The 10th edition of Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s Digital News Report, 2021, was released virtually on June 23, 2021.
The Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) in Chennai provided logistical support to Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford for surveying the Indian market.
The 10th edition of the report is based on the findings of the online survey of 46 media markets to understand how news is consumed in different countries.
This year study was focused on trust in news and featured India for the first time in its main report.
According to Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 2021:
Key findings of Indian Media Market:
» India ranked 31 out of 46 countries on levels of overall trust in news.
» Only 38% of the respondents from India said they trust news overall.
The survey shows the percentage of sources of news:
- 73 per cent of the respondents in India use Smart phones to access news
- 37 per cent of the respondents in India use Computers to access news
- 14 per cent of the respondents in India use Tablets to access news
- 82 per cent source news online, including from social media
- 63 per cent acquiring information solely from social media platforms
- 59 per cent of the respondents in India use TVs to access news
- 50 per cent of the respondents in India use Print media to access news
» 48 per cent News shared via social, messaging or email like WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram. WhatsApp ranks first among the top social media and messaging platforms, followed by YouTube & Facebook at the second and third positions respectively.
» In India, legacy print brands and government broadcasters, DD News / Doordarshan and All India Radio, scored high levels of trust among News consumers.
Methodology:
These data are based on a survey of mainly English-speaking, online news users in India – a small subset of a larger, more diverse, media market. Findings should not be taken to be nationally representative.
Top and Bottom Countries in the report:
Finland had the highest levels of overall trust in news with 65 per cent, while the US had the lowest levels of trust at 29 per cent.