How do you get your news?
In this digital era, we are spoilt for choice with so many different platforms to retrieve news from these days. We no longer rely solely on one medium to receive alerts – we most likely utilise a myriad of sources: newspapers, radio, mobile, email, search engines, and the list goes on.
Earlier, we questioned whether the print industry was dying.
A global survey conducted by CNN with 2,300 consumers and the results have proven
Which Platforms Do People Share News On?

- 43% shared news via social media. Email ranked second, at 30%. SMS was third (15%), then instant messenger (12%).
- We see the 80/20 rule in action here – People who shared 6+ news stories weekly (27%) account for 87% of all news stories shared.
- The average global user shares 13 stories per week and receives 26 stories through shared social media links or emails.
What Kind of News?
- 65% of shared content comprises ongoing stories
- 19% comprises breaking news
- 16% of content falls into the “quirky or funny” category
In terms of theme, news recommendation is driven by content that is visually spectacular, stories about science and technology, human interest stories and money-related stories. The majority of stories being shared carry an underlying message of the “sharer” imparting knowledge.
Cultural Differences
In Europe and North America, users shared stories that would be useful to friends or family, European users tend to share more work-related stories and Asia-Pacific readers were more likely to share things that underline or reinforce their own belief and identity.
The way we read news is becoming a social experience. With the ease of sharing content through social media, it encourages people to pass on information to others. This is informational to marketers in understanding what sort of news people tend to share. We can definitely expect the numbers of social media sharing to increase in time to come as more people embrace social media tools and the power it provides.


Thanks for the note
Good morning,
You made a mistake in your title. It is not “43% of Online News are Shared Through Social Media” but “43% of news sharing comes from social media networks”, which is very different.