To say the news industry is going through a worldwide “structural transformation” is beyond an understatement.

As INMA’s latest report, Bridging the Gap: News Brands + Content Creators, eloquently summarises, news media’s present challenges sit at the confluence of several epochal trends: the rapid rise of influencers as broadcasters of information, a constantly fragmented media ecosystem across a multiplying set of platforms, and young audiences’ increasing reliance on social platforms as “primary gateways” to content.

The report argued that influencers are thriving based on two converging trends: people’s growing reliance on personalised, algorithmic feeds to deliver information, plus a general mistrust of traditional institutions, which leads to alternative sources of information.

What’s more, it found young U.S. respondents saw mainstream outlets as “boring” and “disconnected,” while socials feel “personal,” “conversational,” and “tailored.”

This aligns with information’s growing need to be parasocial for Gen Z audiences: Fewer than 20% of teens can distinguish news from ads or opinions. As the report notes, “the result is an information ecosystem where trust is high but verification is low.”

While it appears long-standing news outlets are staring into the abyss, the reportis quick to highlight clear opportunities. It suggests both partnering with existing content creators to reach new audiences with verified content as well as adopting in-house upskilling to empower journalists to craft their own personal online voices while reporting under the title’s brand.

While those specifics can be found in the full report, I want to focus on how UK news brands are navigating these changes. Although the UK market was not specifically mentioned in the study, the fact it is facing a similar situation is unsurprising. However, existing strategies to harness these changes mean it is well placed to take advantage of these opportunities.

Here’s how:

Disruption has long been the “new normal”

Earlier, I noted it would be an understatement to say news brands are experiencing a wholesale structural transformation.

However, another thing is also true: UK news brands have been experiencing a wholesale structural transformation since print ceased to be their only platform in 1994.

Since then, news brands have been navigating the consequences of the searchable open Web, the explosion of audio and video as in-demand media, and, of course, the lightning pace of the social media ecosystem and what users expect from their content.

While this has inevitably created challenges to business models, 24 million daily readers across all platforms demonstrate news brands’ significant relevance in modern media.

Young habits die hard

What about young people, specifically?

This core part of the social-native audience is still interested in news, albeit in ways more natural to them. In our “Youth” research, which used Ipsos iris data to scour millions of anonymised URLs from young Brits’ Internet usage over one month, we found seven in 10 15- to 29-year-olds were reading news brand Web sites. This isn’t self-reported data; passive data means we can see when young people access news brands even if they don’t realise it.

What’s more, when actively asked about their views on journalism, young Brits were resolute in backing news’s relevance today. Ninety-three percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 told our 2026 “State of the nation” surveyors that journalism was important to society. Additionally, 91% believe it is vital for providing context around complex issues, and 85% think it is a crucial part of the fight against misinformation.

Regardless of journalism’s present challenges, its inherent value to readers remains undiminished.

All the news that’s fit for socials

The cacophony of content on social media makes being noticed an everyday challenge. However, the study behind our 2026 “Trends” report found 44% of UK 18- to 24-year-olds claimed they read news brand content on social media every day, rising to almost 80% every week.

INMA’s Researcher-in-Residence Greg Piechota called social media the “primary model of communication,” and, importantly, UK news brands are showing up in places young audiences find relevant.

What’s more, their social strategy isn’t simply to include captions and links to their Web site. UK news brands harness the success of influencer-style presentation, training journalists in-house to ensure news comes in a format Gen Z expects.

On the news front, journalist-fronted explainers are a common way of breaking down the day’s breaking news with digital natives in mind. With no prior knowledge presumed, journalists use video to explain a story to followers, plus what it means for them and what they care about.

Examples include The Telegraph’s breakdown of a growing student loan backlash, The Times’ analysis of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, and The Guardian’s decoding of an important United Nations climate report.

However, news brands have never been solely concerned with what consumers tend to think news is — the “hard,” political, current affairs stories. Publishers’ long-standing association with topics as diverse as athletics, entertainment, and lifestyle make them perfectly placed to capture wide digital audiences interested in being entertained and informed.

These include more explainer-style videos such as Daily Mail Sport’s preview of a vital North London derby and the veteran Independent travel correspondent Simon Calder’s explanation of new UK passport travel rules.

However, other content can appear much closer to typical influencer content yet still be tied to the trusted news publisher’s brand: Take the Mirror’s Cash Queens TikTok video on how to keep the kids occupied for less at Christmas.

A trusted haven for social-conscious advertisers

It’s clear UK news brands are significantly growing their expertise in the “influencer content” space. That makes them a compelling proposition for advertisers looking to capture hard-to-reach audiences in trusted environments.

With verifiable content operating in notoriously unregulated spaces (where misinformation can proliferate easily), this makes partnering with news brands especially attractive.

Advertisers have already moved into this news brand space — either as part of social-specific campaigns or as part of more 360-degree content strategies. One notable example of the former is Asda’s partnership with Mail Metro Media on the publisher’s new Family Matters channel, which positions the supermarket as a one-stop shop to keep the kids fed and flourishing.

Meanwhile, “360” content strategies place social media influencer-style content as a natural fit alongside other formats of that same content. No Parental Guidance, a podcast from The Sun’s Fabulous weekend lifestyle supplement, encapsulates this perfectly with its Jet2Holidays partnership. In one TikTok video, the host shares cash-savvy packing tips, while reminding viewers how the travel operator makes family trips affordable.

Are news brands facing a content revolution at a volatile time for the media ecosystem? Undoubtedly. Do they have the expertise to adapt to the “new normal?” Absolutely.

As news brands get to know their audiences better than ever before, their offering will continue to extend wherever readers access content.

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