It’s been a big news week with the RBA rate rise and the US midterm elections.

Which got us thinking, how do us Aussies like to consume our news?

We decided to run a bit of a quick poll to find out.

According to the results, the news sources we turn to are extremely diverse, with respondents getting their fix from podcasts, newspapers, television, and social media.

The number of times a day people get news also varies, with some respondents engaging with news sources multiple times a day, others just once or twice a day.

"I consume news like some consume nicotine. The vector is largely irrelevant as long as I get my fix."

"Once per day in the morning. But I appreciate the notifications of breaking news on my phone, and I like the nightly bulletin on TV" 

"I read the AFR every morning. Check the SMH website regularly throughout the day" 

"NY times app, podcasts- the daily, the headlines, the briefing, Instagram- the daily Aus, I follow all the publications, LinkedIn- more relating to my own industry and tradepress on this platform." 

At PB Comms, our news consumption is equally diverse. Some listen to podcasts every day, while others never listen to them. Many of us dip in and out of news sites throughout the day.

Other research - Canberra University’s 2026 Digital News Report, for example - found that Australians are consuming more news, rather than less. News consumption has risen 3 percentage points in 2026, and 56 percent of Australians now access news more than once a day. This increase in interest has been driven by under-35s and women, who are typically lighter news consumers.

The report also shows social media is quickly catching up to TV as a major news source. TV is still the top source at 57 per cent, but social media is now close behind at 56 per cent.

Age is a big influence on which social media platform someone turns to, with older Australians using Facebook and younger Australians using TikTok. Nearly half of 18-24-year-olds use TikTok for news, making it their top platform, and more than half in that demographic have never read a newspaper.

Even though the data shows news consumption is increasing, many Australians are also news avoidant. 68 per cent of Australians say they avoid news, including 83 per cent of 18-24-year-olds.

Given there's so much difference in opinion and habit, we have created nine different types of media consumption personality types:

• The Grazer: small bites all day, from whatever’s in front of them.
• The Bookender: fixed times, trusted sources, done for the day.
• The Scroller: news arrives through the feed, mixed in with friends’ holidays and memes. The algorithm chooses, not them.
• The Pinged: relies on push alerts. If it didn’t buzz, it didn’t happen.
• The Osmoser: picks it up second-hand from group chats, a partner or the office kitchen. Rarely goes to a source directly.
• The Backgrounder: radio or TV news on while doing something else. Takes it in without really sitting down to it.
• The Deep-Diver: skips the daily churn, then binges long reads, the weekend papers or a podcast on one story.
• The Obsessive: follows one beat closely, like politics, markets or footy, and ignores the rest.
• The Avoider: deliberately tunes out because it’s too depressing or too much.

Do you feel aligned with a Grazer, or fancy yourself more as a bit of a Scroller?

To find out which media consumer you resonate with the most, try our quiz!

^{*Images used have been generated by AI}