Demonstrators hang pictures of protesters and journalists injured during protests against the Georgian government on the frame of a Christmas tree in Tbilisi. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze
2024 has been a difficult year for the profession, with journalists facing a decline in press freedom, new rounds of lay-offs, a changing platform environment, and the rise of democratic backsliding in many countries worldwide. Despite these trends, many newsrooms have made a difference by holding power to account with public interest journalism and hard-hitting investigations in places like Guatemala, Germany and Bangladesh.
Our research team has documented these changes in four reports, five factsheets and several peer-reviewed articles in academic publications. Our reporters and contributors have complemented this work with their reporting and produced hundreds of feature stories, interviews and three podcast series, which have helped us understand how 2024 has shaped journalism in ways that will still be relevant in 2025. Here’s a piece with findings and figures from our research; trends, voices and podcasts from our reporting; projects from our Journalist Fellows; and two important annual events.
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1. News consumption is going through a challenging platform reset
This year’s Digital News Report found a significant further decline in the use of Facebook for news and a growing reliance on a range of alternatives, including private messaging apps and video networks. News use across online platforms is fragmenting, with six networks now reaching at least 10% of our respondents, compared with just two a decade ago.
2. Most news publishers think AI deals won’t benefit everyone equally
As more media groups sign agreements with AI companies, it’s worth stressing that most of the media managers we surveyed for Nic Newman’s report on media trends didn’t expect that money would be shared equally across publishers. Around a third (35%) said that only a few big companies would benefit from these deals, with around half (48%) predicting that there would be little money for any news company. | Read our report · Lee en español
3. Women remain a minority among top editors
Only 24% of the top editors across the 240 brands covered in our Women and Leadership factsheet are women. When our researchers did the same tally in 2023, this figure was 22% across the same markets. In the 12 markets we covered in the factsheet, authored by Amy Ross Arguedas and others, most of the top editors were men. Across the ten markets for which we have data from the last five years, the percentage of women among the top editors has changed from 23% in 2020 to 25% in 2024. At this pace of change, there could be gender parity in top editorial positions by the year 2074. | Read our factsheet · Lee en español
4. Half of the most used news sites across 10 countries were blocking OpenAI’s crawlers at the end of 2023
This is according to a factsheet by Richard Fletcher that we published in February, which also found only 24% were blocking Google’s AI crawler. Almost every website that decided to block Google’s AI crawler was also blocking OpenAI’s crawlers. The proportion of news websites that blocked OpenAI varied considerably by country, ranging from 79% in the USA to just 20% in Mexico and Poland. During 2023, none of the websites we examined had reversed their decision after beginning to block. | Read our factsheet
5. Many people think generative AI will make journalism worse
According to survey data from six countries that we collected in the spring, more people are pessimistic than optimistic about the effect of generative AI on journalism. Asked if this new technology would make different areas better or worse, large parts of the public said it would improve things like science (net ‘better’ of +44 percentage points), healthcare (+36) or transportation (+26). People were much more pessimistic about inequality (-6), journalism (-8) and job security (-18). | Read our report
6. Many more people perceive news media as divisive than social media
As part of a recent report on public attitudes towards digital platforms authored by Waqas Ejaz and others, we asked people in eight countries whether they saw different kinds of platforms and other actors as bringing people together or driving them apart. Messaging apps (+19 percentage points) and search engines (+12) are platforms that people think bring us together. In contrast, respondents think that social media divides us (-13). But many more people think that journalists (-29), the news media (-27), and especially politicians (-55) divide us than say the same about any of the platforms we asked about. | Read our report
7. Trust has declined more in media environments with less TV news use
A paper published by Richard Fletcher and 10 of our researchers looked at changes to trust in news across 46 countries in the last 10 years. Their analyses showed that trust has declined in just over half of the countries covered. It also suggested that trust in news decreased more in countries where TV news use has declined, and in countries where social media news use has grown.
How to report on extreme heat. The idea that extreme heat is something we should learn about and prepare for was at the heart of the annual event held by our Oxford Climate Journalism Network (OCJN), which took place online back in May. Over six hours of programming, our members past and present gathered to hear from experts and other journalists. A piece by our colleagues Greg Cochrane, Diego Arguedas Ortiz and Katherine Dunn summarised seven key takeaways from the event. | Read the piece
From Bangladesh. “We are not heroes. We just kept going out of sheer grit, thinking the regime had to end at some point, and hoping that our reporting would contribute to people realising their democratic rights.” – Zyma Islam, Senior Staff Correspondent at The Daily Star in Bangladesh | Read the piece
From Nigeria. “If you empower a woman, she will go back to her home and contribute effectively. At the end of the day, it’s for the good of the family, the society and the nation at large.” – Esther Alaribe, head of programmes at Women Radio WFM 91.7 in Nigeria. | Read the piece
From India. “Through our platform, we aim to create a generation of young people that are aware of and educated about feminism and social justice.” – Japleen Pasricha, founder of media platform Feminism in India. | Read the piece
From Guatemala. “The challenge we journalists face is telling the truth, explaining things as they are and from every point of view. This often means going against powerful forces and operating in a hostile context, being marginalised and feeling lonely.” – José Rubén Zamora, founder of Guatemalan newspaper elPeriódico, imprisoned for more than two years in a spurious judicial process. | Lee en español
From the US. “Targeting civilians is a war crime. Journalists must be allowed to do their work. No international news crews are allowed into Gaza except under strict supervision by the Israeli armed forces, so Gazan journalists are our eyes and ears on the ground. They play an essential role in documenting the ongoing horrors of the war.” – Jodie Ginsberg, President of the Committee to Protect Journalists | Read the piece
From South Africa. “We African journalists were often used as golfers or fixers. We need to have real equality in terms of these partnerships. Otherwise, we cannot really call them partnerships.” – Beauregard Tromp, Africa editor at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. | Read the piece
From the US. “These AI models are good at writing sentences that sound nice, which is fine. But I don't know if it’s worth the enormous resources that are going into it.” – Julia Angwin, founder of nonprofit outlet Proof News. | Read the piece
1. News influencers play a bigger role
News influencers such as the US’ Joe Rogan, Britain’s James O’Brien and France’s Hugo Décrypte are increasingly playing an outsized role in the news media ecosystem. Our Digital News Report analysis found that audiences pay attention to influencers who often share partisan perspectives (both left and right) and are typically male.
Three independent female news influencers shared with our own Gretel Kahn why they left their careers in mainstream news organisations and what they have had to endure going solo. “I check my facts and I use the methodology of a journalist. But I am not objective, and I am very honest about my views on the world and especially about the values I stand for,” says French influencer Salomé Saqué.
2. AI is increasingly present in the public sphere
AI is introducing new layers to news production and distribution, and journalists and audiences are still figuring out how to deal with them. Our own Marina Adami interviewed several experts on the proliferation of AI ‘slop’, low-quality, mass-produced content designed for clicks, and what it means for journalism. David Caswell likened slop to spam. “In the early days of email, it was completely out of control. But then we learned how to take care of it,” he said.
The emergence of AI-generated news avatars is also an increasingly common phenomenon. Marina spoke to some of the technologists behind these avatars, who shared potential and initial audience reactions. These avatars often resemble young, attractive women, reproducing sexist stereotypes. However, accessing news using generative AI is still in its infancy: just 5% of people across six countries said they used it this way.
3. Journalists are suffering democratic backsliding and reporting on it
There have been many examples of journalism shining a light on the forces behind the erosion of democracy. A piece by our contributor Benjamin Bathke focused on how investigative news site Correctiv exposed plans by right-wing politicians to deport millions of Germans, an investigation which brought nationwide demonstrations against the plot.
In Georgia, a ‘foreign agents’ bill, widely seen as a threat to press freedom, led to mass street protests, but also threats towards many outlets. Both those covering the unrest and those who would be subject to the law were being intimidated, wrote our own Katherine Dunn. Nino Zuriashvili of Studio Monitor said she had been harassed and her phone conversations monitored.
In India, far-reaching ‘IT rules’ are “an apparent move to exercise control over media publications,” under the pretence of combating ‘fake news’ about the Modi government, one analyst told our Acting Director Mitali Mukherjee. We also covered concerns about democratic backsliding in Italy in this piece by our own Marina Adami, particularly concerning media pluralism. Public broadcaster RAI is at the centre of these concerns, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s raft of senior appointments at this outlet sparking concerns about editorial independence.
4. Working conditions for journalists are worsening
Journalism is not providing a viable career for many who are struggling to make ends meet in the profession they love. Our own Gretel Kahn published two pieces exploring the hardship many in the news industry around the world are facing. She heard from 25 freelancers, who spoke about their struggles with finding work in a saturated and rapidly changing market, declining rates of pay and mental health. “The state of the freelance industry right now is a hot mess. People seem to think that words are cheap. It doesn't seem to matter that you come with 20-plus years of experience,” one freelancer told her.
Young journalists are encountering similar hurdles even before they leave the very costly journalism schools which are often seen as the safest route into the industry. Ten journalists opened up about challenges securing internships, having to emigrate for work, competing with those from wealthy backgrounds, and the never-ending task of searching, applying and interviewing for roles unsuccessfully. “I had a lot of experience as a journalist through internships but that didn’t get me closer to a real job. The only job offers I got were more internships,” one Spanish journalist told us.
5. Journalists are operating in a changing digital environment
Most online news users cite platforms, including social media, search engines and aggregators, as their main gateway to news, according to our Digital News Report. For many news outlets, this means they have to constantly adapt to a shifting landscape to reach audiences in the places where they are accessing news.
The evolution of X under Elon Musk’s ownership has led some reporters and outlets to doubt this platform’s value to journalism. When the platform was banned in Brazil over non-compliance with national laws, some news outlets already felt it had declined. “When Twitter was blocked, we were already frustrated with it,” Agência Pública’s Natalia Viana told our own Gretel Kahn. Two authors of a book on X under Musk spoke to Gretel about the platform and the prospects of Bluesky as a Twitter alternative. “The real test for Bluesky will happen now, when you start to see if it becomes a mainstream platform and a place where my mom or dad might congregate,” said Ryan Mac.
A monthly newsletter. Our colleagues Priscille Biehlmann, Tania Montalvo and Federica Cherubini have been in touch every month on our newsletter with useful takeaways for media managers on topics such as building a culture of care, managing newsrooms in exile and engaging with multi-generational teams. They host meaningful programmes for media leaders here in Oxford and online. | Check out our programmes
Fellowship Takeaways. Our ten-part series hosted by Caithlin Mercer shares insights from guest speakers from our Global Journalism Seminars. Each bite-sized episode focuses on one important topic such as covering the climate effectively, using empathy in reporting sensitive stories, moral injury in the newsroom, and newsroom diversity when covering gendered violence. | Listen to Fellowship Takeaways
AI and the Future of Audio. A five-part series by Gretel Kahn explored how newsrooms around the world are experimenting and embracing AI in their audio. From a Swiss radio station using AI clone presenters for a day to a Mexican organisation using AI-generated news presenters to attract younger audiences and a tool that scans 250,000 news sources to create an AI-generated local radio feed, the series explores AI’s real-world use cases in radio and audio and the people behind them. | Listen to AI and the Future of Audio
Digital News Report. Our six-part series breaks down the findings from our industry-leading survey on news consumption around the world focusing on one section of the report per episode. We discuss how audiences think about AI and journalism, how much people pay for news, what people want from news and much more. | Listen to the series
1. On generative AI. Only 12% of Britons trust news media to use generative AI responsibly. This percentage is much higher in Argentina and the US (30%). | Learn more
2. On leadership and race. According to our factsheet on race and news leadership, none of the most popular news brands in Brazil have a top editor of colour even though 57% of Brazilians and 34% of working journalists are people of colour. | Learn more
3. On news overload. Up to 39% in our global sample say they feel worn out by the amount of news, 11 points higher than five years ago. The percentage has grown substantially in countries such as Spain (+18) and Brazil (+16). | Learn more
4. On AI and elections. Our analysis of how ChatGPT-4o and Perplexity.ai responded to questions about the UK election showed that most of their responses were factually correct. They frequently provided sources for their responses and linked back to news outlets and official sources. | Learn more
5. On reader revenue. According to this chapter by our own Craig T. Robertson, the percentage of news subscribers paying full price is very small in European countries such as Spain (26%), Denmark (25%) and France (21%). | Learn more
6. On news avoidance. When asked about their company’s focus, 54% of the publishers we surveyed for our yearly report acknowledged that their outlets are focused on maximising attention and only 37% said their main goal was being respectful of people’s time. | Learn more
7. On platforms’ biases. Less than half of the people we surveyed in eight countries think that platforms are systematically biased towards certain views. Perceptions of bias are much stronger among certain groups, with those on the right in the US (69%) and on the left in Argentina (71%) much more likely to think social media is biased. · Learn more
The publisher’s view. In early March New York Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger delivered this year’s Reuters Memorial Lecture, which focused on the meaning of editorial independence and its value in today’s world. “Independence does not mean both-sidesism,” he said. “It doesn’t mean centrism or neoliberalism or a defence of the status quo, and it's also not an innate personal characteristic any of us were born with. It's a professional discipline to which journalists must recommit each day. This discipline is rooted in process.” | Read Sulzberger’s lecture · Lee en español
On covering missing people. Over 170,000 people are reported missing every year in the UK. But this issue doesn't affect every group to the same extent. Despite making up just 4% of the population, around 14% of people reported as missing are Black. Our British Fellow Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff’s project includes eight strategies to improve coverage, including embracing complexity, expanding our understanding of victimhood and highlighting any support available. | Read
On citizen journalism in Myanmar. The military's crackdown on the media has led to the arrest of more than 200 journalists, with more tortured or killed. With the formal press cornered, citizen journalists, often untrained, have emerged as pivotal figures in the ongoing struggle for truth. The project by our Fellow Thu Thu Aung looks at the rise of these figures, who often operate under constant threat. | Read
On fighting legal threats. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are designed to silence and intimidate journalists by burdening them with legal costs. A project by our Polish Fellow Patrycja Maciejewicz explains how SLAPPs affect journalists’ work and what newsrooms can do to avoid facing one. Her six-point plan includes making stories 'bulletproof', preparing your team for any legal challenges, being loud when challenged, reaching out for solidarity and, when possible, suing any malicious actors back. | Read
From Colombia. Small investigative outlet Cuestión Pública, led by editor Claudia Báez, developed an AI-powered interface that slashes the time taken to produce an X thread connecting breaking news to its investigations. The idea behind the tool is to help Cuestión Pública stay relevant while allowing its investigative journalists to focus on their investigations. | More on the project
From the Philippines. Filipino journalist Jaemark Tordecilla developed two tools to help reporters navigate complex policy documents. In February, we published an explainer on how he built a custom GPT to help investigative journalists find stories in audit reports. In November Tordecilla published a second piece guiding us through how he built a similar tool to help journalists make sense of large budget documents. | More on the projects here and here
From the UK. Freelance journalist Sophia Smith Galer built an award-winning chatbot to help reporters turn their stories into short-form videos. Smith Galer used her expertise in creating popular TikTok videos to train the model to turn a text document into a video script inspired by her explainer style. | More on the project
From Norway. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) started adding AI-generated summaries at the top of some online stories this year. These bullet-point summaries aim to give readers a quick overview of the article and are designed to appeal to younger audiences. Preliminary data suggests readers who expand the summary boxes spend more time on the article page overall. | More on the project
From Spain. Audio producer and media group PRISA Media developed an AI tool to help identify audio deepfakes. The project, VerificAudio, resulted in two models, one developed with machine learning and the other with neural networks. Both of them work to evaluate the presence of AI manipulation in a suspicious audio file. | More on the project
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