Gen Z News Consumers Don’t Visit Publisher Websites

The next generation of news consumers (Gen Z) appear to be eschewing publisher websites and apps in favour of social media platforms, writes Dominic Ponsford at Press Gazette.

And the Reuters Digital News Report warns that there is no reason to suspect these 18 to 24-year-olds will change their ways and start going directly to publishers as they get older.

Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Rasmus Kleis Nielsen said: “Whether or not legacy media feel they have completed their initial digital transformation from print, or broadcast-focused, to digitally focused brands with a compelling news website and app, they now face a continual transformation of digital as generations come of age who eschew direct discovery for all but the most appealing brands.”

The report (full version here) is based on surveys of around 2,000 respondents each in 46 countries carried out earlier this year. It found that, overall, social media has eclipsed publisher websites as the main news discovery platform.

Nielsen said that the new generation of news consumers "have little interest in many conventional news offers oriented towards older generations’ habits, interests, and values, and instead embrace the more participatory, personable, and personalised options offered via platforms, often looking beyond legacy platforms to new entrants (many of whom drive few referrals to news and do not prioritise news)".