A research report from the ACMA has revealed new insights into how Australian adults access and engage with news.
The News consumer segmentation report is designed to deepen understanding of Australians' behaviours, habits and attitudes towards news media.
The report identifies seven groups of Australian news consumers and found that only two of these groups, representing a relatively small proportion of Australians, regularly consult multiple sources of news, seek different perspectives, and verify information.
These behaviours require time and effort and are more common among older Australians and people who make news part of their regular routines. Many of these people developed their news habits in a pre-digital environment, where sources were fewer and more clearly defined.
For most Australians, news consumption is shaped by habit, convenience and time constraints. Younger and time-constrained audiences are more likely to favour digital sources or encounter news incidentally through social media, where content may be influenced by platform algorithms.
Across the different audience groups, researchers found demand for more balanced reporting, clearer separation between fact and opinion, more diverse perspectives and stronger editorial standards.
The full report can be accessed on the ACMA website.
