The number of Australians willing to pay for news is growing, according to a new report into the state of Australia’s news industry.

The Digital News Report: Australia 2023 report, authored by the University of Canberra’s News and Media Research Centre, said the findings are “good news” for the sector.

The report finds one in five Australians pays for online news, with current subscribers also increasing the number of subscriptions they hold. The proportion of people paying for online news now sits at 22 per cent, up from 13 per cent two years ago – but news avoidance remains high, along with concerns about mis and disinformation.

Australians indicated a desire for “high quality and trustworthy news”, but struggled with the avalanche of information and with misinformation. They also expressed scepticism about having news chosen for them, whether by an algorithm or by journalists and editors, with Australians the second most likely country in the world to express this concern.

Other key findings include:

• 60 per cent of Australians recognise the importance of public broadcasters to the community, and 52 per cent said it is important to them personally. Those who lean left politically and those with higher levels of income and education were more likely to think publicly funded news like the ABC and SBS is important to society.
• Use of news podcasts continues to grow.
• High interest in news has fallen to 53 per cent, down 11 points since 2017.
• Australian women’s interest in news has fallen to a record low of 43 per cent, and women are less likely than men to find finance and economic news easy to understand. The gender gap between men’s and women’s understanding of finance news is the highest of any country surveyed as part of the Reuters Digital News Report 2023.
• Despite the rise in subscriptions, heavy news consumption in Australia declined by 4 per cent on last year’s numbers, to 48 per cent. Overall, “Australians are consuming fewer news brands” according to the report.
• Trust in news increased to 43 per cent amongst Australians overall, but there is a gap of nine points between men and women – the widest trust gap in the world, caused by the increase in trust in news amongst Australian men and a drop among women.

Fortunately for newsmakers and publishers, the report charts a course forward: readers surveyed indicated that they want “positive news, watchdog journalism, and news stories that suggest solutions”.

For further insights, read the full report online.

Reuters Digital News Report 2023

The Australian report is part of a long-running international survey coordinated by the Reuters  Institute for the Study of Journalism, the Digital News Report.

The 2023 global report makes for fascinating reading, uncovering trends in media use and beliefs among more than 93,000 consumers of digital news in 46 markets across six continents.

The report notes that these are difficult times for news publishers as well as consumers, but that against the backdrop of global upheaval, “structural shifts towards more digital, mobile, and platform-dominated media environments” have taken place in news publishing. Younger respondents prefer to get their news from things like social media – but how social media works with journalism is changing. The report found that “news media and journalists are still central to the conversation” on Facebook and Twitter, but on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, audiences engage more with social media personalities than journalists.

In addition, the report found a continued decline in consumption of most traditional media forms like TV and print. 

But interestingly, online and social news consumption is not filling the gap. Instead, audiences are tuning into the news less. In fact, just 48 per cent of those surveyed said they are “very or extremely interested in news” – a fall from 63 per cent in 2017.

And 36 per cent of audiences say they avoid the news “often or sometimes”.

Meanwhile, the growth in payments for subscriptions to online news “may be levelling off”, according to the report, a victim of the cost of living squeeze.

What does the report say about public interest journalism?

The Reuters report specifically asked respondents about their feelings towards public service media. It found a diversity of views across the globe. 

In Australia, public service media was generally viewed as important for both individuals and society. A majority of those surveyed in about 80 per cent of the countries covered said public service media is important for society. But in almost every country, the number of people who saw public service media as important for society was significantly higher than the number of people who said it was important for them personally.

Concerningly, the report found that trust in journalism has again declined, by 2 per cent over the last year. An average of 40 per cent of people surveyed said they “trust most news most of the time”.

But rather than sowing seeds of despair, the report highlights where news producers can go to regain audiences. Even those who said they actively avoided the news admitted that they are interested in positive news and solutions-based journalism, indicating an area for growth.

On social media, the report found that journalists “struggle to get attention” on platforms including Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, but continue to lead news conversations on Twitter and Facebook. Instead, on the former, “personalities, influencers and ordinary people are often more prominent”. There is a difference in the type of news that audiences consume on each platform too, with satire and “fun posts” being popular on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, compared to Twitter users who prefer hard news topics.