Radio news saw growth in its audience in the latest Trust in Media survey, from YouGov, compared to the 2024 results. However, the medium lags behind several other competitors.
In the survey, 29% of adults said they had used radio as a news vehicle in the past month. That is up from 27% in the previous year. Among older respondents, the numbers went up. Those aged 45 and older reported 34% had used radio for news in the past month. That figure dropped to 23% for those between the ages of 18 and 44.
Conservatives were more likely to use radio as a news vessel. 37% of self-identified Republicans said they listened to news in the past month. Independents were at 32% while only 23% of Democrats said they utilized radio for news.
While 29% of those respondents said they had utilized radio for news, that paled in comparison to other mediums. 61% of those surveyed said they utilized social media for news in the past month. That surpassed television 60%. Radio also finished behind “conversations with friends and family”, which 45% of those surveyed had said they learned about news from those conversations.
Radio did top blogs (11%) and AI chatbots (5%) in the list of ways respondents consume news. 25% said they listen or watch podcasts for news, while 22% rely on newsletters. An additional 16% said they utilize dedicated video platforms for their news consumption.
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