The young arise! DNR 2026

Like clockwork, every year the Digital News Report (DNR) provides a healthy balance of good and bad news about the way Australians relate to and consume news media. 2026 is no different, particularly with the headline news that whilst a majority of surveyed under 25-year-olds have never used newspapers or radio as a source of news (yes, never!) their overall interest in news is on the rise – and markedly so. In fact, interest in news amongst 18–24-year old’s has risen to 47 percent (+12 percent) and in yet more good news for the news industry, they’re more likely to pay for it than older generations.

As well, interest in politics amongst under 35’s is now higher than it is in older cohorts according to the DNR produced by the News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra as part of a global survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University. But this younger cohort isn’t using traditional sources to access the news they’ve become more interested in. A whopping 60 percent have never used a newspaper as a source of news, while 53 percent have never listened to a radio news bulletin to source news and for 25 percent of that cohort, even TV is simply not a thing. Aside from all this, it appears that young people – 71 percent of them – came across news on social media, and of those, some 48 percent encountered it on TikTok.  Overall, 89 percent caught news in online videos – the ones that now crowd out social media platforms, keeping us glued to the platform for hours!

As the DNR’s researchers state “This generational shift is not just about platform choice. It is redefining what news is, who delivers it, and why they are paying for it. News is no longer something people deliberately seek out at set times. It is embedded within everyday scrolling, sharing and entertainment.” Traditional news media is not yet dead, though the trends are giving it a very unhealthy hue. Across generations, 57 percent of Australians still use TV as a main source of news, but this is followed very closely by their use of social media at 56 percent and online news at 52 percent.

Perhaps the most striking finding – even though it should not be – is that 43 percent of those surveyed said they got their news from creators or influencers. Amongst 18–24-year-olds, some 70 percent use influencers to source news because they say influencers are more relatable, more entertaining and easier to understand. According to the researchers: “The growth of influencer-led news is closely tied to questions of trust. Audiences who distrust mainstream media are more likely to turn to influencers. People who distrust news in general are much more likely to perceive influencers as trustworthy (40%) than those who trust mainstream news (32%). Distrusters of news also think influencer-led news is more authentic (61%).”

So, what’s going on with young audiences? It seems they want news to be delivered to them on their mobile devices – but they also think about whether it’s trustworthy: there’s been a marked increase in the level of concern about misinformation in the 18–24-year-old cohort, from 65 percent in 2023 to 81 percent in 2026 (+16). Then again, there’s been an increase (+5, 54 percent) in the proportion of those across all cohorts saying they trust the news they personally choose to consume whilst trust in news in the broader news environment remains unchanged in 2026 (43 percent).  

Another fascinating finding is that young people are more likely to believe public service media (think ABC and SBS) is valuable compared to older generations; a higher proportion of under 35’s value public service media compared to over 35’s. In fact, those aged 25-34 (68 percent) are far more positive about public service media than those aged 55-64 (34 percent). That may account for another finding that around 71 percent of those more likely to value public service media identified as left wing and 41 percent identified as right wing. Swings and roundabouts as they say, though that one will give News Corp talking points for the next year!

Links:

Digital News Report 2026: https://apo.org.au/node/334300 
 
The Conversation Australia: https://theconversation.com/how-younger-australians-are-reshaping-the-future-of-news-284184