The world’s media habits are shifting faster than ever. Here’s what the definitive annual report from the Reuters Institute means for your B2B communications strategy – and how to stay ahead.
The 2025 Digital News Report, published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in June, provides a data-backed look at how the world is consuming information. The findings, drawing on nearly 100,000 survey responses from 48 markets, go far beyond a simple move to digital; rather they paint a picture of a complex, and sometimes contradictory, new reality.
Although the data relates to news for the general public, industrial B2B communicators should still take note. The engineers, the C-suite executives, and the procurement managers you need to reach are people first and their news consumption habits – a reliance on trusted networks, a preference for scannable information, and fatigue from digital noise – don’t get left at the office or factory door.
Here are the eight most important takeaways from the report and what they mean for your B2B marketing and communication strategy.
1. The media landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented
• The stat: 10 years ago, just two online platforms were able to reach more than 10% of the population with news content weekly. Now it takes six major online networks to reach that same figure.
• What this means: In a landscape where attention is the scarcest resource, the traditional goal of maximising the quantity of media mentions is a recipe for diminishing returns. The true challenge is not simply to be present, but for content to be relevant enough to be shared on LinkedIn, emailed between colleagues, cited by other publications, and recognised by Google and AI engines. The value of a media placement is now determined less by its initial readership and more by its ability to travel across professional networks.
• Strategic recommendation: Shift your media relations strategy to focus on securing ‘anchor placements’ – deep, insightful features in the most respected specialist publications your core audience truly trusts. This type of high-quality earned media is not a fleeting mention; it is a durable digital asset. When activated correctly, this single placement becomes a seed that is amplified across the fragmented landscape by the very audience you are trying to reach.
2. Social platforms are now the primary news gateways
• The stat: For the first time in the USA, social media and video networks (used weekly by 54% of the population for news) have overtaken news websites (used weekly by 48%) as the number one source for news.
• What this means: Platforms such as LinkedIn are no longer just networking tools; they are primary information and discovery channels for professionals. Your audience is primed to consume expert content within their feeds, often without ever visiting your homepage.
• Strategic recommendation: Distribute valuable, expert-led content natively on the platforms your stakeholders use. Don’t just post links back to your site; provide genuine insight within the platform to build credibility and draw your audience into your ecosystem.
3. Video is no longer optional, it’s expected
• The stat: Across all markets, the proportion of people consuming news via videos on social media has grown from 52% in 2020 to 65% in 2025. In markets across Africa and Asia, a preference to watch news rather than read it is now the norm.
• What this means: The long-form, text-only white paper is losing its dominance. Audiences are conditioned to understand complex topics through video explainers, expert interviews, and project showcases.
• Strategic recommendation: Integrate video into your content mix at every level. Think short-form technical explainers for LinkedIn, in-depth project case stories for your website, and expert interviews. Show, don’t just tell.
4. Trust is shifting from institutions to individuals
• The stat: Personalities and influencers are playing a huge role in shaping debate. One fifth (22%) of the US survey sample came across news or commentary from podcaster Joe Rogan in a single week.
• What this means: The ‘corporate voice’ is becoming less influential than the authentic, credible voice of a human expert. In the industrial world, your most powerful and AI-proof asset is the expertise of your people.
• Strategic recommendation: Activate your internal thought leaders. Identify, train, and empower your engineers, project managers, and C-suite to be the public face of your expertise. This is the core of building an authentic brand that wins the competition for talent and builds customer trust.
5. AI is the next generation’s starting point for information
• The stat: While overall use is nascent, 15% of under-25s are already using AI chats to get news. This is a leading indicator of a profound shift in information discovery.
• What this means: Your next generation of employees and customers will increasingly ask an AI tool such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini their questions first. If your company’s expertise isn’t structured to be easily understood and cited by these LLMs (large language models), you will become invisible.
• Strategic recommendation: Embrace generative engine optimisation (GEO). Structure your website’s expert content with clear, factual, and well-organised data that AI models can easily understand and reference, while building a network of credible, external signals, such as trusted media placements. It is this combination of on-site expertise and off-site validation that proves your authority to AI tools, ensuring you are the one they cite and recommend.
6. Audiences are fatigued and actively avoiding the news
• The stat: A record-high 40% of people worldwide now say they sometimes or often avoid the news. 31% report feeling ‘worn out by the amount of news’.
• What this means: Publishing more content to ensure it gets seen is not the answer. Your audience is drowning in information and actively curating their feeds to filter out noise. Your content must earn its place by being genuinely valuable.
• Strategic recommendation: Shift from a high-volume to a high-value content strategy. Focus on providing genuine insight that solves a problem or clarifies a complex topic. This is where a clear purpose and a data-driven ESG narrative can cut through the cynicism and provide meaningful substance.
7. Global trends have strong local accents
• The stat: The report shows vast regional differences. Many European markets show resilience in traditional media, the USA is rapidly shifting to personality-led video, and Africa is dominated by mobile-first consumption on platforms such as WhatsApp.
• What this means: A one-size-fits-all global communications strategy is doomed to fail. The channels, formats, and messages that resonate in Oslo will fall flat in Houston or Nairobi.
• Strategic recommendation: Adopt a global-local approach. Develop your core strategic narrative centrally but empower regional teams with the flexibility to adapt tactics to the unique media landscape and audience habits of their local market.
8. Quality journalism is more important than ever but underfunded
• The stat: The proportion willing to pay for quality journalism online is stable at just 18% across 20 richer countries. Yet in a world where 58% of people are concerned about fake news, the number one place they go to verify information is ‘a news source I trust’ (38%), such as the BBC or The Guardian in the UK.
• What this means: This economic pressure isn’t just a challenge for major consumer news outlets; it critically affects the specialist industrial and trade publications that B2B brands rely on for third-party validation. As their business models are threatened, the entire ecosystem of credible, independent information is put at risk. Your stakeholders, however, are seeking high-value, reliable insight more than ever to inform their high-stakes decisions, as are AI tools. This creates both a responsibility and a massive opportunity for industrial leaders.
• Strategic recommendation: This paradox demands a two-part strategic response.
• Support the ecosystem you rely on. A healthy field of specialist publications is a strategic asset. This means thoughtfully allocating advertising and partnership budgets to the trusted outlets your audience reads. View this not as a simple media buying activity, but as a strategic investment in maintaining the platforms that provide vital industry context and third-party validation for your own brand.
By both supporting trusted media and becoming a trusted source in your own right, you create a powerful, resilient communications strategy that translates directly into measurable business value.
These eight shifts are not isolated trends; they are interconnected facets of a single, profound transformation. The passive strategy of relying on a single channel to build authority has been replaced by the need for a proactive, integrated communications engine.
This means balancing high-impact media relations with the creation of a powerful owned media hub, empowering the authentic voices of your experts, and navigating global markets with local intelligence. The ultimate goal is no longer just to be part of the industry conversation, but to become its most trusted and authoritative voice. In a world of digital noise and audience fatigue, that is the most valuable position a brand can own.
Navigating this new landscape is a complex strategic challenge. If these shifts resonate with the opportunities you see for your business, get in touch. We partner with industrial leaders to build communications strategies that create lasting value.
Hannah Kitchener
Associate Director
About the author
Hannah is an associate director in the UK, leading strategic campaigns for industrial clients across the EMEA region. A professionally qualified journalist (NCTJ), she combines specialist sectoral knowledge in construction, energy, and materials handling with a strong network of trade media contacts to secure valuable coverage. Her expertise in inter-cultural communication, honed by degrees in modern languages and translation, is key to executing campaigns that succeed across diverse European markets.
