In the European comparison, the Nordics are in the lead. According to the 2025 Digital News Report, the Nordic region accounted for five of the five European news outlets with the highest digital reach. In addition, three Nordic public service broadcasters, Finnish Yle, Danish DR, and Norwegian NRK, were among the most popular European offline media.

At the same time, the media systems of these four Nordic countries differ somewhat. As the NORDICOM report summarizes:

Denmark’s media system is defined by the prominent role of its two public service broadcasters, which maintain strong positions across both digital and traditional platforms, while the country’s newspaper industry still relies heavily on advertising income rather than reader payments.

Finland, by contrast, combines a high offline news reach with a robust newspaper sector at both national and regional levels, and stands out for having the greatest degree of stock market ownership among Nordic media markets.

Norway exemplifies this strength with a highly developed and competitive national online news market, alongside numerous small local newspapers that are largely subscription-funded and operate within a consolidated ownership structure.

Sweden diverges somewhat from its neighbors, as national news outlets generally report lower audience reach both online and offline. Additionally, Sweden’s local news landscape is increasingly concentrated, with the Bonnier group playing a dominant role.

Engaged, trusting, and paying audiences

In terms of audiences’ media use and trust, the report shows that:

Denmark is notable for combining low news interest and relatively limited news use with high institutional trust in journalism. Its public service broadcaster, DR, is the most trusted news outlet in Europe, even though Danish tabloids enjoy significantly less trust than their Nordic counterparts. Danes are also less willing to pay for online news than audiences elsewhere in the region.

Finland has the most news-engaged population in the Nordics, and reports the highest overall trust in news media. Major outlets such as Yle and Helsingin Sanomat rank among the most trusted in Europe, although Finland still has a relatively small share of people paying for digital news and more pronounced gender gaps – women avoid news more than men do.

Norway stands out for its strong digital news market. Trust is consistently high across both public and private media, while print and traditional television have lower reach due to the dominance of digital platforms.

Sweden, meanwhile, aligns broadly with Nordic averages but shows some differences: news interest and trust are lower than in Norway and Finland. However, Sweden has recently seen the sharpest growth in online news subscriptions and has the lowest share of active news avoiders in Europe.

The report highlights that the Nordic region has significant strengths worth safeguarding and further developing. The countries are united by a shared commitment to trusted journalism, democratic communication, combating disinformation, and promoting media literacy among citizens, despite notable differences. This is also why DECA has been researching Nordic audiences’ experiences of media trust, authority, and power, for example, in relation to public service media, and will be publishing more related analyses in the future.

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