Digital News Report 2026. Episode 7: The social impact of public service news

In this episode of Future of Journalism we explore attitudes around the social impact of news from public service media. In this episode we explore attitudes around the social impact of news from public service media. We’ll look at how these perceptions vary across the world, how this correlates with other attitudes and engagement patterns towards news, and what people say are the positive or negative aspects of public service news in their countries. Speakers: Jim Egan is the lead author of the Digital News Report 2026 and is a senior research associate at the Reuters Institute. Host Mitali Mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute and is a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. Find a full transcript here: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-episode-7-social-impact-public-service-news  

We discuss findings around people's attitudes towards impartiality when it comes to news n this episode of Future of Journalism, we focus on what people think of the idea of impartial news. We’ll discuss what impartiality means when it comes to news, whether people prefer news that takes particular lines, how these attitudes vary across countries, particularly when it comes to levels of social media use and political polarisation, and more. Speakers: Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is a Professor at the Department of Communication of the University of Copenhagen and a Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. He is a co-author of the Digital News Report 2026. Host Mitali Mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute and is a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. A full transcript can be found on this page: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-episode-6-does-public-want-impartial-news

In this episode of Future of Journalism we explore how online news video is playing an ever important role in our news ecosystem. In this episode we explore how online news video is playing an ever important role in our news ecosystem given the shift towards news consumption on social and video networks as well as the prevalence of smart TVs. We explore where in the world the appetite for online news video is increasing, among which demographic groups they are most popular and how different video lengths differ across platforms. Speakers: Craig T. Robertson<https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-craig-t-robertson> is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. His research focus includes news trust and credibility, fact-checking and verification, and how both partisan attitudes and epistemic beliefs factor into these domains. He is a co-author of the Digital News Report. Host Mitali Mukherjee<https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/people/mitali-mukherjee> is the Director of the Reuters Institute and is a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. A full transcript of the podcast can be found here: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-episode-5-growing-importance-online-news-video

In this episode of Future of Journalism, we look at who's using AI chatbots for news and the different ways they do so In this episode we explore findings from our Digital News Report 2026 around the different ways that people are using AI chatbots for news. We explore how use of AI chatbots for news around the world correlates with other forms of news engagement such frequency of access and trust. We look at how people say they use chatbots for news such as summarising, digging deeper or just getting headlines, and we explore data to inform the discussion around 'zero click-throughs' to publisher websites. Find a transcript here: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-episode-4-how-people-are-using-ai-chatbots-news

In this episode we explore the decline of offline media. In this episode of Future of Journalism we explore the steady decline of offline media for news such as TV, radio and newspapers. We look at adoption and retention rates to understand the various dynamics by which audience share is declining, how usage rates differ across demographics, and what these patterns could spell for the use of news websites and apps. Richard Fletcher is a co-author of the Digital News Report 2026 and is the Director of Research at the Reuters Institute. Host Mitali Mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute and is a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism Find a full transcript on our website: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-episode-3-what-decline-old-media-can-teach-us

We explore the role of influencers and creators in different news ecosystems. n this episode of Future of Journalism, we draw on findings from the Digital News Report 2026 to explore the role of influencers and creators across the world. We’ll look at how usage rates differ across the world, what their audiences find most engaging and how different national contexts and news ecosystems are driving their growth. Speakers: Nic Newman is a Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute. He is also a consultant on digital media, working actively with news companies on product, audience, and business strategies for digital transition. He is the co-author of the Digital News Report 2026 and authored a special chapter of the Digital News Report 2026 on the impact and role of news creators. Our host Mitali Mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute. She's a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. See a full transcript: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-episode-2-how-news-creators-impact-media-and-politics

We explore how people are consuming news in 2026, the role of platforms, levels of trust and interest, AI chatbots, news influencers and more. In this opening episode of our Digital News Report 2026 series, we explore the major trends around how people are consuming news around the world. We look at the dominance of platforms as a source of news, how people are using AI, declining trust and interest in news, the role of news influencers, subscription trends and much more. Speakers: Jim Egan is the lead author of the Digital News Report 2026 and is a senior research associate at the Reuters Institute. Richard Fletcher is a co-author of the Digital News Report and is the Director of Research at the Reuters Institute. Host Mitali Mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute and is a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. Find a full transcript here: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-digital-news-report-2026-what-you-need-know

In this episode of Future of Journalism we look at some of the fundamental shifts that are taking place in the world of news podcasts. In this episode of Future of Journalism we look at some of the fundamental shifts that are taking place in the world of news podcasts. How are people consuming them? What formats are proving most popular? What business models are news organisations and podcast studios finding most effective? Speakers: Nic Newman https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/people/nic-newman is the lead author of the Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2026 report and is a Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute. He is also a consultant on digital media, working actively with news companies on product, audience, and business strategies for digital transition. Our host Mitali Mukherjee https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/people/mitali-mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute. She's a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism.   Transcript available here:  https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-whats-changing-world-news-podcasts

How media leaders around the world plan to address the challenges of 2026. In this episode we’re diving into a major report gauging the perspectives of media leaders around the world on the challenges they’re facing in 2026 and how they plan to respond. We’ll look at the impact of AI on how news is accessed and produced, the role of social media, video platforms and news creators, how companies are adapting their business models, and much more. Speakers: Nic Newman https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/people/nic-newman is the lead author of the Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2026 report and is a Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute. He is also a consultant on digital media, working actively with news companies on product, audience, and business strategies for digital transition. Our host Mitali Mukherjee https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/people/mitali-mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute. She's a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. Full transcript here: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/what-should-we-expect-journalism-2026

In this episode of Future of Journalism we explore findings around the public's relationship with climate news. In this episode of Future of Journalism we explore findings around the public's relationship with climate news. We explore findings from our recent report that uses survey data from eight countries to gauge how people get their climate news, what institutions they trust, their attitudes towards the role of politicians and AI, and what they expect from journalists. Waqas Ejaz is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with at the Reuters Institute and the lead author of Climate change news audiences report 2025: Analysis of news use and attitudes in eight countries. Our host Mitali Mukherjee is the Director of the Reuters Institute. She's a political economy journalist with more than two decades of experience in TV, print and digital journalism. She is the co-author of the Climate change news audiences report 2025. Full transcript here: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-trust-politics-and-ai-what-people-think-about-climate-news