Introducing News Nation – Why journalism matters more than ever in 2026.

Recent years have been shaped by economic volatility, social polarisation, geopolitical tension and rapid AI-driven transformation. Even in Australia, these global forces are reshaping daily life. In an era of information overload driven by social platforms, Australians are navigating an endless stream of content where fact and misinformation often sit side by side, making it harder than ever to know what to trust.

ThinkNewsBrands’ inaugural News Nation report, powered by Roy Morgan data, reveals Australians – particularly Gen Z – are becoming more discerning about how they stay informed and are turning to news media.

The News Nation: Why journalism has never mattered more report, draws on eight studies by ThinkNewsBrands, examining the role of modern journalism and the value it holds for advertisers, supplemented by further studies from Australia, the UK and the US.

“The research shows Australians’ appetite for news remains strong; what’s shifting is how and why they access it,” ThinkNewsBrands CEO, Vanessa Lyons, said. 

News Nation key findings include:

• 78 per cent of Australians see national news publishers as trustworthy compared to 36 per cent who think the same of content creators.
• Almost 2 in 5 Australians say they turn to news media to fact check information they see on social platforms.
• More than half of Gen Z regularly follow five or more news sources to rely on.
• 85 per cent of Australians report feelings of greater confidence in a brand when they encounter it within a journalistic environment.

Recent years have been defined by the socalled ‘polycrisis’ of persistent economic volatility, social polarisation, geopolitical tensions, and AI-driven transformation. Even in Australia, where geographic distance once offered some insulation, these forces are being felt, and it’s reshaping daily life.

Alongside this, Australians are contending with unprecedented information chaos, largely driven by social platforms. These platforms offer fast access to trusted news media sources; but also, to creators, influencers and fake news accounts, and exposing audiences to an endless scroll of (mis)information. This forces people to filter through algorithmic feeds and navigate increasingly sophisticated AI outputs.

While social platforms offer speedy access to content, they leave people asking the question: Can this be trusted? In some instances, people rarely pause to question the integrity of information, instead taking it at face value. This is the paradox of a post-truth world: our initial access point or source to information also poses the greatest misinformation threat, and too often people don’t stop to interrogate what they are seeing.

In this environment, journalism matters more than ever. Built on verification, accountability, integrity and standards, news media offers a counterweight to instability. It’s one of the last remaining lean-in environments, where people tune in for trusted information, deeper context, and the deeply human stories that help us make sense of the word. At a time when information is everywhere but truth and trust are not, news media has become even more critical.

News Nation examines the role of news media and journalism in 2026. Drawing on eight studies conducted by ThinkNewsBrands, and supplemented by a body of Australian and international reports, it reveals how audiences engage with news media today: as a high-trust, high-engagement environment people turn to for clarity, credibility, and - critically - the facts to inform and sense-make.

It reinforces news media as critical public infrastructure in an age of fragmented information and attention.

Key Research Findings

Selective yet open.

One in five Australians are selective about the news media they consume, and this is even more common among young people, where 26% are selective. But this doesn’t mean they’re turning away: people are trusting of news, are spending more, and there’s been an increase in subscriptions to news brands. Even younger cohorts are consuming a larger number of news brands compared to older cohorts.

Complex but critical.

Audiences are increasingly digital, unstructured and fluid in their news habits, while 74% of Australians are worried about fake news on social platforms. But we shouldn’t confuse this complexity with disengagement - people are turning to news more than ever: nine in ten are engaging with it, while 43% of Australians trust news.

Scroll and slow down.

Over half of people begin their day with news, and three out of four see journalism as a way to focus, slow down, and avoid multitasking.

Journalism: the trusted source.

Australians are almost two times more likely to choose written news over TV, radio, or social platforms when staying informed on key events, while around two in five talk about turning to news brands to fact check information they see on social platforms.

High attention.

People pay close attention to journalism, with this providing a mental dividend: News is 6.4 times more likely to be remembered; and, for brands using news there’s better recognition of the ad, better unprompted recall, and results in 3.5 times greater intent to act.

Brand safety myths.

There is no evidence to support brand safety concerns. The metrics for measuring brand safety, which is where appearing next to harmful or inappropriate material could threaten reputation, do not extend to news media. In fact, the studies these concerns come from were focussed on social platforms, not news media. Recent studies show there’s no negative impact to advertising in news media environments.

https://thinknewsbrands.com.au/resource/news-nation

https://thinknewsbrands.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ThinkNewsBrands-News-Nation-March-2026.pdf