A new Reuters Institute study says that many Filipinos are interested in local news, but most of them do not get it from news publishers. Instead, they prefer social media as their primary source of information.
According to the data, four out of ten Filipinos are "very interested" in local news. When "somewhat interested" is included, the figure rises to 84% — one of the highest in the entire Asia-Pacific. This is even higher than in Singapore, Japan, and Thailand.
More Filipinos also read or watched local news in the past week compared to the global average. For example, 52% said they read crime or accident news, and 42% focused on local politics — higher than the global average of 32%.
Despite high interest in news, most people still prefer social media over traditional media such as TV, radio, or newspapers. For example, 50% of Filipinos said they get political news from social media, while only 37% get it from news outlets.
Because of this, local newspapers and news sites are struggling to gain readers. One of those affected is the Baguio Midland Courier, which closed in 2024 due to high costs and lack of readers. Sunstar Baguio also closed in 2021.
