3 key takeaways: Digital News Report 2026

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 is one of the most comprehensive studies of global news consumption, surveying nearly 100,000 people across 48 markets.

Here are three key takeaways and what they mean for publishers:

1. Social and video networks are the most widely used news sources

For the first time, more people globally get their news from social and video networks (54%) than from news publishers' websites and apps (51%).

This reinforces the importance of social and video networks as channels for audience growth. However, converting that third-party attention into lasting, direct audience relationships remains a challenge.

The rise of news creators has undoubtedly contributed to the growing role of social and video networks. Respondents described creators as easier to understand, more relatable, more entertaining, and more up-to-date than traditional news publishers.

However, creators were seen as less knowledgeable, trustworthy, and impartial.

To increase engagement with their owned channels, publishers may look to combine the strengths of both: emphasizing the credibility and expertise that audiences associate with professional journalism while adopting some of the qualities that make creators successful.

That might mean making reporting more transparent, building stronger relationships between audiences and individual journalists, and embracing formats that are easier to consume and share.

2. One in ten people use AI chatbots for news

One in ten people now use AI chatbots for news, with usage rising to 16% among under-35s.

The main motivation was the ability to ask follow-up questions and receive more in-depth information or explanation, suggesting that traditional news sources are leaving a gap.

Publishers may need to rethink how they provide context around their reporting, making it easier for readers to explore topics in greater depth and understand why a story matters.

Among those with a high interest in news, other popular reasons for using AI chatbots included: 

• their speed,
• their ability to compile information from multiple sources into a single response, and
• their ability to summarize complex stories.

By catering to these needs through owned channels, publishers could better serve their audiences and keep more news consumption within their own ecosystems.

Ultimately, though, publishers may need to find ways to participate in AI experiences rather than compete against them—just like they did with social and video networks. 

The industry is beginning to explore how journalism can be fairly surfaced, cited, and attributed within AI-generated responses. Some publishers, like News Corp and The Associated Press, have already struck licensing deals with AI companies.

3. Video growth is being captured by third-party platforms

Online video news consumption has risen to 77%, but all growth is occurring on social and video networks. Engagement with news video on publishers' websites and apps has fallen by five percentage points year-on-year, to 23%.

There’s clearly a huge appetite for news video, and publishers have many advantages they can draw on in the fight with TikTok and YouTube. Most notably: trusted brands, direct access to original reporting, and established relationships with their audiences.

The key to capturing engagement may be delivering a better user experience. 

Audiences are unlikely to develop habits around a video product that is updated infrequently, lacks personalization and interactivity, or offers too little content to keep them engaged. 

Many publishers are understandably hesitant to put more resources into video, especially if engagement is declining. But low engagement may be a symptom of limited investment, rather than a justification for it. Bigger investments may be necessary to meet the standards audiences have come to expect.

Of course, publishers can also look to extract more value from video engagement on third-party platforms.

Many are shifting from a traffic mindset to an audience value mindset. Rather than judging platform video solely by referral clicks, they're using it to build journalist brands, deepen audience relationships, and create pathways into owned products.

The time to adapt is now

The Reuters Digital News Report highlights a growing gap between how publishers deliver journalism and how audiences prefer to consume it.

The winners will be those that can combine the strengths of traditional publishing with the strengths of platforms, creators, and AI. Those that evolve alongside audience habits, instead of fighting against them.

BeyondWords helps publishers bridge that gap, transforming trusted journalism into experiences that are more accessible, engaging, and aligned with the way modern audiences consume news.

Ready to build the next generation of news? Book a demo with our team.