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TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
US news consumers turn to Joe Rogan, away from traditional sources: report
Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the US, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report released on Tuesday. In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps — the first time that shift has occurred, the report said. Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the US. The trend is particularly acute among young Americans. Over half of people under age 35 in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news, the report found. Across the countries that the report surveyed, 44% of people aged 18 to 24 said these networks are their main source of news. One-fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14% of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Report on Digital Media News Consumption Highlights the Rise of Influencers as News Providers
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. Social platforms have overtaken TV as the key news source for Americans, while influencers are also now playing a bigger part in the broader dissemination of news and information. That's according to the latest Reuters Institute 'Digital News Report,' which incorporates responses from 100,000 people across 48 countries, providing perspective on their digital content consumption habits. You can download the full 171-page (!) report here, but in this post, we'll take a look at some of the key points. First off, as noted, social media has now become the top news source overall for adults in the U.S. As per the report: 'The proportion accessing news via social media and video networks in the United States (54%) is sharply up, overtaking both TV news (50%) and news websites/apps (48%) for the first time.' So if you were wondering why divisive, angst-inducing, fear-mongering content continues to dominate news cycles, this is probably why. Social platform algorithms incentivize argument and angst, because they view those interactions as engagement, and engagement leads to more reach, more discussion, more audience, etc. As such, social platforms, and digital media more broadly, effectively incentivize divisive, polarizing takes, bringing attention to those who are willing to say whatever they want, whether it's accurate or not. That's a large contributor to the current state of political discourse, and it's no surprise, based on this, why Elon Musk was keen to buy Twitter, as a means to manage the narratives around himself and his business interests. Though it is also interesting to note the specific platforms that people are using for news engagement: Use of X has only increased slightly, while the use of Instagram and TikTok for news has jumped up of late. Though Facebook and YouTube remain the top news sources for most people, especially those in older brackets. But that may well change over time: Younger audiences are far more likely to rely on social media platforms for news updates, and when you also look at the way they use the apps that are most popular in these audience segments: It also points to influencers having more sway over the opinions of younger audiences. That'll likely change the dynamic more and more as these audiences grow up, and become more reliant on the voices that they trust, over 'mainstream' media. Again, personalities are the key factor, those who connect with their audiences, and deliver the information that they want to hear, and the opinions that they align with. Which will likely increase the impact of confirmation bias in future, as more people look to their favorite streamers to guide their thinking, as opposed to traditional media outlets. Is that a better outcome? Well, it depends on your perspective. Many people are now increasingly skeptical of the media, and the information they get from news sources, a sense that's been emboldened by events like COVID, and the mixed messaging around how to best manage and mitigate its impacts. Combine that with the fact that younger users are now growing up with these influencers as their peer guides, and you can see how this next cohort of digital media voices will be shaping elections in the years to come. MrBeast for President? That's is absolutely a possibility, as these creators continue to gain more influence and power in their own right. The report also looks at the rise of video content specifically, and how people are looking to engage with news content online: Which is true of the web more broadly, that more people are looking to video as a key source of engagement and entertainment. Because they can. Video is now so readily available, and accessible via mobile apps, that of course people are more willing to watch a clip, as opposed to reading. Will that have impacts for learning down the line, in regards to in-depth understanding of complex topics? There is something to be said for reading, and slowing down your brain to consider the facts being presented. But we're also adapting to an increasing array of inputs, all of the time, which could counter some of the loss of absorption that we get from reading and writing. Maybe. The increased reliance on video also underlines the potential risks of generative AI, in regards to generated video, that's becoming more and more realistic. These will seemingly lead to more convincing video hoaxes, though that hasn't become a major issue as yet. But overall, it does seem like we're headed towards a less informed, more rapid consumption approach to news and information, which will also be more susceptible to misinformation and disruption, through various means. Can traditional media outlets regain trust, and become more significant news and information sources once again, or has the ship sailed, and we're now reliant on Joe Rogan to keep people informed? The stats here point to the latter. You can download the full 'Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025' here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
US consumers turning to Rogan over traditional news sources
Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the United States, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report released today. In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps - the first time that shift has occurred, the report said. Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the US. The trend is particularly acute among young Americans. Over half of people under age 35 in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news, the report found. Across the countries that the report surveyed, 44% of people aged 18-24 said these networks are their main source of news. One-fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Joe Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14% of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Mr Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks. Top creators during that period also included Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro on the political right, and Brian Tyler Cohen and David Pakman on the left. The vast majority of the most followed commentators who discuss politics are men, the report found. "These are not just big numbers in themselves," wrote Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford, UK-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. "These creators are also attracting audiences that traditional media struggle to reach. Some of the most popular personalities over-index with young men, with right-leaning audiences, and with those that have low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets, seeing them as biased or part of a liberal elite." Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest sources of false or misleading information worldwide, along with politicians, the report found. In the United States, politicians are considered the biggest sources of false or misleading information. Over 70% of Americans say they remain concerned about their ability to tell what is true from what is false when it comes to news online, a similar proportion to last year. That compared to 58% across all of the surveyed markets. Text remains the most preferred way for people worldwide to consume news, although around a third say they prefer to watch the news online and 15% say they prefer to listen. Younger people are much more likely to prefer watching or listening to the news. Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is also becoming a more popular source of news in the US, particularly among right-leaning users and young men, with 23% of sampled Americans consuming news there - up 8 percentage points from last year. Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon are struggling to gain traction globally, with reach of 2% or less for news. Levels of trust in news across markets are currently stable at 40%, and unchanged for the last three years, the report found. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is funded by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Thomson Reuters.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
US news consumers turning to podcasters and AI chatbots and away from traditional media — report
Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the United States, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to a report released on Tuesday. In the week following the January 2025 US presidential inauguration, more Americans said they got their news from social and video networks than from TV and news websites and apps — the first time that shift has occurred, the report said. Traditional US news media increasingly risks being eclipsed by online personalities and creators, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said in its annual Digital News Report, which is based on an online survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 markets, including the United States. The trend is particularly acute among young Americans. More than half of under-35s in the US are relying on social media and video networks as their main source for news. Across the countries the report surveyed, 44% of people aged 18 to 24 said these networks were their main source of news. In the week following the presidential inauguration, 14% of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Picture: AP/Richard Drew A fifth of a sampled group of Americans came across news or commentary from podcaster Rogan in the week following the presidential inauguration, the report found, while 14% of respondents said they had come across former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson discussing or commenting on news during that period. Carlson now generates content across multiple social media and video networks. 'These are not just big numbers in themselves,' wrote Nic Newman, senior research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. 'These creators are also attracting audiences that traditional media struggle to reach. Some of the most popular personalities over-index with young men, with right-leaning audiences, and with those that have low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets, seeing them as biased or part of a liberal elite.' Despite their popularity, online influencers and personalities are seen as the biggest sources of false or misleading information worldwide, along with politicians, the report found. In the United States, politicians are considered the biggest sources of false or misleading information. AI is another emerging theme in news consumption, particularly for young people. Of respondents under age 25, 15% rely on AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week, compared to 7% of respondents overall, the report found. ChatGPT was the most mentioned AI service for news, followed by Google's Gemini and Meta AI. Text remains the most preferred way for people worldwide to consume news, although about a third say they prefer to watch the news online and 15% say they prefer to listen. Younger people are much more likely to prefer watching or listening to the news. Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is also becoming a more popular source of news in the United States, particularly among right-leaning users and young men, with 23% of sampled Americans consuming news there — up eight percentage points from last year.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Trust in news in Singapore higher than global average, ST is most trusted news brand: report
Trust in news here has stayed consistent in the last eight years, and is up slightly from the 42 per cent recorded in 2017. PHOTO: ST FILE Trust in news in Singapore higher than global average, ST is most trusted news brand: report SINGAPORE - Singaporeans' trust in the news continues to be higher than the global average, while news avoidance behaviour remained low, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute. It also found that mainstream media outlets remained the most trusted news brands in Singapore, with The Straits Times coming out tops. The news organisation is trusted by 75 per cent of audiences here, followed by CNA with 74 per cent, and Channel 5 News with 73 per cent, among the 15 brands included in the survey for Singapore. The Digital News Report surveyed 100,000 people in 48 markets, including 2,014 people in Singapore, and found that 45 per cent here said they trust the news most of the time. This puts Singapore 15th worldwide, and 3rd in the Asia-Pacific region, behind Thailand (55 per cent) and Hong Kong (52 per cent). Trust in news here has stayed consistent in the last eight years, and is up slightly from the 42 per cent recorded in 2017. The survey found that overall trust in the news around the world has kept at 40 per cent for a third year in a row, which is still lower than the 44 per cent recorded in 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, news avoidance, which typically grows as trust declines, is at the highest level in this year's report by the Oxford-based institute. Worldwide, some 40 per cent of respondents said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up slightly from 39 per cent in 2024 and 29 per cent in 2017. The top reasons given by respondents around the world for avoiding news were the negative effect on mood, feeling worn out by the amount of news, and too much coverage of conflict and war. But the proportion of respondents in Singapore who said they sometimes or often avoid the news was 27 per cent, which was the fifth lowest of the 48 countries and territories surveyed. Places with the lowest news avoidance were Japan (11 per cent) and Taiwan (21 per cent), while those with the highest news avoidance were Bulgaria (63 per cent), Turkey and Croatia (61 per cent). The report noted that Singapore's legacy news brands had largely retained or improved their brand trust scores, while alternative and independent outlets still rank lower, partly due to their limited track record and emphasis on viral news. Audiences of all generations still prize trusted brands with a track record for accuracy, even if they do not use the brands as often as they once did, it added. The report found that around the world, trusted news brands are the ones that people most frequently turn to when they want to check whether a piece of news or information is true or false, along with official sources. This year's report included a question about what people do to gauge the veracity of a piece of information, and the biggest proportion of respondents (38 per cent) said they would first look to news outlets they trust, followed by official sources (35 per cent) and fact-checkers (25 per cent). In Singapore, ST and CNA were tied for the highest offline reach, with 33 per cent of respondents reporting that they used both outlets weekly. CNA was the most used online news source (47 per cent), followed by Mothership (46 per cent) and the ST website (41 per cent). Online and social media remain the most common ways of accessing news in Singapore, while both TV and print have declined significantly over the last few years. Whatsapp (33 per cent) remained as the top social media network people turned to for news in Singapore, though platforms such as YouTube (32 per cent), Instagram (24 per cent) and TikTok (18 per cent) have grown in popularity as news sources compared to the year before. Data for the report was gathered by research firm YouGov through an online questionnaire, with sampling designed to be nationally representative by age, gender, and region. The Reuters Institute said that for countries with lower internet penetration, the results should be interpreted as representative of the online population rather than the national population. The institute also cautioned that its use of a non-probability sampling approach meant it was not possible to compute a conventional margin of error, and that small differences are very unlikely to be statistically significant. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
