18 free sources of data on the media industry

Media research is useful for students, but it also underpins a lot of media coverage and the news organisation's wider editorial strategies.

JournalismUK has rounded up 18 of the best places for media research on the internet to help you get the relevant numbers on everything from digital news to diversity.

Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ)

RISJ at the University of Oxford publishes academic reports and papers. It publishes the annual Digital News Report (DNR), the most comprehensive paper on the trends driving the digital media market. Its latest 2026 report features insights from nearly 100,000 online news consumers in 48 countries covering half of the world's population.

There, you will find country-by-country statistics on news consumption habits on social media, willingness to pay for online content, polarisation of news audiences, and much more.

Besides the DNR, RISJ publishes individual papers on a range of topics and has wider research projects around trust in news and AI and the future of news.

Reporters Without Borders

The organisation is well-known for its Press Freedom Index, which ranks the countries from the best to the worst for a free press.

The interactive, colour-coded map displays a breakdown of the score, detailing the political, economic, legislative, social and security conditions. Plus, it compares the country's rank to previous years.

UK press freedom: RSF Index reveals global crisis and rising risks at home

The average global score for press freedom is at its lowest since the Index began in 2002 - as legal threats emerge as the fastest-growing silencer of journalism

Journalism UKJacob Granger

Pew Research Center (Pew)

Pew is an American think tank which studies public opinion on a range of trends that shape the world.

Its research into news habits and media covers topics like news consumers' perceptions of the media, young news audiences and even top podcast guests. The data skews mostly towards the US audience, but you will find data on overseas markets too.

FT Strategies

The consultancy arm of the Financial Times stepped up its effort to inform the media industry about the most important topics du jour. You can access research on broad topics like the future of newsrooms as well as less-known areas like liquid content.

JournalismAI

A project of Polis – the London School of Economics' journalism think-tank – is supported by the Google News Initiative and dedicated to the advancement of artificial intelligence and journalism. It produces research on this topic, such as best AI practices for smaller newsrooms, as well as lots of resources and case studies.

Ofcom

The UK communications regulatory body publishes a lot of data relevant to UK broadcast journalism. Recent reports look at broadcast news consumption in the UK, and the performance of public broadcaster BBC.

National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ)

A UK journalism industry accreditation body and professional awarding organisation. It also delivers industry research, most prominently on the latest diversity figures in UK journalism.

NCTJ diversity report: representation of women a positive in a bleak picture

The UK news industry remains largely privileged,

Journalism UKJacob Granger

Public Interest News Foundation (PINF)

A UK foundation that supports independent public-interest news organisations through impact funds and industry research. The PINF Index maps the independent publishing sector with a survey that profiles the typical size, shape and challenges of indie newsrooms.

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)

A global network of journalists that has a research arm to explore the main challenges and opportunities facing the news industry. In recent years, they covered disinformation, the effect of the pandemic on journalism, and the safety of journalists.

A joint research project with UNESCO, The Chilling: A Global Study of Online Violence Against Women Journalists, is a significant piece of research that has looked into the unique threats facing women journalists both online and offline. The research has since been updated with case studies and an 'alert and response system'.

Socialinsider

A social media analytics tool which also provides audience insights and data on all the main platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Head to its blog section and you will find case studies for specific social media features and platforms. Its most recent study was about what the ideal Instagram Reel length is.

AKAS

A consultancy by Richard Addy (a former chief advisor to the BBC deputy director general) and Luba Kassova (a former BBC consumer insights head), specialising in audience strategy and future analysis. It has commissioned research into representation and misogyny in news and major media events.

ABC

The organisation's primary purpose is to provide independent verification and trusted data that helps facilitate fair and transparent trading in the media industry. They have a global presence through their membership in the International Federation of ABCs (IFABC), which includes organisations from 27 countries. You can filter their research by topic, such as consumer magazine, national newspaper or email newsletter.

Newsguard

An organisation that evaluates and rates the reliability of online information sources through a combination of human expertise and technology. They have analysed over 35,000 online sources that account for more than 95 per cent of news engagement.

Their key services include Source Reliability Ratings created by expert analysts using journalistic criteria, Misinformation Fingerprints that track and analyse over 35,000 false narratives, and Reality Check newsletter about misinformation spread.

IPSO

The UK news industry's independent regulator publishes an annual report that breaks down complaints against the press and an overview of changing press standards.

IPSO Annual Report: Two thirds of complaints resolved in favour of the public, press standards on the rise

The UK press regulator also receives a complaint about the UK press every 17 minutes

Journalism UKJacob Granger

Honourable mentions:

WAN-IFRA: The World Association of News Publishers has a wealth of research - notably its annual World Press Trends Outlook report - exclusively for its members.

Charitable Journalism Project: A team of journalists, funders, lawyers, academics and media experts that want to shape policymaking through research, for example, on the emergence of news deserts in the UK.

YouGov: A global community of people who sign up and complete surveys on a range of topics, frequently giving their opinions on subjects relevant to the news industry. You can find, for example, a question about the political leaning of Sky News. If you have any particular question about the media, you can also ask their chatbot.

Medill Local News Initiative: A research team consisting of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Spiegel Research Center and Knight Lab Foundation. It publishes research and analysis about the US local news sector navigating digital disruption, notably the very thorough The State of Local News 2024 report.

What did we miss? Send your best sources of media research to us and help us grow this list.

This piece was originally published on 11 September 2019 and was updated on 22 July 2026 with new resources.