What do 326 media experts from 51 countries and territories think about the news industry in 2025?
Every year, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism releases its Trends and Predictions report detailing insights and forecasts for the year ahead.
We’ve picked seven graphs from the report that highlight key trends to watch as we head into 2025 for you.
1. Publishers double down on AI and video platforms
In 2025, a new contender has emerged in the platform landscape: AI platforms have quickly risen to the top of publishers’ priorities, becoming the chief platform of focus this year.
Video platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are also receiving a lot of attention from publishers. This is because influencers and social media are increasingly becoming go-to sources for news. This is not just the case for younger audiences but for older demographics as well. In fact, one in five American adults now gets news through news influencers.
This, in turn, has a trickle-down effect on publishers’ products. Indeed, we’re likely to see changes to publishers’ apps and websites in 2025 with the addition of audio/visual stories. Some, like The Economist and the BBC, have already added video carousels to their homepages or embedded vertical videos within articles.
2. AI: Coming to an article near you
AI adoption in news organizations continues to grow steadily, but 2025 marks a shift toward expanding its use beyond backend automation. This year, we can expect to see a rise in audience-facing AI applications. Features like text-to-audio conversion, AI summarization, AI translation, and chatbots—which began gaining traction in 2024—are expected to expand further.
3. 20% of publishers see conversational interfaces as the next big thing
Tech users no longer rely solely on typing queries—they now interact with devices in multiple ways. You’ve likely used voice activation features like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, but that’s just the beginning. This year, we’ve seen an increase in multimodal inputs and outputs—spanning audio, text, video, and even code—and this trend is expected to grow in 2025.
For the news industry, this shift means users may start engaging with written content in new ways. For example, the TIME Person of the Year article allowed readers to choose how they wanted to engage with it—through a summary, audio, chat, or even speaking directly with it—highlighting the potential for more personalized and interactive experiences.
While these innovations are still in their early stages, 20% of respondents still think they are the next big thing whereas 51% believe their adoption will be a gradual evolution.
4. Publishers are putting their (revenue) eggs in more than one basket
Direct reader revenue continues to be news companies’ top income source, however, they are not solely relying on it. The shift towards subscription revenue began in 2020 when subscriptions/memberships became a more important revenue source than advertising. As the graph shows, advertising revenue continues to fall in 2025.
That said, publishers have learned not to put all their eggs in one basket. Instead, they’re hedging their bets across several revenue streams, such as philanthropic sources (+5% YoY) and donations (+4% YoY). The most notable increase (16% YoY) comes from the “Funding from platform” bucket. As the report notes, this is “likely due to a combination of expected AI deals, existing revenue sharing, as well as fact-checking contracts”.
Click here to see how publishers are pursuing alternative revenue streams.
5. Digital subscriptions continue to grow, but at a slower pace
73% of respondents reported growth in digital subscriptions, but the rate of growth has slowed. Even at its peak, digital subscription revenue never fully offset the decline in print revenue. Declines in the social media referral model, advertising income, and the rise of AI platforms mean publishers can’t afford to depend on a single revenue stream. Hence, they’re diversifying across many (see Graph 4).
6. 73% of publishers will invest in youth products & 45% are looking to go global
While video and audio products remain top priorities for publishers, two emerging areas are gaining momentum this year. Publishers are increasingly focusing on next-generation news readers, with 73% already launching or planning to launch youth-oriented products in 2025.
Another key area of investment is international expansion, with 45% of publishers looking to launch products targeting global audiences. Le Monde in English is a standout example, leveraging AI translations to make its content accessible in English and expand into new markets.
Investments in core and news-adjacent products also reflect a clear trend: publishers are aiming to create a suite of offerings that can be bundled together. According to the report, publishers are increasingly looking to emulate The New York Times model, bundling products into all-access subscriptions. This strategy has the potential to significantly boost Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and overall revenue. The report predicts that bundling will see a resurgence in 2025 as publishers focus on improving reader retention.
However, publishers aren’t the only players in this space. Platform aggregators like Apple+ and AI-powered aggregators like Particle.ai are also competing for a share of the bundling market.
7. Still no verdict on influencer-based journalism
The influencer-style news format is gaining traction among younger audiences due to its entertainment value, creative storytelling, and perceived authenticity. That said, survey respondents remain divided on whether this shift is ultimately positive (28%), negative (27%), or neutral (42%) for journalism.
Critics argue that relying on influencers to deliver the news risks increasing the volume of opinion-based content while reducing fact-based journalism. Additionally, with less rigorous fact-checking, this trend could contribute to the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
Supporters, on the other hand, highlight the positives: fresh perspectives, creative storytelling approaches, and the strong community-building efforts by creator-journalists, who engage directly with their audiences.
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