In Italy, we have a habit of observing data from global markets at arm’s length, reassuring ourselves that what happens elsewhere will never truly affect us. This time, however, the Digital News Report 2025 from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism tells a story we cannot afford to ignore. It is a scan of a media system that has changed profoundly, not simply a set of numbers, one that risks upending the way we understand media, the work of journalists, and the very idea of information.
In the United States, for the first time, social media and video-sharing platforms have overtaken TV and websites as the primary source of news. The quiet but steady decline of traditional channels is the first major warning signal. This phenomenon is clearly defined by the term disintermediation: the audience goes directly to the source, increasingly a creator or an influencer, and leaves traditional media out of the loop. It is a radical rethinking of how people seek out news and decide who to trust, not a simple loss of audience. The real question today is: who actually owns people’s time, trust, and influence?
Established newsrooms and publications are losing centrality, as well as audience. It is time to redefine the very role of traditional media.
As legacy brands lose ground, influencers, creators, and streamers are gaining space. In the US, one in five respondents regularly follows figures such as Joe Rogan; in France, HugoDécrypte reaches an impressive 22% of young people. The common thread is clear: we want people who curate, interpret, and comment, more than we want plain news. The under-35 audience wants content that combines a voice, a face, and a rhythm, not plain reportage.
Complicating the picture further are TikTok, YouTube, and the absolute dominance of short-form video. Globally, 65% of people get their news through video on social platforms. TikTok has seen extraordinary growth, especially in Asia: in countries like Thailand, nearly half the population regularly gets its news from the platform. Podcasts are also becoming central, confirming that short audio-video formats are now indispensable for anyone who wants to reach an audience. The implication is stark: editors can no longer afford to ignore video if they want to stay relevant.
Alongside this digital and visual revolution, artificial intelligence has asserted itself as a concrete, widespread reality. A growing number of people, especially younger users, already use chatbots to stay informed, but not without reservations. AI is often perceived as less transparent and less reliable than human journalism, creating a paradox: the innovation meant to help risks further weakening the already fragile trust in media institutions.
And this brings us to the heart of the matter: trust. Only 40% of respondents declared that they still trust traditional media, while anxiety over disinformation is growing significantly. Politicians and influencers are identified as the primary sources of dubious content, leaving newsrooms in an uncomfortable position: they must rebuild credibility, fight misinformation, and at the same time remain competitive in the digital market.
There is more: the economic model of online news is in crisis. Despite efforts to build subscription systems and paywalls, only 18% of users in wealthier countries pay to access news online. This stagnant reality makes it difficult to envision a sustainable future for digital newsrooms without a thorough revision of the business model. The essential operational takeaway today is to monetize, above all, the relationship with the reader, not just the content.
What we are facing, then, is a globalized but deeply uneven media system, with Northern Europe more attached to traditional media while Latin America, Asia, and Africa push toward social media and influencers. This complex geography compels us to rethink strategies and models, increasingly less universal and increasingly more local.
This complex and uncomfortable situation is fueled by a system that rewards speed and superficiality at the expense of quality and depth. A vicious cycle takes hold: less attention, more superficiality, less trust, lower revenues, and a journalism that grows progressively weaker, unable to respond decisively to the crisis bearing down on it.
Italy: the media’s difficult digital transition
The Italian media market is undergoing a profound transformation, marked by the rise of international digital platforms and a traditional television sector that is holding on, but changing its face. TV remains the main pillar of the legacy media sector, generating approximately 72% of total revenues, with Rai, Sky, and Mediaset together still controlling roughly 70% of the television market. However, the space captured by streaming platforms such as Netflix, DAZN, TIM, Amazon, and Disney is expanding rapidly, now accounting for nearly 20% of the total.
Meanwhile, the press continues its slow but inexorable contraction, marked by telling signals such as the recent closure of the Italian edition of the free daily Metro after 25 years, and GEDI’s disposal of local titles. The decline concerns the relationship of trust and influence with audiences increasingly drawn to native digital platforms, not just the economic side.
On the digital front, online advertising now accounts for 61% of total advertising revenues, but the playing field is tilted in favor of international giants such as Google and Meta, which together capture 85% of digital revenues, leaving only 15% for traditional Italian publishers.
The world of online news is also evolving rapidly: while broadcasters such as Mediaset and Rai maintain a solid presence, digital outlets such as Fanpage, Il Post, and Will Media are attracting younger audiences and experimenting with new membership-based business models. Even so, only 9% of Italians are willing to pay for online news.
In this already complex context, Italy is also grappling with the challenges posed by artificial intelligence: the experiment of the daily Il Foglio, which published an issue entirely generated by AI, and the recent GEDI-OpenAI case, with concerns raised by the Italian Data Protection Authority, show how delicate and urgent it is to clearly address the ethical and regulatory implications of technological innovation in Italian journalism.
Who is really winning in 2025?
To win, you have to master short-form and multimedia formats, without losing journalism’s ethical standards. What matters is investing in strong editorial personalities capable of building authentic relationships with the audience. What matters is integrating AI thoughtfully and transparently. And what matters is building communities around exclusive content, not just distributing news.
Journalism as we have known it will not return. Those who want to save the essence of the profession must accept radical change, not chase it once it is already late. It is a matter of concrete choices, not good intentions.
Frequently asked questions
