Online outlets are the ‘main source’ for news – report
The number of people whose “main source” of news is an online outlet has surpassed television, radio and physical newspapers for the first time.
The finding has been made in a report, which also found that despite recent “turbulence” in RTÉ, public trust in the national broadcaster’s news coverage has increased in the past year.
According to the annual Digital News Report Ireland 2024 report – conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, and sponsored by Ireland’s media regulator Coimisiún na Meán – online outlets are now the “main source” of news than more traditional media sectors.
The Irish section of the report – compiled by the DCU’s Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society – found that 33% of people surveyed said online outlets excluding social media are now their main source of news.
This compares with television (31%), social media (21%), radio (12%) and physical newspapers (3%).
In 2023, the report said the figures were 32% for both online outlets and television level, 20% for social media, 11% for radio and 5% for physical newspapers.
The report also found that the percentage of people interested in news remains high in Ireland, with 19% “extremely” interested, 34% “very” interested, 35% “somewhat” interested, 8% “not very” interested and 3% “not at all” interested.
It also said that the 88% of people surveyed who are either “extremely”, “very” or “somewhat” interested, is higher than the 84% and 82% comparative rates for the US and Britain, and above the European average of 85%.
However, the report also noted that, when asked if they agree or disagree with the statement “I am concerned about what is real and what is fake on the internet”, 71% of Irish respondents said they agree, up from 64% last year.
Despite what it described as recent “turbulence within RTÉ”, the report also found that public trust in the national broadcaster’s news coverage has increased by 1% since last year.
It said that at 72%, RTÉ News and the Irish Times remain the two most trusted media outlets in Ireland.
The report’s Irish findings are based on the views of 2,034 people who were surveyed between the end of January and the start of February using representative quotas for age, gender, region and educational level.
The full 130-page report will be published at a media event this morning.
Commenting on the findings, the Media Development Commissioner for Coimisiún na Meán Rónán Ó Domhnaill said: “The continuing trend toward news consumption online presents both opportunities and challenges for the media in Ireland.
“This year’s Digital News Report Ireland serves as a valuable data-set, to help ensure that the transition to news online is implemented in a structured and successful manner.”
