By Jay Bemis | Advertising Systems Inc.
“And that’s the way it is,” Walter Cronkite would say when concluding his nightly newscast on CBS-TV, which aired from April 1962 to 1981 and was — along with home delivery of a daily newspaper, perhaps — the chief way that Americans once consumed their news.
The way it is now?
“Are you sure you want to log out?” your social-media app may ask when you’re logging out on your desktop computer or mobile device, after you’ve skimmed the news of the day, digitally.
Some 54% of US adults now get their news from social media, per Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report released last month, which compares to 50% who get their news from TV and 48% who draw upon news websites and apps.
As had been predicted, the year 2024 would mark the first time that social media surpassed linear TV and print as the top source of news for US adults.
“However, trust in that news is flagging — about three-quarters (73%) are worried they can’t distinguish what’s true from what’s false with online news,” eMarketer said in reporting on Reuters’ findings.
It added: “News consumption on social media isn’t limited to one dominant platform, indicating that consumers’ attention is fragmented and making it more difficult for outlets to capture and retain attention in a centralized way.”
More Findings From the Reuters Report
The Reuters Institute report reached several interesting findings on how Americans consume news in today’s world:
- Facebook (36%) and YouTube (30%) lead the way in social-media news consumption, followed by 19% who use Instagram and WhatsApp, 16% who navigate TikTok and 12% who use X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Many of those platforms — especially Facebook, Instagram and X — have loosened content moderation this year, making feeds more vulnerable to misinformation,” warns eMarketer of these trends. “Inaccurate content reposted alongside legitimate news stories or brand posts could confuse users and hurt brand reputation.”
- Linear losses: Radio and linear/traditional TV news are on the decline for both news consumption and general viewership, as audiences switch to on-demand streaming and podcasts.
- Streaming watch time overtook cable and broadcast in May for the first time ever, per Nielsen.
- Fifteen percent of adults get their news from podcasts, which are especially popular with “younger, better-educated audiences,” compared with 13% for linear radio, Reuters found.
- AI’s involvement: AI chatbots and search tools are a growing source of information, but usage does remain low — only 7% of US adults and 15% of Gen Zers under 25 use these methods on a weekly basis to get their news.
Worldwide, 27% of adults are interested in AI news summaries and 24% want AI that can translate stories into different languages.
Just 4% of adults used ChatGPT for news in the previous week, compared with 2% for Google Gemini and AI Overviews, and 1% for Perplexity.
Reuters Paints Gloomy Background for Report
“This year’s report comes at a time of deep political and economic uncertainty, changing geo-political alliances, not to mention climate breakdown and continuing destructive conflicts around the world,” Reuters said in summarizing its report.
“Against that background, evidence-based and analytical journalism should be thriving, with newspapers flying off shelves, broadcast media and web traffic booming. But we find traditional news media struggling to connect with much of the public, with declining engagement, low trust and stagnating digital subscriptions.”
Then there’s the X-factor, if you will:
“Data show that usage of X for news is stable or increasing across many markets, with the biggest uplift in the United States (+8 points), Australia (+6), and Poland (+6).
“Since Elon Musk took over the (X) network in 2022 many more right-leaning people, notably young men, have flocked to the network, while some progressive audiences have left or are using it less frequently. Rival networks like Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon are making little impact globally, with reach of 2% or less for news.”
As the avuncular Cronkite might say: “And that’s the way it is for catching up on the news, 2025” …
