Despite being regarded as a trusted and reputable environment, news media continues to battle for advertising investment, according to new research by The News Alliance, revealing a striking paradox at the heart of media planning.
A study of over 160 media agency and advertising professionals shows that trust in news media – defined as professionally produced journalism across TV, radio, magazine and news brands on all platforms – is strong, but not strong enough to overcome persistent brand safety fears and political sensitivities.
Among agencies, 67% describe news media as a “trusted, reputable source,” while 77% say they feel confident recommending news to clients.
Advertisers echo this sentiment, with 30% citing trust as their primary reason for advertising in news environments and 57% acknowledging news plays a valuable role in long-term brand building.
Yet both groups admit news is underutilised. Around half (49%) of agencies and advertisers (54%) say news is underused on media plans.
Political associations (54%) and brand safety concerns (40%) rank among the top reasons agencies hesitate to include news on plans.
Over half (51%) say clients are wary of news environments due to brand safety, and 45% admit they have excluded news based on assumed client bias. Six in 10 of those say news media was dropped at a client’s direct request.
Advertisers themselves reflect similar caution. While 30% believe news offers strong brand safety, 26% say it is not always a safe environment. 61% describe news as too polarising for brands.
Despite recent research – including Stagwell’s Future of News, Bountiful Cow’s Relative Advantage and Newsworks’ Attention study – indicating advertising next to news media has no negative impact, 47% of agencies and 42% of advertisers say they would not relax their brand safety settings.
Both agencies and advertisers point to evidence as the path forward, with proprietary research, case studies, ROI data and attention metrics cited as the most effective tools to justify greater investment.
Sarah Jones, chair of The News Alliance, said: “This research is a vital first step in identifying the barriers to investment in trusted, professionally produced news media.
“While trust underpins news media’s perceived value, it is too often undermined in the media planning process. In short, news is trusted in theory but treated with caution in practice – and remains significantly underused on media plans.
“At The News Alliance, we are committed to turning these insights into positive action. The evidence already exists, but we must tell a more compelling story that resonates with both the heads and hearts of advertisers and agencies – transforming positive sentiment into meaningful investment.”
The News Alliance was launched in March 2025 to demonstrate the benefits of regulated and professionally produced news media to advertisers and agencies.
The cross-industry coalition of media businesses is made up of advertising media agencies, trade bodies and portfolio media owners including: Bountiful Cow, British Society of Magazine Editors, Campaign, DAIVID, Ebiquity, Electric Glue, Havas Media Network, Haymarket Automotive, Media Lab, Newsworks, Ozone, PPA, Radiocentre, Sky Media, the7stars, Thinkbox, and World Media Group.
