Key Insights

Next gen news consumers’ habits and expectations are reshaping the information ecosystem, forcing emerging news producers to rethink long-held assumptions about how news is produced and distributed. This section distils key insights we uncovered in consumer behavior and producer innovation.

We began by mapping the audience landscape — a snapshot of how a new generation perceives and engages with news compared to their older counterparts. Their habits are shaped by abundance and fragmentation. We see some early signs pointing to the subtle but growing influence of AI on their information routines, from discovery to consumption, signalling a new layer of complexity in how audiences navigate truth, relevance and overload.

Half of the next gen audience reports consuming news at least daily; one-third reports doing so multiple times per day. But that commitment does not change the fact that they feel continuously overwhelmed by the amount of news they encounter or think they should know about. Despite other research showing the rise of news deserts and the decline of legacy news media, news consumers struggle far more to make their information diet manageable than they ever worry about decreasing access to news.

This increased scope of what news is spotlights what this audience sees as a constant competition for their attention. The sense of overwhelm they feel reflects that they do not measure news content quality in the same ways that legacy news consumers do. These younger audiences rely on trust and affinity as key filters to overcome their news fatigue. Trust is less about institutional brands and more about a parasocial relationship with the news producer. These perspectives reveal a generation not disengaged, but discerning. They are seeking clarity, transparency, and authenticity from the news they consume.

These next gen consumers are aware of the algorithms that shape how information reaches them. They talk about the need to mind and manage algorithms through specific actions, such as the speed at which they scroll, the choices about what and how deeply to engage, and when to “like” or “favorite” specific content. AI is increasingly part of next gen consumers’ media diets. A few of our diary study participants cited large language model (LLM) chatbots as one of their news sources, though our survey results showed notably different adoption rates across countries.

The most forward-thinking news producers and innovative news organizations are evolving their practices to meet this new landscape. These best-in-class producers are fundamentally reversing the journalism process – starting from distribution, mastering the languages of each platform, and designing content that travels natively across each ecosystem. From this, one imperative emerges: To succeed, producers must invest heavily in new distribution capabilities. The ability to reach and engage audiences is no longer a downstream function of good journalism; it is a core creative and strategic competency. Innovative producers recognize this and react by building teams, tools, and partnerships dedicated to ensuring that their work finds a receptive audience.