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Digital News Report: Australia 2022

Digital News Report: Australia 2022

AS MISINFORMATION INCREASES ONLINE AUSTRALIANS STICK TO TRUSTED SOURCES OF NEWS

This year’s report contains positive signs for the Australian news industry. After years of stagnation, paying for news has increased. Print news consumption has risen for the first time in six years, and the use of regional and local newspapers is up as well. Trusted traditional and public service broadcasters remain the most popular sources of news and there continues to be a strong audience appreciation for journalistic values of impartiality and independence.

Australians are also becoming more cautious about mainly getting our news from social media platforms, which bucks the global trend. This is partly driven by Australians’ greater concern about and experience of online misinformation, particularly about Covid-19. Younger news consumers are now turning to traditional news more often, with fewer in Gen Z and Y saying it is their main source of news.  

The pandemic seems to have shifted how people access and engage with news. While there are some signs that news habits are reverting back to pre-Covid levels, some new behaviours may be here to stay. 

  • Trust in news generally has fallen slightly to 41% (-2) and distrust has risen to 30% (+2).
  • Experience of Covid-19 misinformation is up; those saying they saw false and misleading info about Covid-19 increased by 4 percentage points from 2021.
  • Almost one in five (18%) don’t pay attention to climate change news; but 42% say they want news outlets to focus more on what governments and large companies can do about it.
  • More Australians are paying for online news; 18% now pay for news online and this is a 5 percentage point increase since 2021.
  • Younger generations say they are less reliant on social media for news; those in Gen Z saying social is their main source of news (46%) fell by 8 percentage points from 2021.
  • TikTok continues to rise; TikTok usage has doubled since 2020 (7% to 15%), and one-third of users say they use it for news.
  • Use of smart TVs for news is growing; One in four (23%) Australians use smart TVs to access news, and TV remains the most popular main source of news (42%).

For more information, please read the final report.

Download the report

About

This report is part of a long running international survey coordinated by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, an international research centre in the comparative study of journalism based at the University of Oxford. The Digital News Report delivers comparative data on media usage in 46 countries and across 6 continents.

The News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra is the Australian partner institute and author of the Digital News Report: Australia. This is the seventh annual Digital News Report: Australia.

Cite the report as: Park, S., McGuinness, K., Fisher, C., Lee, J. Y., McCallum, K. & Nolan, D. (2022). Digital News Report: Australia 2022. Canberra: News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra.

Contact

Professor Sora Park, lead author, News and Media Research Centre, University of Canberra
sora.park@canberra.edu.au

Please complete our online briefing request form to have a member of the N&MRC present on our research.

Previous Digital News Reports

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2021

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2020

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2019

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2018

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2017

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2016

Download our Digital News Report: Australia 2015

Previous Media Stories, Podcasts and Interviews

  1. The Fourth Estate Podcast with Peter Fray: Are Australians Turning Their Back On The News?
  2. Radio National Drive: More Australians are sick of bad news
  3. 3AW: Why are Australians avoiding the news? Report finds 62 per cent of people are tuning out
  4. ABC News 24: https://youtu.be/JozWJkYL10Y
  5. ABC Melbourne Breakfast: Tired of the news cycle? You’re not alone, says report
  6. The Guardian Australia, Australian politics live podcast: Why are Australians avoiding the news?
  7. ABC Radio, The World Today: Trust in the media is falling while fake news anxiety rises, report finds
  8. ABC Adelaide Drive with Jules Schiller: Wednesday June 12, 2019
  9. ABC 666 Drive with Anna Vidot: Digital News Report: Australia 2019
  10. ABC Nightlife: Wednesday June 12, 2019
  11. 2SER: Are Australians interested in news?
  12. Chris Kenny on Media, Sky TV: Research shows online shift is a ‘crisis’ for news organisations
  13. Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny: Trust issues and the Trump bump
  14. Media Files podcast: Australians’ trust in news media is falling as concern over ‘fake news’ grows
  15. Content Group Govcomms podcast part 1: Giving up on news: The latest trends in digital news consumption with Caroline Fisher
  16. Content Group Govcomms podcast part 2: A Matter of trust: Rebuilding citizen trust with Caroline Fisher
  17. 3RRR Room With a View: Monday 17 June 2019
  18. ABC Adelaide Drive - Thursday 14th June with Caroline Fisher.
  19. ABC Melbourne Drive - Thursday 14th June with Caroline Fisher.
  20. Triple J's Hack - Thursday 14th June with Caroline Fisher.
  21. ABC 666 Mornings - Thursday 14th June with Caroline Fisher.
  22. What's the future of media for young people? - 'The roundtable', ABC Radio National, Monday 25th June with Sora Park.
  23. Digital trends and opportunity for government communication - Content Group Govcomms podcast, Tuesday 31st July with Caroline Fisher.
  24. Policy Forum Pod Extra: protecting the media - Tuesday 7th August, with Caroline Fisher.