for
the seven weeks leading up to end March.
Too new to feature in this year’s survey, the
South Africa has newspaper undoubtedly benefits from the
one of the most Daily Maverick’s growing reach online (up
diverse and from 11% to 19%) and growth in trust from
60% in 2020 to 66%.
independent
media in Africa with a high degree The Daily Maverick was, however,
responsible for an egregious editorial
of press freedom. But structural blunder when they published a story in
change combined with the effects February 2021 by renowned investigative
of the COVID-19 pandemic are journalist Jacques Pauw, in which he
apparently concocted details of false
putting intense pressure on the
arrest and police harassment. The DM
finances of news organisations and journalist issued apologies, but the
– at the same time as increasing incident was seized upon by those eager
to discredit reputable media. Trust in
demand for authoritative and
media is, however, based on a number of
fact-based news. variables. Independent Online, the digital
channel for Independent Media, scores
All large media houses in South Africa have just one percentage point (65%) below
seen a precipitous decline in circulation the Daily Maverick (66%), despite having
and revenue for print over the last year, embarked on a dizzying spiral of publishing that attacks journalists reporting on
with a concomitant knock-on effect for misinformation and blatantly invented the corruption hearings around former
some of their digital products. As an news.149 Its daily newspaper, The Star, which president Jacob Zuma, attempting to paint
example, circulations for daily newspapers lost 60% of its circulation Q2 2019–20, is the reporting as either racist propaganda
are down by 40%, on average, for Q2 placed just above with a trust score of 68%. or by media biased toward a particular
2020/2021.148 Our Digital News Report government faction.150
survey shows that print as a source of news A notable mover in the survey is television
has dropped to 32%, 5pp down from last channel eNCA, whose trust score is up 4pp The DNR shows that concern about
year. It can only be a matter of time before to 82%, making it the third most trusted misinformation is higher in Africa (74%)
we see more print titles closing. brand in South Africa, a position it also held than other regions, with the global average
last year. eNCA’s television reach jumped at 58%. In South Africa, there have been
Not all the indicators are discouraging. 18pp to 58%, making it the most accessed calls by politicians for Facebook to be
Several news sites have built sustainable offline brand, pushing the SABC into second summoned to parliament to discuss steps
businesses, with the likes of Daily Maverick place at 53%. Its online reach also jumped to fight misinformation on its platforms.
and Netwerk24 operating effectively on 15pp. This was despite eNCA being fined by Facebook owns three of the top six
an amalgam of membership/subscription the Broadcasting Complaints Commission platforms used by South Africans – with
models and advertising, and investigative of SA for contravening the Broadcast WhatsApp (88%) and Facebook (78%) the
specialists amaBhungane on donor Code by featuring conspiracy theorist and most used networks for any purpose and
funding. Relatively new to the subscription COVID-19 denialist David Icke on one of for news. Generally, the economic and trust
model game is News24, the country’s their talk shows. In March 2021, the SABC pressures on media that the big platforms
leading news site (73% of people surveyed cut back over 621 of their 3,000 employees, facilitate are mirrored by the political
access it at least weekly) and joint most- significantly impacting the public environment, with a range of interest
trusted brand with the BBC. Launching broadcaster’s ability to provide a wide range groups invested in problematising the
their paywall in August 2020, they reached of services in multiple languages. notion of truth, particularly with reference
20,000 subscribers in the first two months. to investigative media.
As is the global norm, social media
Incredibly, in the midst of a pandemic and a platforms have become an important Chris Roper
generally disastrous revenue environment arena for corrupt politicians, criminal Deputy CEO, Code for Africa
for news, the Daily Maverick launched businesspeople, and conspiracy theorists
a weekly, high-quality print publication in their attempts to discredit news media.
called DM168 in September 2020. For example, there is an active, self-titled
Radical Economic Transformation group
148
https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/the-terrifying-collapse-of-newspapers-is-here/
149
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-11-25-iqbal-surves-campaign-of-lies/
150
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-03-30-beware-the-rising-intensity-of-warfare-against-democracy-and-south-africas-constitution/
158 / 159

AND ONLINE eNCA 58
15 News24 20
73
SABC News (incl. SABC 1,2,3) 12

53 SABC News online 15
51
TOP BRANDS SABC radio news 12

33 eNCA online 14
45

32 CNN.com 11
27
BBC News 13
31 Daily Sun online 12
25
Weekly use 14
26 11
25
Daily Sun BBC News online
TV, radio & print
Local radio news 11
26 TimesLive 11
20
The Sunday Times 19
26 Daily Maverick 10
19
TV, radio & print
The Citizen 10
17 The Citizen online 12
19
Weekly use
online brands City Press 11
17 IOL 8
19
More than 3 days per week Sowetan 11

17 City Press online 11
19
16 Netwerk24 10
18
Newzroom Afrika 7
16 Eyewitness News (EWN) 8
17
Mail & Guardian 9

14 Mail & Guardian online 9
16
SAFM 5
13 BusinessTech.co.za 10
16
UkhoziFM 5
13 SowetanLive 8
15
METHODOLOGY NOTE
These data are based on a survey of English-speaking, online news users in South Africa – an important part of a larger, more diverse, media
market. Respondents are generally more affluent, younger, have higher levels of formal education, and are more likely to live in cities than
the wider South African population. Findings should not be taken to be nationally representative.

2019–21
TV 2019–21
Social media
Print
100% 100%
90% 91% Social media
83%
75% Online (incl. social
76%media)
72%
74%
58%
55%
50% 50% TV
40%
32%
19% 18%
0% 0%
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021

Despite some high-profile
editorial errors, and a BBC 53
83
35
10 7
12
BBC News
concerted effort by agents of News overall News I use
ITV
News24
45
83
47 8
9 8
misinformation to attack FT
eNCA
45
82 10 8
50 5
42 50 8
media credibility, 2021 saw a Channel 4
52% (+4) 57%

SABC News 78 10 12
Sky 39 52 9
growth in trust in news overall Sunday Times 76 14 10
Guardian 39 51 10
(52%, up 4pp from 2020). It’s Mail & Guardian 75 17 8
possible that the surfacing of 12/46 Times

EWN (Eye Witness News)
39
73
51
17 10
10
the debate has educated users Regional/local newspaper
33
73 17 10
58 9
Independent
in understanding, and placing TimesLive 72 18 10
value on, the editorial integrity City Press
Mail 16 47
68 20 12
37
68 20 12
of trusted brands. The Star
47% 29%
HuffPost 13 74 13
Daily Maverick 66 23 11
Mirror 11 58 31
IOL 65 22 13
Sun 10 50 40
Sowetan 62 23 15
Daily Sun 50 22 28
0% 100%
61%
SHARE NEWS
1 Facebook 55% (-2) 78% 4 Twitter 28% (+5) 44%

or email 3 YouTube 39% (-) 77% 6 Telegram 13% (+8) 34%
160 / 161
S E C T I O N 4
References and
Selected Publications
The authors welcome feedback on this report
and suggestions on how to improve our work
via reuters.institute@politics.ox.ac.uk as well
as potential partnerships and support for our
ongoing work.
References
Boczkowski, P. J., Mitchelstein, E., Matassi, M. 2018. ‘“News

Comes Across When I’m in a Moment of Leisure”: Understanding
the Practices of Incidental News Consumption on Social Media’,
New Media and Society 20(10), 3523–39.
Boykoff, M. T., Boykoff, J. M. 2004. ‘Balance as Bias: Global

Warming and the US Prestige Press’, Global Environmental Change
14(2), 125–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2003.10.001
Cherubini, F., Newman, N., Nielsen, R. K. 2020. Changing

Newsrooms 2020: Addressing Diversity and Nurturing Talent at a
Time of Unprecedented Change. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the
Study of Journalism.
Hiles, S. S., Hinnant, A. 2014. ‘Climate Change in the Newsroom:

Journalists’ Evolving Standards of Objectivity When Covering
Global Warming’, Science Communication 36(4), 428–53. https://
doi.org/10.1177/1075547014534077
Hoffman, L. H., Eveland, W. P. 2010. ‘Assessing Causality in the

Relationship between Community Attachment and Local News
Media Use’, Mass Communication and Society 13(2), 174–95. https://
doi.org/10.1080/15205430903012144
Kreiss, D. 2019. ‘The Social Identity of Journalists‘, Journalism

20(1), 27–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918807595
McLeod, J. M., Daily, K., Zhongshi, G., Eveland, W. P., Jan, B.,
Seungchan, Y., Hsu, W. 1996. ‘Community Integration, Local
Media Use, and Democratic Processes’, Communication Research
23(2), 179–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365096023002002
Marchi, R. 2012. ‘With Facebook, Blogs, and Fake News, Teens

Reject Journalistic “Objectivity”’, Journal of Communication Inquiry
36(3), 246–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859912458700
Newman, N., Gallo, N. 2020. Daily News Podcasts: Building New

Habits in the Shadow of Coronavirus. Oxford: Reuters Institute for
the Study of Journalism.
Thurman, N., Cornia, A., Kunert, J. 2016. Journalists in the UK.

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Vallone, R. P., Ross, L., Lepper, M. R. 1985. ‘The Hostile Media

Phenomenon: Biased Perception and Perceptions of Media Bias
in Coverage of the Beirut Massacre’, Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology 49(3), 577–585. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-
3514.49.3.577
Zunino, E., Arcangeletti Yacante, C. A. 2020. ‘Media Coverage

of COVID-19 in Argentina: A Study about the Agendas of the
Pandemic in the Main National Digital Media’, Prácticas de Oficio
25(1), 49–66. https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/handle/11336/121490
162 / 163
Recent Reuters
Institute Publications
An Ongoing Infodemic: How People in Eight Countries Access and Rate Daily News Podcasts: Building New Habits in the Shadow of Coronavirus
News and Information about Coronavirus a Year into the Pandemic Nic Newman and Nathan Gallo
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Anne Schulz, and Richard Fletcher
Communications in the Coronavirus Crisis: Lessons for the Second Wave
Listening to What Trust in News Means to Users: Qualitative Evidence Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Richard Fletcher, Antonis Kalogeropoulos,
from Four Countries and Felix M. Simon
Benjamin Toff, Sumitra Badrinathan, Camila Mont’Alverne,
Amy Ross Arguedas, Richard Fletcher, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Changing Newsrooms 2020: Addressing Diversity and Nurturing Talent
at a Time of Unprecedented Change
Women and Leadership in the News Media 2021: Evidence from Twelve Federica Cherubini, Nic Newman, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
Markets
Craig T. Robertson, Meera Selva, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Few Winners, Many Losers: The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Dramatic
and Unequal Impact on Independent News Media
Race and Leadership in the News Media 2021: Evidence from Five Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Federica Cherubini, and Simge Andı
Markets
Craig T. Robertson, Meera Selva, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Publish Less, but Publish Better: Pivoting to Paid in Local News
Joy Jenkins
Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2021
Nic Newman Information Inequality in the UK Coronavirus Communications Crisis
Richard Fletcher, Antonis Kalogeropoulos, Felix M. Simon,
What We Think We Know and What We Want to Know: and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
Perspectives on Trust in News in a Changing World
Benjamin Toff, Sumitra Badrinathan, Camila Mont’Alverne, Social Media Communities and Reporting of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Amy Ross Arguedas, Richard Fletcher, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen Mark Frankel
Women and News: An Overview of Audience Behaviour in Eleven Volume and Patterns of Toxicity in Social Media Conversations during
Countries the COVID-19 Pandemic
Meera Selva and Simge Andı Sílvia Majó-Vázquez, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Joan Verdú, Nandan Rao,
Manlio de Domenico, and Omiros Papaspiliopoulos
Hearts and Minds: Harnessing Leadership, Culture, and Talent to Really
Go Digital
Lucy Kueng
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is dedicated to exploring

the future of journalism worldwide through debate, engagement, and
research. It is part of the Department of Politics and International
Relations at the University of Oxford, and affiliated with Green Templeton
College. Core funding comes from the Thomson Reuters Foundation with
additional support from a wide range of other funders including academic
funding bodies, foundations, non-profits, and industry partners.
e: reuters.institute@politics.ox.ac.uk
w: reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk
w: www.digitalnewsreport.org/2021
Supported by
Spanish translation supported by
Surveyed by
Cover photograph ©Jesper Klausen/Science Photo Library

Digital News Report 2021 FINAL

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Digital News Report 2021 FINAL

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reuters Institute

Digital News Report 2021

Nic Newman with Richard Fletcher, Anne Schulz,

Spanish translation supported by

© Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

2.2 Impartiality Unpacked: A Study of Four Countries  39 3.26 Argentina 114

2.3 Local News Unbundled: 3.27 Brazil 116

Source: Internet World Stats (http://www.internetworldstats.com).

Authorship and Research

Dr Richard Fletcher is a Senior Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute

Dr Anne Schulz is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute

Dr Simge Andı is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters

Dr Craig T. Robertson is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters

Prof. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is Director of the Reuters Institute for

Market-level commentary and additional insight around media developments

• Access to news continues to become more distributed. Across 100%

Change in online reach (2020-21)

If we take a longer term perspective, we actually see a decline in 75% 78 77 -17

Germany and the Netherlands. 0%

Overall progress remains slow. Across 20 countries where

USA Norway 45% (+3)

M, 54, Germany focus group

THE FUTURE OF LOCAL MEDIA

0% 25% 50% 75%

Political divides fuel much of this mistrust in the United States,

mainstream media coverage. We can compare these answers

0% 25% 50% 75% Don’t know 11

Across countries, around three-quarters (74%) of our sample

For further analysis see section 2.2: Impartiality Unpacked: A Study

PROPORTION THAT THINKS THEY HAVE SEEN FALSE

54% 43% More in ... Netherlands, Australia

say they have seen say they have seen 11%

When it comes to the channels through which COVID

Misinformation about COVID-19 has been a particular problem

Q_FAKE_NEWS_2021c. Thinking specifically about coronavirus (COVID-19) and its effects,

More concern about WhatsApp More concern about Facebook

50% Facebook WhatsApp etc. Twitter YouTube Search (e.g. Google) 50

PROPORTION THAT USED EACH SOCIAL NETWORK FOR NEWS Fa

Europe North America Asia Latin America Africa

Facebook 41% 35% 43% 59% 60%

YouTube 22% 25% 41% 32% 40%

WhatsApp 16% 7% 25% 40% 61%

Instagram 12% 11% 15% 24% 24%

FB Messenger 11% 13% 12% 12% 17%

PROFILE OF TIKTOK NEWS USERS – ALL MARKETS

Thailand Indonesia South Africa Peru Mexico

31 Mainstream news 25 Latest news

PROPORTION THAT ACCESSED NEWS VIA A SMARTPHONE

50% Gap grows

than in EU countries. 50%

PROPORTION THAT SAYS EACH IS THEIR MAIN NEWS DEVICE 33%

EU Average 54% 30% 7%

PROPORTION THAT RECEIVED A MOBILE NEWS ALERT South Korea Japan

Some of these alerts come from the apps of traditional media

PODCASTS AND THE RISE OF AUDIO Platform mix is changing

BBC Sounds 29 202

Slide 43have come from a personal recommendation.

I don’t want to have to 12

I don't know how or 10

Recommendations via my usual 24 There aren't any podcasts 8

Promotions for podcasts 17

Smart speakers could drive further audio growth

Awareness of podcasts is low in Japan, where 40% of those that

Consumers have rapidly adopted new digital behaviours during

2.2 Impartiality Unpacked: A Study of Four Countries 39 3.26 Argentina 114

2.3 Local News Unbundled: 3.27 Brazil 116

These include an overview of consumption in each market, EUROPE AMERICAS

Daily Mirror/Sunday Mirror/Sunday People 2 BBC TV News: 52% BuzzFeed News 3 4

The i 2 BBC Radio News: 19% CNN.com 2 4