2023-06-25-路透社新闻研究所-2023年网络新闻报告_160页_8mb

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 Summary

Core Content and Overview

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 provides a comprehensive analysis of digital news consumption across 46 global markets, representing over half the world's population. The report highlights the evolving landscape of news media in the face of digital transformation, shifting consumer habits, and growing concerns around trust, misinformation, and platform dependency. It is authored by Nic Newman and supported by a team of researchers, including Richard Fletcher, Kirsten Eddy, Craig T. Robertson, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, with input from academic partners and YouGov.

Main Findings and Key Insights

1. Digital Transformation and Generational Shifts

• The news industry is undergoing a fundamental shift driven by younger generations who have grown up with digital media and prefer it over traditional platforms.
• Legacy media face ongoing challenges in maintaining relevance and engagement, especially as younger audiences increasingly rely on social media, search, and mobile aggregators rather than news websites or apps.
• Platform preferences rarely regress with age, indicating a one-way shift towards digital media consumption.

2. Declining Trust and Engagement

• Trust in news has declined across markets, with an overall drop of 2 percentage points in the last year.
• Finland maintains the highest trust in news (69%), while Greece has the lowest (19%), attributed to ongoing debates about press freedom and media independence.
• News participation is also declining, with only 22% of respondents across markets being active participants, and 47% not engaging with news at all.
• In the UK and US, active participation has dropped by more than 10 percentage points since 2016.

3. Platform Dominance and Fragmentation

• Social media is becoming a dominant gateway for news, with 30% of users preferring it over direct access to news websites or apps.
• Facebook remains the most-used social network, but its influence on news is waning as it shifts focus away from news content.
• TikTok and YouTube are rising in prominence, particularly among younger audiences, who often trust influencers and celebrities over journalists.
• Google and Facebook (now Meta) still dominate online news traffic, but the duopoly is becoming less concentrated in many markets.

4. News Consumption Trends

• Text-based news is still the preferred format, but video consumption is growing in several markets, especially in Philippines, Thailand, and parts of Asia-Pacific.
• News podcasts remain popular among educated and younger audiences, but are still a minority activity.
• The most popular formats are deep dive podcasts (e.g., The Daily) and extended chat shows (e.g., The Joe Rogan Experience).

5. Economic Pressures and News Payment

• With household budgets under pressure, many consumers are rethinking their news spending.
• Online news payment appears to be levelling off, with 17% of users in a basket of 20 richer countries paying for news – the same as last year.
• Norway leads in news payment at 39%, while Japan and the UK are among the lowest at 9%.
• Cost of living and high prices are the most common reasons cited for not paying for news.
• In the US, Germany, and UK, nearly half of non-subscribers say they would not pay for news, citing lack of interest or perceived value.

Country and Market Analysis

The report includes in-depth analysis for 46 markets, grouped into Europe, Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa, highlighting regional differences in news consumption, trust, and platform usage.

Europe

• In Northern European markets, public service media maintain high levels of trust, but reach among younger audiences is declining.
• Direct access to news websites and apps is still significant in some countries, but social media is growing in influence.
• Spain and Sweden show notable trends in podcasting and digital engagement.

Americas

• In the US, a growing number of news consumers are subscribing to multiple platforms, reflecting the rise of discounted offers and all-access bundles.
• Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico show mixed patterns, with social media and mobile aggregators playing a key role in news access.

Asia-Pacific

• Naver and Yahoo! are primary access points in Japan and South Korea.
• In India and Indonesia, mobile news aggregators are increasingly important gateways.
• Philippines and Thailand show a preference for video news over text.

Africa

• In Kenya and Nigeria, social media is the most important news gateway, with lower internet penetration (73% and 58%, respectively) affecting data representativeness.

Methodology and Limitations

• The study was conducted by YouGov using an online questionnaire in early 2023.
• Samples were nationally representative, with quotas for age, gender, and region.
• Education quotas were applied in most markets except India, Kenya, Nigeria, etc.
• Non-probability sampling means margin of error cannot be calculated, and differences of +/-2 percentage points are not statistically significant.
• Online samples tend to under-represent older and less affluent users, leading to a bias towards younger, more digitally engaged populations.
• In India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, the survey data reflect younger English-speaking populations, not the entire national population.

Conclusion and Implications

The report underscores the ongoing digital transformation of the news industry, with young people driving changes in platform preferences, consumption habits, and trust dynamics. While digital platforms continue to dominate news access, traditional media face challenges in maintaining relevance and engagement. Public service media remain trusted, but their reach among younger audiences is a concern. News payment is not growing significantly, and trust in news continues to decline in many regions. The new normal is one of fragmented attention, algorithm-driven content, and a growing reliance on social media.

Key Figures

• 22% of users now start their news journey with a website or app (down 10 pp from 2018).
• 30% of users prefer news selected by algorithms, while 27% prefer editor-chosen content.
• 17% of users in 20 richer countries pay for online news.
• 36% of users avoid news, often or sometimes.
• 44% of 18–24-year-olds access news via TikTok and YouTube.
• Finland has the highest trust in news (69%), while Greece has the lowest (19%).

Support and Acknowledgements

The report is supported by Google News Initiative, BBC News, Ofcom, and other key institutions, as well as academic partners and Reuters Journalist Fellows. It is also translated into Spanish by Fundación Gabo, and Code for Africa has joined as a new sponsor to expand the report’s reach in Sub-Saharan Africa.