The Reuters Institute published its digital news report for 2022 which examines how news is being consumed in every country. This study used samples collected online between January 2022 to February 2022.
The report reveals that despite the increase in the usage of digital news platforms, print media usage increased from 28% recorded in 2021 to 33% in 2022. While TV, which ranks number 1, in the list of sources of news in Nigeria experienced a decrease from 66% recorded in 2021 to 61% in 2022. Online sources of news and social media which rank 3rd and 4th respectively also had an increase of 1% each.
Trust in media also grew by 4% from 54% in 2021 to 58% in 2022. This indicates that the audience’s trust in news media has increased in the past year, with the traditional media having the highest trust rating over the online and social media news platforms. The higher rate of trust in traditional news outlets could be the reason for the increase in print media.
The findings also indicated that BBC tops the list of the most trusted brands, replacing Channels tv as the most trusted brand in 2021 and taking second place in the list of most trusted brands in Nigeria. The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) ranks 15th and last among the trusted brands in Nigeria earning a score of 55%.
79% of people say they get their news through social media. 80% of people access the internet and use social media through phones, 37% use computers to get access to news and 16% use tablets to access online media outlets and social media.
Facebook tops the list of most used social media in 2022 with a score of 62%, replacing Whatsapp as the most used in the previous year, WhatsApp is second with. While Whatsapp and Facebook experienced a decrease in the number of users compared to 2021, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram all had an increase in the number of usage for news.
News media outlets with the highest online reach are BBC News (54% weekly use), Punch online (45%), Pulse.ng (42%), CNN. com (40%), and Vanguard online (37%) and the rest are Sahara reporters, News 24, The Daily Post Online, Daily Trust online, The Nation Nigeria, Premium Times online, Nigeria Entertainment Today, This Day Live, Information Nigeria, Online Nigeria, and Tribune online.
News media outlets with the highest offline reach are The Punch (44%), Channels TV (43%), BBC news (43%), The Vanguard (39%) and The CNN (38%). Others are TVC News, The Guardian, Wazobia FM, Al Jazeera, National Television Authority, Daily Trust, The Sun, Arise TV news, Africa Independent Television, Silverbird Television news and Cool FM.