In a historic shift, more Americans now say they get their news from social media and video platforms than from television, according to the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report. The annual report surveyed news habits in 47 countries this year and found 54% of U.S. adults turned to social or video platforms for news in the previous week, compared to 50% who used TV and 48% who accessed news via websites or apps.
This tipping point reflects an accelerating change in how Americans, particularly younger generations, consume news. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, more than half now rely primarily on platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to stay informed, turning to short videos, creators and algorithm-driven content instead of traditional news outlets.
“This isn’t a new trend; it’s the continuation of one that’s been building for years,” said Samantha Ragland, interim executive director and VP of journalism programs at the American Press Institute. “Younger generations — Gen Z and others — are getting more and more of their news from digital and social channels. They prefer audio and video over print or text. The big question is what will newsrooms do?”
Ragland said while the report shows a move toward video and audio on news platforms, she hopes newsrooms take a different approach than they have in the past.
“When the first pivot to video happened, if local news organizations had stayed the course, they would have already created infrastructure and hiring, and they’d be closer to the kinds of non-legacy news experiences people are prioritizing now,” said Ragland.
She added that traditional newsrooms sidelined multimedia journalists to everyone’s detriment. “They were typically overlooked because their presence wasn’t as felt in the legacy product [print] — even on the legacy website. They didn’t embrace the new ways of reaching audiences throughout their organizations. It led to frustration and failures,” she said.
AI-powered tools, such as chatbots, are emerging as a new, albeit still small, source of news: 7% of global respondents reported using AI tools weekly, rising to 15% among those under 25, according to Reuters data. As publishers experiment with AI to personalize content, audiences remain cautious, expressing concern about losing human oversight.
Ragland noted that API’s research, examining news ecosystems, shows that local news deeply embedded in communities is perceived as trustworthy. “When you think about breaking weather events — who people look to for important information in a crisis — local TV broadcasts typically come to mind,” she said.
The question of who pays for news is becoming more urgent. The Reuters report found that just 20% of Americans pay for online news. But Ragland pointed to deeper data showing promise among younger audiences. A 2023 Media Insight Project study, conducted by API and The Associated Press-NORC Center, found that 60% of Americans under 40 report paying for or donating to some form of news and information, from nonprofit websites to podcasts and public radio.
Ragland said their research surfaced interesting demographics about who is willing to pay for news connected to their community, “Black Millennials pay at a higher rate for independent content creation. They know that the information they need to make decisions for themselves and their families and to thrive is coming from specialty sources.”
Ragland views this moment as one where human-centered journalism still matters deeply. She hopes newsrooms find ways to serve people with video and audio on social platforms with a deeper commitment than in previous cycles.
“What you don’t want is for the report to catalyze something that then drops off if they don’t see immediate return in the ways they are used to tracking impact,” she said. “Please stay the course and make the internal adjustments to understand where the value lies. If we don’t, then the trust that local news still holds will continue to erode.”
Diane Sylvester is an award-winning 30-year multimedia news veteran. She works as a reporter, editor and newsroom strategist. She can be reached at diane.povcreative@gmail.com.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here