How is news consumption changing in the digital age?
The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report is a very interesting document offering an in-depth analysis of news consumption in different countries (a hefty 168-page tome — here is the document).
Globally, digital platforms such as TikTok and YouTube are emerging as the main sources of information, especially among young people, leading to a decline in the use of Facebook for news consumption.
Video, in all its fluid forms, is establishing itself as the fastest-growing medium (also thanks to the performance and prices offered by TELCO operators).
News podcasts 🎙️ attract a young, educated audience, but remain a niche phenomenon: across 20 countries, only 35% of the population listens to a podcast each month, and only 13% follows news programmes.
The Italian media system is evolving rapidly, with major shifts from traditional to digital platforms:
- Decline of Television: TV’s role as the main source of news fell from 85% in 2017 to 65% in 2024, especially among young people (18–24).
- Digital Dominance: online advertising now leads, accounting for 58% of revenues, but publishers see only 15% of it, while giants such as Google and Meta take the rest.
- Newspaper Crisis: print faces a 37% decline in sales from 2019 to 2023. Paywalls and subscription models are common, but only 10% pays for online news weekly. 2,700 newsstands have closed!
- Market Changes: digital outlets such as Fanpage and Il Post challenge traditional media. Major publishers such as GEDI and Cairo/RCS dominate, but face internal changes and protests from journalists.
- Industry Challenges: the closure of 2,700 newsstands and the annual loss of 40 million euros in advertising highlight the ongoing crisis.
What will the future of information be?
In my humble opinion, it will be much less tied to newspapers and more to the expertise and communication skills of individual journalists. I think of the examples set by the excellent Francesco Oggiano and Francesco Costa.
Instead of paying for a newspaper, we will pay the journalists we like.
From this perspective, the digital revolution helps journalists of the new era. There are so many platforms that can introduce people to the ‘pen’ and viewpoint of talented young journalists.
Platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram can provide the right visibility; newsletters fit the editorial format well. There are various solutions for this, such as Substack which allows journalists to create subscription systems that let them monetise information.
