Social media posts became the second most popular content format for Ukrainian news outlets in 2025: 56% of journalists surveyed by IMI said they were key. Despite news and reportage staying in high demand (80%), the growing role of social media points to the increasing influence of these platforms on the distribution of traditional media content and change in the ways the media interact with their audience, as evidenced by the anonymous quantitative online survey of journalists conducted by the Institute of Mass Information on 8 December 2025 through 5 January 2026. The survey was formatted as a questionnaire and included 193 journalists in all regions across Ukraine.*

IMI director Oksana Romaniuk believes that such survey findings confirm a structural shift in the very logic of news production and consumption.

“For a significant part of the audience, social media platforms are no longer an extra channel of information; they have become the main point of entry to news content. News outlets are forced to adapt. This also signals the platformisation of journalism: social media are transforming from a tool for distributing news into a space for editorial work in its own right. At the same time, such dependence on social media carries risks, such as increasing pressure to present information quickly and emotionally. In this sense, IMI’s data shows not only the news outlets’ tactical choice, but also the strategic dilemma that the media are currently facing: how to remain visible in the social media environment while retaining the professionalism, ethics, and depth of journalism,” O. Romaniuk believes.

Reportage (mentioned by 48% of respondents) and interviews (38%) are also in high demand. Analyses, columns, and blog posts remain important for one-third of news outlets (32%), while investigations were mentioned by 30% of respondents.

Live broadcasts and streams (only mentioned by 1% of the surveyed media professionals), podcasts and audio shows (8%) were found to be least popular.**

*The study was conducted using a quantitative anonymous online survey method with a simple random sample of potential respondents — journalists and news outlet editors. A total of 193 responses from media professionals in all regions across Ukraine was received. Of those, 74.6% were women and 25.4% were men. The margin of error is up to 5%. The survey was conducted on 8 December 2025 through 5 January 2026.

**The sum of responses does not equal 100% because respondents could pick multiple options.