The Centre for Media Studies, in collaboration with Concordia University, recently hosted an event to launch the Digital News Report 2024 on June 17, 2024 at Espace 4 at Concordia University in Montreal. The launch explored how Canadians engage with news and is available to view below on YouTube.
Some of the study highlights included:
- The importance of different gateways to Canadian news and the differences between under and over 35-year-olds. Younger groups are much less likely to go directly to a news brand, and are more likely to use social media and search.
- Facebook usage has been declining and video platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are on the rise. In Canada about 10% say they use TikTok for news each week.
- Traditional media is struggling to connect with younger audiences and are competing with youth-based influencers.
- Misinformation is an ongoing concern. In Canada, 67% are concerned about what is real and what is fake on the internet (including concerns about fake audio and video in social media). Some platforms are seen as a bigger problem than others. TikTok and X top the list of platforms on which users have difficulty identifying trustworthy news.
- Trust in news remains stable overall. In Canada, the most important factors in defining whether a media outlet is trustworthy include high standards, a transparent approach, lack of bias and fairness.
- Paying for news is still a challenge—in Canada, only 15% reported paying for online news, and the majority (56%) are paying less than full price.
- News avoidance/news fatigue continues to grow, with 40% of Canadians saying they often or sometimes avoid the news (an increase of 7 percentage points over last year). People are looking for news that keeps them up-to-date and educated, but also want news that inspires, entertains and makes them feel connected.
This edition of the Digital News Report is the first since Meta blocked news in Canada in August 2023 on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. Panel participants included:
- Gabrielle Brassard-Lecours, Pivot
- Alexandre Coutant, UQAM
- Ravindra Mohabeer, Toronto Metropolitan University
- Karyn Pugliese, Canadaland
- Lisa Taylor, University of King’s College
- Richard Fletcher, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism,University of Oxford
- Colette Brin, Laval University/Center for Media Studies, moderator
