Reuters Institute for Studies journalism at the University of Oxford published the "Digital News Report 2026", the largest globally Research on audience information habits, which this year covers 48 markets and is based on nearly 100.000 interviews with news users worldwide.
It is an academic research, the greatest value of which is that it is comparative and gives a clear picture of where Serbia is, that is, what are the habits of informing its citizens. This research has been done for 15 years, and it was done here for the second time. The research for all 48 countries was carried out by the British research agency "YouGov", while a group of authors led by Professor Snježana Milivojević was responsible for the interpretation and analysis of the report for Serbia.
"Digital News Report 2026" provides data on the way citizens follow the news, the use of social networks, video content, digital platforms and artificial intelligence in information, as well as the audience's trust in the media. Among the topics of this year's research are the use of AI chatbots to access news, the growth of the popularity of video formats, the audience's attitude towards content creators, attitudes about the impartiality of the media and the perception of public services.
The report showed that the weekly "Vreme" is still among the media in Serbia, which the audience shows a high level of trust. "Vreme" is classified among newsrooms that part of the audience recognizes as a reliable source of information, along with certain digital media and television channels.
How are citizens of Serbia informed?
According to the published survey, by far the largest number of respondents - 38 percent - stated that they choose TV N1 and RTS as the media they choose to get information.
In terms of television, radio and newspapers, TV Nova is in second place, with 24 percent of respondents receiving information from it, followed by Blic and TV Pink (20 percent), Prva srpska TV (19 percent), B92 (17 percent), Kurir (15 percent), Nova newspaper (14 percent), Infromer TV (14 percent), Happy TV (13 percent), Danas (12 percent), other local media (12 percent), RTV (11 percent), Juronujz and newspapers. Informer (10 percent).
When it comes to portals, N1 is in first place with 36 percent, Blic (30 percent), Telegraf (23 percent), Nova online (21 percent), BIRN, Danas and Kurir (20 percent), Mondo and RTS (19 percent), Srbija danas (18 percent), Juzhne vesti (16 percent), B92 (15 percent), Informer, Prva srpska TV online, Radar online and TV Pink online (12 percent).
The survey states that television remains an important source of news, especially for older citizens of Serbia, but that social networks and the Internet lead the way, and news websites/apps have experienced a boom in the last year.
According to the research, 51 percent of the respondents are informed through television, 19 percent through radio, 16 through newspapers, as many as 85 through the Internet, which includes news sites/applications, social media and video networks, informative podcasts, 64 percent through social networks, and 57 percent through informative sites, i.e. applications.
photo: dragan antonić / fonetTelevision remains an important source of news, especially for older citizens of Serbia
The report also states that the media market is oversaturated, poorly regulated and under strong political influence. As one of the key events that marked the media and political scene, the protests that followed the fall of the canopy of the Railway Station in Novi Sad in November 2024 are mentioned. Protests were largely organized by students and young people, and during 2025 numerous actions and gatherings were held throughout the country.
The Reuters Institute states that this year's report tracks changes in audience habits at a time of accelerated change in the media market, including the growing influence of digital platforms and content creators, as well as the increasing role of artificial intelligence in the distribution and access to information.
The Digital News Report is published once a year and is one of the most cited international studies on media and audience information.
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