Talking to the Nation is harder than it used to be
The strategic communications consultancy Charlesbye has just released the Talking to the Nation 2025 report — the largest study ever conducted into how UK adults consume, trust and talk about news with a sample size of 8,000 UK adults.
At Topham Guerin we have worked closely with Charlesbye’s founder, Lee Cain, since the 2019 election campaign, where we helped deliver the Conservatives’ digital strategy. We also worked together through the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping the government’s comms response during one of the most challenging public information efforts in modern history.
Charlesbye understand not just what’s shifting in the media landscape, but how to turn that insight into real-world strategy when the stakes are high. This report is a great example of their expertise, with a clear-eyed look at how fast things are changing and why most comms playbooks are already behind.
I was on the panel for the launch event alongside voices from The Spectator and The Sun where we dug into the findings, and there were six key insights that are worth paying particular attention to.
1. Social media has overtaken traditional news sources
Facebook is now the UK’s most popular news source. Not the BBC. Not ITV. Facebook.
Half of the top 10 most-consumed outlets are now social platforms. That alone should tell you how much the media landscape has been redrawn.
For years, the national conversation was shaped by a few trusted gatekeepers. That’s gone. People no longer tune in at the same time or start their day with the same front page. The algorithm decides what they see, not an editor. And that shift from editorial control to personal feed changes not just how news is delivered, but what people absorb and act on.
2. People are their own fact-checkers
Under-45s are using 8 to 12 different news sources a day. Over-75s are averaging six. That’s not passive consumption. That’s active, deliberate comparison.
We’ve moved from a one-to-many broadcast model to a many-to-many ecosystem. The public isn’t waiting to be told what to think. They’re assembling their own view — sometimes well, sometimes badly, but always with a higher degree of autonomy. They’re skimming, scanning, cross-referencing and weighing up tone and context as much as content.
For anyone communicating at scale, this should be a wake-up call. If your strategy relies on the public accepting your version of events unchallenged, it’s going to fall flat.
3. Podcasts are eating legacy media
Joe Rogan now reaches more Brits each day than the Today programme on Radio 4. That’s not a niche stat. It’s a generational handover.
What draws younger audiences in is the space to think out loud. Podcasts offer long-form discussion, disagreement, personality and friction. They feel less staged, more revealing. And in a world where trust is fragile, that sense of transparency matters. It’s not about whether you agree. It’s about whether the conversation feels real.
Legacy formats still rely on heavily edited segments, polished soundbites, and a top-down tone. That’s not how people under 45 are consuming content. If you’re not adapting to that shift, you’re missing your moment.
4. WhatsApp is shaping the conversation
WhatsApp is now the UK’s fourth most popular news source. It’s not where stories start, but where they spread. Quietly, quickly, and with more built-in trust than any news brand can buy.
When a link comes from a friend, it hits differently. The sender brings credibility. The format encourages sharing. And once a story has landed in a group chat, it becomes part of the conversation whether it’s accurate or not.
For communicators, the challenge is clear. Messages need to be built for velocity. If they don’t survive the screenshot, they won’t spread. If they aren’t quotable in two lines, they won’t be repeated. And if they don’t feel personal, they’ll never leave the feed.
5. Trust is moving from institutions to individuals
More and more people are turning to independent voices, creators and niche commentators instead of traditional media brands. Not because they always have better information, but because they feel more human.
In a high-noise environment, people don’t just trust facts. They trust people. They’re looking for consistency, personality and perspective. They want to hear what someone thinks, not just what happened. And they’re deciding who to believe based on tone, track record and audience interaction over job titles.
This isn’t just about media. It also affects politics, activism, brand loyalty and public policy. If your message isn’t delivered by someone the audience already trusts, it probably won’t land at all.
6. The generation gap isn’t just about platforms. It’s about trust.
One of the most striking findings in the report is the gap in trust between younger and older audiences when it comes to social media.
Under-45s have a net trust of +23 percent in social media as a news source. Over-45s come in at minus 23 percent. That’s a 46-point swing. On the same platforms. Looking at the same content.
Older generations grew up with gatekeepers. Younger generations grew up with feeds. They’re not just consuming news differently. They’re thinking about it differently.
For communicators, this creates a serious problem. You can’t rely on a single channel to reach everyone. But more importantly, you can’t assume the same content will be trusted by different demographics in the same way. Relevance and trust are now inseparable from context.
So, it’s not just about where you place your message. It’s about which channels your audience trusts enough to even listen.
If you work in politics, communications, or media, the Talking to the Nation report is essential reading. You can find it here.
It’s the most detailed snapshot we have of how the UK public is thinking, reading, watching and deciding what to believe. And it should be required reading for anyone trying to shape the conversation in 2025.