The New News Consumer in 2025: The Battle for Attention

For much of the 20th century, journalism operated under a broadcast model. Television, radio, and print established the shared agenda, and audiences gathered around relatively few sources of information. The digital era disrupted that order: first by multiplying outlets, then by introducing platforms as dominant gateways.

By 2025, however, the central story is no longer technology alone but the consumer. Audiences have fragmented across platforms, formats, and modes of engagement. Habits diverge by generation, region, and socioeconomic group, while trust in institutions remains fragile. The new news consumer is not a passive recipient of information but an active actor shaping journalism’s trajectory.

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025 provides the primary evidence for this transformation. Its findings illuminate a global ecosystem where consumption is audiovisual, authority is contested, and trust is fragile. This article interprets those findings to understand how consumer behaviors are reshaping journalism’s sustainability and credibility.

Habits in Flux: Decline of Legacy, Rise of Video and Audio

The report confirms a structural shift away from legacy media. Television, once the undisputed leader in setting agendas, is losing ground almost everywhere. In the United States, reliance on print has fallen by more than 30 points over the past decade, and TV audiences decline year after year. Websites, once assumed to be the natural successors, are plateauing as younger audiences bypass homepages entirely.

By contrast, social video has become dominant. Globally, 65% of respondents consume news through platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. For under-35s, this is not incidental exposure but a habitual entry point. The feed, not the front page, sets the rhythm of their information diets.

Audio is also consolidating its role. In the U.S., 15% of respondents access news weekly through podcasts, placing the format on par with print newspapers and radio. While not yet universal, podcasts are particularly effective at capturing attention among urban, educated, and mobile audiences. Case studies highlight their strategic potential: The Daily by The New York Times attracts millions daily, while independent newsletters have expanded into podcast networks that build loyal communities.

The implication is clear: publishers are not simply competing with one another, but with an abundance of entertainment and information formats. The consumer journey is fluid, platform-driven, and increasingly audiovisual.

The AI Factor: Promise and Peril

Artificial intelligence has entered the news ecosystem as both a tool and a source. According to the report, 7% of global respondents already use AI platforms weekly to access news, a modest figure but one that rises to 15% among under-25s.

The appeal is straightforward: AI tools provide speed, personalization, and accessibility, with features like real-time translation or summarization. For multilingual or time-pressed audiences, these capabilities are compelling. Some publishers are experimenting with AI-driven personalization engines, tailoring headlines or delivery formats to individual users.

Yet skepticism remains high. Users express concerns about transparency, accountability, and trustworthiness. The fear is that generative AI will blur the boundary between verified journalism and synthetic content. Complementary surveys confirm this fragility: a Pew Research study shows that two-thirds of respondents worry about AI-driven misinformation.

For publishers, the challenge is to integrate AI without eroding credibility. Efficiency gains in transcription, editing, or translation are relatively safe; content generation or automated reporting demands greater caution and transparency. Labeling, disclosure, and clear editorial oversight are not optional—they are strategic imperatives.

Trust and Avoidance: A Fragile Relationship

Global trust in news remains at 40%, a figure that masks wide variation. In high-trust societies such as Finland, levels exceed 65%, while in others they drop below 25%. Stability should not be confused with strength: skepticism persists everywhere.

Compounding this fragility is news avoidance. Large numbers of people—particularly younger audiences—admit to consuming less news to protect their mood or avoid perceptions of negativity and polarization. The report notes a growing preference for lighter, more entertaining content, even within news environments.

Political polarization also distorts trust. In the United States, whether individuals perceive journalism as fair or biased is strongly correlated with partisan affiliation. Similar divides are evident in Brazil, Poland, and other polarized democracies. Trust is not just about accuracy; it is about alignment with identity and worldview.

For publishers, the lesson is that trust must be earned contextually. Accuracy is necessary but insufficient. Relevance, relatability, and emotional resonance increasingly determine whether journalism is perceived as credible.

Payment and Sustainability: Stalled Momentum

Perhaps the most sobering finding of the 2025 report is the stagnation of paid models. Only 18% of respondents globally pay for online news, a figure largely unchanged from previous years. Nordic countries remain the outliers, with Norway at 42% and Sweden at 31%. In Southern and Eastern Europe, willingness to pay is as low as 6–7%.

This divergence underscores that payment models are culturally and economically contingent. Subscription fatigue also plays a role, as consumers face competing demands from streaming, gaming, and software services.

Alternative approaches are under experimentation:

• Memberships, where users pay for community, mission, or access rather than content alone.

• Bundles, combining news with lifestyle or entertainment products.

• Micropayments, enabling casual access without full commitment.

Case studies illustrate these dynamics: The Guardian’s voluntary contribution model sustains global journalism without a paywall, while The Athletic proved the viability of niche subscriptions before its acquisition. Still, no single model dominates. The common denominator is the need for a clear value proposition—why this journalism is worth money in a world saturated with free content.

Strategic Implications for Publishers

Taken together, these shifts suggest several imperatives:

1. Compete in video and audio. Success depends on adapting to audiovisual-first consumption, not treating it as supplementary.

2. Embrace AI with transparency. Efficiency is inevitable, but credibility hinges on labeling, disclosure, and oversight.

3. Reconnect with younger and minority audiences. Trust and loyalty must be built in the environments where they already are: TikTok, podcasts, and community spaces.

4. Redefine value in paid models. Subscriptions must be flexible, bundled, or mission-driven to overcome fatigue and regional disparities.

5. Design for participation, not just consumption. Audiences want to be part of the story—through Q&As, events, or community-driven initiatives.

These imperatives mark a shift away from platform dependency and toward consumer-centered sustainability.

Conclusion: Audiences as Architects of the Future

The news consumer of 2025 is fragmented, skeptical, and selective. They curate their own diets across video, audio, text, and AI tools. They oscillate between craving authenticity and distrusting authority, between seeking depth and avoiding negativity.

For journalism, this is both a crisis and an opportunity. Audiences are no longer endpoints but architects of the future, shaping the media through their habits, trust, and willingness to pay.

The key lies in balancing convenience with credibility. Publishers who meet audiences where they are, respect their need for transparency, and offer irreplaceable value will not only survive but thrive in this new era.