Don’t Let Digital Be Daunting: How Publishers Can Adapt To Shifting Digital News Habits

Having a digital presence has long been a necessary part of publishing. 

And as the software and tools that help publishers embrace digital drastically improve year after year — which, as a former publisher and current provider of some of that ever-improving publishing software, I can strongly attest to — knowing how readers and consumers interact digitally becomes all the more important.

Pew Research Center’s recent research about digital news consumption was fascinating in that it found 53% of surveyed adults say they at least sometimes get their news from social media, a number that’s held surprisingly steady since 2020. What has increased over the last few years, however, is the percentage of those who regularly get news from such sites as Facebook (up to 38% this year), YouTube (35%), Instagram (20%), and TikTok (20%).

(Source: Pew Research Center)

“The people who regularly get news on different social media sites often differ by gender, age and other factors,” says the Pew Research Center. “For example, women are more likely to regularly get news from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, while men are more likely to say they get it from YouTube, X and Reddit.”

Social media was the second-highest pathway for adults to get their news, as 21% said they often consume news there behind the 27% who often use news sites or apps. As for the rest of consumers, 19% said search, 10% said podcasts, 6% said email newsletters, and 2% said AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini.

(Source: Pew Research Center)

How Publishers Can Keep Up With Digital Audiences

For those publishers seeing the growing reliance on social media and AI search and screaming “please consider the source!” from their office rooftops, you are most-definitely heard. As MediaPost’s Joe Mandese helps spell out, “the role of algorithms, declining moderation, and bogus misinformation and disinformation raises big questions about what those users actually perceive to be news.”

Publishers shouldn’t dismiss these digital patterns and trends as they emerge, fighting against them when instincts might send that primal message.

Instead, use that data to recalibrate and amend the efforts you can control, and continue being the best primary source with the most-sound digital outreach possible. 

Your audience already knows the authority you bring to the table, and their appreciation for those continued efforts will come in the form of returning. 

If you build it (and make digital-accessibility easy enough) … they will come.