Entertainment
News Industry Outlook: How Consumer Habits Are Transforming the Media Landscape
Report summary
The public relies on and expects a lot from the media, but few support it
The news media has been one of the most negatively-impacted industries over the last two decades — whether it’s catering to ever- changing online algorithms or adapting to new platforms that take attention away from its core audience.
Despite being more and more economically untenable as an industry, people still consume news and rely on it too. To help brands understand the ever-changing news consumption habits of the average American, we conducted research on where audiences are spending their time and their dollars, how much they trust the news as an institution, and their thoughts on trends like AI and misinformation that will impact the future of the news.
Key Takeaways
- Social media is the stickiest news source. Almost 2 in 5 U.S. adults say they turn to social media for news multiple times a day, and for Gen Z, it’s also the news source they trust the most.
- Few pay for the news, and many want to stop. Among the 16% who currently pay for the news, 39% said they expect to cancel their subscriptions within the next three months.
- Most think misinformation is on the rise. Roughly half of U.S. adults think misinformation is spreading faster than it was last year, and a vast majority said they’re concerned about it.
- Young consumers turn to news influencers over traditional media. Content creators that focus on news are now a top-three news source for young people, though their credibility ranks closer to the bottom than traditional sources.
Data Downloads
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Highlights from this report
Use of TikTok for news among its users has grown substantially over the last two years, despite the platform having been synonymous with entertainment content since its inception. More than half (53%) of TikTok users said they turn to the app for news in July 2024, a 23 percentage point increase from July 2022. This growth is reflective across key groups, like Gen Z adults, millennials and members of major political parties, which already consumed news on TikTok at higher rates.
News consumption on TikTok is nearly as common as it is on Facebook or X
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Methodology
Morning Consult data featured in this report draws from research conducted over several time periods:
- February 16-18, 2024, March 11-14, 2024, and July 31-August 4, 2024, among representative samples of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with unweighted margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.
- Trended historical data is drawn from research fielded monthly between July 2022 and July 2024, among representative samples of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
All survey interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment.
About the author
Amy He leads Industry Analysis at Morning Consult. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Amy served as the executive editor at eMarketer, and was a China reporter for many years. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and East Asian studies. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].
