News source usage worldwide 2020

According to a report investigating news consumption and media literacy worldwide, television was the most typical outlet from which consumers got their news and current affairs information in all participating countries. India was the exception to this, with 82 percent saying that they used social media as their main way of keeping up to date.

Whilst news consumption varied across the world, social media was cited as a source of news for over 50 percent of consumers from each country in the study, and online newspapers, news sites, or apps were also popular choices. Meanwhile, printed newspapers were read by more than 60 percent of respondents from India but were among the least used news outlets in other countries.

Paying for news

Printed papers have long struggled to retain or pull in readers as news audiences look elsewhere, not least due to the availability of free online news. Indeed, a global study evaluating news consumption across 15 countries found that paying for online news is not yet commonplace. A separate report revealed that 67 percent of respondents worldwide admitted they only read news that could be accessed for free, and for Hungary and Russia the figure was as high as 79 percent. In an age where free websites and social media platforms satisfy the demand for free content, paying for news is not always an appealing prospect for consumers, and perhaps even less so among younger audiences who rely heavily on free sources.

News consumption among Gen Z and Millennials

Global data showed that Gen Z and Millennials mainly use social media for news. A total of 34 percent of consumers under 35 years old used social media as their main news source in early 2021, compared to 26 percent of all respondents to the study. Interestingly though, news consumption behavior among Gen Z and Millennials was different when it came to searching for news on the COVID-19 pandemic. The most used sources of coronavirus news among this demographic were national newspapers, television, and radio, whereas social media was a less popular choice.

Sources of information about news and current affairs in selected countries worldwide as of June 2020

Characteristic	Total EMEA	Argentina	Australia	Brazil	India	Nigeria	U.S.
Printed newspapers	28%	15%	25%	16%	62%	34%	25%
Online newspapers, news websites, or apps	63%	60%	57%	66%	69%	62%	51%
Social media	55%	59%	59%	71%	82%	78%	54%
Video sharing websites online	15%	26%	14%	31%	41%	23%	14%
Online blogs or forums	13%	13%	10%	15%	35%	39%	13%
Radio	52%	41%	48%	35%	22%	54%	38%
Magazines	15%	8%	9%	14%	33%	22%	15%
Television	79%	80%	77%	79%	79%	73%	69%
Colleagues, friends, or family face-to-face	37%	34%	36%	43%	46%	38%	36%
Colleagues, friends, or family via privates messages (SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger)	29%	43%	27%	47%	60%	51%	20%
Other	1%	1%	2%	1%	1%	1%	2%
I don't get any information about news or current affairs	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%	2%
Don't know	1%	0%	0%	1%	1%	0%	1%

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Release date

March 2021

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

January 6 to June 18, 2020*

Age group

16-70 years

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

*Survey dates for EMEA were January 6 to March 27, 2020. Dates for non-European countries were February 12 to June 18. 2020.
Question: Where, if anywhere, do you typically get your information about news and current affairs from?

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