Joy Jenkins co-authors U.S. page of 2026 Reuters Institute Digital News Report
COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 17, 2026) — Missouri School of Journalism Associate Professor Joy Jenkins has once again co-authored the U.S. page of the annual Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Digital News Report, now in its 15th edition. Jenkins has co-authored the report with the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid’s Lucas Graves since 2018.
The U.S. section included detailed breakdowns of news consumption trends across brands and mediums, showed how much the public trusts specific news brands as reported in a national survey, ranked social media networks by usage and featured a page of analysis interpreting the data in the context of current events and trends.
“Joy’s expert lens on the digital news ecosystem gives news leaders and industry stakeholders consistent, year-over-year comparisons they can use to make important decisions,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “One year is a snapshot in time, but for Joy to return to this report every year for nearly a decade makes its analysis all the more reliable and insightful.”
“Although the U.S. and countries around the world are seeing some distressing patterns in terms of news use, the report also reveals important opportunities for re-engaging and building trust with audiences, such as through online video and news-focused creators and influencers.”
Joy Jenkins
This year’s analysis recounted domestic threats to press freedom and charted the continued decline of public trust in news overall. At the same time, Jenkins and Graves offered optimism around the growth of collaborative local journalism movements through networks like the Institute for Nonprofit News.
“Collaborative local journalism continues to thrive in a challenging U.S. media landscape,” reads one part of the analysis. “Among other projects, a joint effort by six Chicago newsrooms documented federal immigration agents using tear gas on nonviolent protestors in defiance of a court order. Several were members of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a hub for independent newsrooms which has risen from 150 outlets a decade ago to more than 500 today.”
Audiences once again ranked local news higher in trust among both newspapers and television compared to specific national news brands. Overall, trust in news declined 5% to settle at 25%, falling further below the global average of 37% and marking a new low since the report began tracking trust more than a decade ago.
In the social media sphere, Facebook widened its lead over YouTube in news consumption despite falling behind in overall usage.
“The Digital News Report remains a vital resource for journalists, news leaders, academics, and others to understand changing audience-consumption trends in the digital environment,” Jenkins said. “Although the U.S. and countries around the world are seeing some distressing patterns in terms of news use, the report also reveals important opportunities for re-engaging and building trust with audiences, such as through online video and news-focused creators and influencers.”
Read the full Digital News Report here.
Updated: June 18, 2026