The news: News publishers are investing in social media presence that may not be creating meaningful referral traffic.

• Although publishers are working to meet audiences where they are—on social and video platforms—their content is being watched, not clicked, per Digiday.
• 36% of TikTok users pay less attention to mainstream media and more to content creators, per Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report.

Traffic troubles: Referral traffic as a whole is declining for publishers, which are trying new strategies to find engagement and attract users from outside their own websites.

• 61% of publishers are increasing their online engagement, and 87% are experimenting with newsletters and ecommerce, per OpenWeb.
• News organizations like New York Magazine and Condé Nast-owned Allure publish newsletters on Substack.

News shift: Publishers face another existential threat—social media is the dominant news source, especially for Gen Zers, potentially making their websites obsolete altogether.

• 54% of US adults get their news from social media and video platforms, per Reuters, more than TV news (50%) and news websites and apps (48%).
• This trend is further complicated by the fact that 43% of adults worldwide have actively disabled news alerts on their phones.

Creator competition: News publishers are also competing with content creators and can be eclipsed by users who post news recaps or podcasts online.

• 22% of US adults came across news or commentary from Joe Rogan in the week after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
• 58% of US adults who use X for news pay most attention to content creators that mostly or occasionally focus on the news, and 43% pay most attention to traditional news and media sources.

Our take: Despite social media not converting engagement into referral traffic, news publishers have little option but to remain—leaving social platforms means losing user attention.

Publishers may need to boost their efforts in community-driven channels like Substack and podcasts to foster engagement and reader loyalty.

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