Seven Ways Tech Is Changing Journalism and News Consumption

During the past decade, digital technology has dramatically changed the way we consume — and create — news and information. This pace — as discussed last week at the annual Global Editors Network conference (GEN Summit 2016) — shows no sign of abating.

Over the course of 2.5 days, the theme of digital disruption was firmly front and centre; as successive panels and presentations highlighted the impact tech innovation will have on our evolving news habits.

From that perspective, here are seven emerging tech trends which caught my eye.

1. Social media is increasingly our portal to news
According to research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, social media is used each week by more than half (51%) of online news consumers to find, discuss and share, news content.

Their fifth Digital News Report, using data from over 50,000 online news users in 26 countries, also revealed that among audiences aged 18–24 social media is now their preferred news source; beating TV (28% vs 24%) for the first time.

Globally, the study found, 12% said social media is their main news source.

2. New morning routines
The idea of starting your day by reading a newspaper…