Each group is formed by a variety of demographics that differ in age, gender, race, ethnicity and lived experience.

More traditional paper, radio or television formats will not appeal to all of these groups. According to a 2025 Pew Research study, 86% of U.S. adults say that they sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, and 56% say that they often get news from these sources. Audiences are gathering their news from search engines, social media, apps, podcasts, email newsletters and even AI chatbots. 

To reach the widest audience, cross-channel news distribution has become essential. This means publishing the same content across all platforms, while taking care to tailor the presentation of content to each. For example, rather than posting a photo of a published print article to Instagram, newsrooms should use engaging short-form videos.