Newsrooms across India, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines are navigating acute structural shifts, pressed by shrinking editorial headcounts, shifting audience demographics, and an expanding demand for hybrid skill sets, according to a survey released by WAN-IFRA Asia.
The report, titled the 2025 State of Asian Newsrooms, was conducted between September 2025 and May 2026 in collaboration with the Centre for Information Integrity and the Internet (IN-cube) at Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Prepared by Shruti Malviya, Edson C. Tandoc Jr., and Goh Zhang Hao, the study is based on responses from 42 media professionals—ranging from reporters and editors to team leaders and C-suite executives—mostly working within national news organisations across 12 markets.
While the small sample size serves as a snapshot rather than a comprehensive census of every Asian newsroom, the findings underline distinct operational pressures shaping modern journalism.
Staffing Pressures and Expanding Skill Demands
Staffing constraints remain a defining challenge for editorial leadership. Among the 42 respondents, 19 reported that their editorial headcounts fell over the course of 2024, while 14 noted an increase and nine observed no change.
Concurrently, the operational expectations placed on surviving staff have broadened. When asked what skills they would prioritize if given the opportunity to hire, 54.8% of respondents pointed to data journalism expertise, matching the exact proportion that prioritized audio or visual experience. Furthermore, 52.4% sought experienced journalists, exactly half looked for AI content strategists, and 47.6% prioritized social media proficiency.
These figures indicate that modern newsrooms require personnel capable of merging core reporting with cross-platform formatting, data analytics, and artificial intelligence integration.
Off-Platform Audience Growth and Demographic Divides
Publisher reach is increasingly decoupled from traditional home properties. While print readership continues to skew older and decline across multiple organizations, digital audiences are younger—40% of survey respondents identified their primary digital audience within the 26 to 34 age bracket.
The most pronounced audience growth is occurring off-platform, with 77.5% of respondents reporting rising engagement on services such as social media and Apple News. While this dynamic expands immediate reach, it deepens institutional reliance on external intermediaries that dictate content discovery, distribution pathways, and direct user relationships.
Publishers face the dual mandate of producing journalism tailored to the digital environments where audiences spend time while attempting to convert that fleeting attention into durable, direct relationships.
Generative AI Adoption Centered on Efficiency
Generative AI tools have seen wider operational acceptance, with two-thirds of respondents stating that journalists in their organizations are permitted to use such technology when producing stories—a slight increase from 2024 figures.
Adoption remains concentrated in support functions. Proofreading and grammar correction, alongside transcription, were cited by 52.4% of respondents as primary AI applications. These were followed by background research at 50%, translation at 47.6%, and summarization at 42.9%. By contrast, only 11.9% reported using generative AI to produce written content.
This operational reliance on assistance rather than replacement coincides with deep internal ambivalence. While 77.5% of respondents agreed that AI aids journalists and 75% noted efficiency gains in specific tasks, 65% stated they did not trust the quality of AI-generated output.
Internal governance structures are developing unevenly. Only 57.5% of respondents confirmed that their companies have established ethical guidelines for AI use, while 25% reported having no guidelines and 17.5% remained unsure.
External Creators as Collaborators and Competitors
News organizations are increasingly integrating digital creators, influencers, and key opinion leaders into their workflows. While 38.5% of respondents currently collaborate with external creators, an additional 48.7% indicated a willingness to consider such partnerships.
This integration brings distinct editorial tensions. Nearly six in ten respondents acknowledged that creators maintain a closer connection to audience perspectives, but an identical proportion characterized creator-led content as lower in credibility. Additionally, 69% argued that creators should be held to the same ethical standards as professional journalists, and 64.3% expressed the belief that journalists must evolve into digital content creators themselves.
Revenue Pressures and 2026 Priorities
Financial sustainability remains anchored by conventional models. Advertising was cited as a primary funding source by 83.3% of respondents, while sponsorship and print subscriptions were each identified by 54.8%. Paywalls or membership models accounted for revenue among 42.9% of respondents, whereas donations and foundation grants played marginal roles.
Looking ahead to 2026, participants consistently prioritized AI adaptation, revenue and funding, print-digital integration, changing audience behaviour, understaffing challenges, and the cultivation of lasting reader communities.
