The news industry is in crisis. No market in the world escapes the growing disinterest and distrust of consumers. But, amidst audience fragmentation, competition from big tech digital platforms, and the proliferation of fake news, CNN Brazil emerges as a laboratory for possible answers to the challenges facing the new information ecosystem.
Launched just over six years ago, thanks to an investment by businessman Rubens Menin , the broadcaster is the most credible media outlet in the country: 62% of Brazilians trust the brand. On the other hand, only 17% have a negative perception of it. This is the lowest rejection rate among all journalistic companies cited in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026 .
Conducted annually by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, England, the research is the most comprehensive and respected analysis of global news consumption. For the 15th edition of the study, 100,000 people were surveyed in 48 countries.
“The true asset of a media company is not its headquarters, its studios, or its equipment; it is its credibility. From this perspective, CNN Brasil is today the richest company in Brazilian journalism,” says João Vítor Xavier, CEO of CNN Brasil, in a conversation with NeoFeed .
The broadcaster's data becomes even more telling when considering the trust ratings in Brazilian media outlets. Over the past twelve years, these ratings have plummeted from 62% to 36% — one of the largest declines recorded by Oxford researchers worldwide.
“This result should serve as a call for the parameters of excellence to be constantly revisited and strengthened,” says Xavier. “Trust is a collective asset of journalism, and its preservation is in the interest of the whole society.”
One of the most decisive factors in CNN Brazil's leadership lies in the combination of relevant news and reach.
Since the start of operations on March 15, 2020, the broadcaster has adopted a multiplatform strategy. The brand is present on television, digital platforms, streaming services, and connected TVs.
One content, multiple languages
“More than just distributing, we produce for all platforms,” says Virgílio Abranches, vice president of journalism, content and operations at the broadcaster, to NeoFeed .
CNN Brazil creates content according to the specific characteristics of each environment in which the news is broadcast. The format changes, but the rigor of the investigation remains the same.
“It required internal work to change the culture and mindset,” recalls Abranches. “It seems simple, but in practice, professionals have to think about how to handle the same information across multiple platforms while preserving the sustainability of the structure.”
João Vítor Xavier, CEO of CNN Brazil
The approach couldn't have been more effective. In March, CNN Brazil reached the historic milestone of 119 million people reached in a single month across all its channels.
In streaming, for example, viewership on Prime Video was twice the average. Pay TV recorded its best performance since September 2025, with 11 million unique viewers. Live broadcasts grew by 65% and accumulated the highest volume of unique viewers since October 2023.
“Our product is information. It’s not television, it’s not radio, it’s not computers… That’s a product of Sony, Dell, Samsung,” says Xavier.
In his opinion, many traditional journalism companies remain stuck on form—more than on content: “People choose the form. For me, it doesn’t matter much if I reach them through social media or television… Our commitment is to deliver quality content.”
The new address for the news.
Delivering quality information to wherever the audience may be has become essential in today's landscape. The news, after all, has changed its location.
For the first time, social media, instant messaging services, video platforms, and AI chatbots have surpassed the websites and apps of media companies as the primary gateway to news.
According to the Reuters Institute, 54% of people worldwide believe that the path to information today begins with algorithms, automated recommendations, and sharing. For 51%, the journey continues to originate with news brands.
The difference seems subtle, but it reveals a radical change in behavior. Buying the newspaper, turning on the television, or accessing a specialized portal... Staying up-to-date has always been an intentional choice. However, news is no longer the destination. It now arrives almost by chance, mixed with memes, dance videos, and influencer posts.
In other words, information has never been so abundant and accessible, nor so dispersed, incidental, and peripheral.
Informative, yes. Opinionated, no.
Globally, since 2021, the proportion of those who say they are "very" or "extremely" engaged with the news has fallen by 13 percentage points. And worse, this disinterest is accompanied by a loss of credibility.
For media companies, the challenge is clear: in addition to getting the news to the public, they need to convince them that it deserves attention.
And this is only achieved through relevance. Behind CNN Brazil's rise to the top of the credibility ranking is also its focus on factual journalism — "much more informative than opinionated," defines Xavier. Ultimately, this stance serves as an indicator of honesty and transparency, agrees Abranches.
At the station, there's no room for the "virtue signaling journalist," the vice-president emphasizes. This increasingly common figure is the professional who wants to overshadow the news, to go viral. "Then it becomes a circus," he says. "As a viewer, I often can't understand an interview because the interviewee barely answered and the journalist cut them off, made jokes, used irony... The lack of credibility in the news also stems from that."
When CNN Brazil expresses its opinion, the CEO points out, it does so through experts. It's no coincidence that the network has been expanding its offering of specialized content. Last year, it launched the CNN Money channel, focused on news and analysis of the financial market. More recently, it created the CNN Infra and CNN Agro editorial units. The first is dedicated to covering topics related to infrastructure, logistics, mining, and energy. And the other, to agribusiness.
The quest to provide in-depth information also involves the station's partnerships with other journalistic brands. In sports, the alliance is with Itatiaia radio. In economics and business, with NeoFeed . "Everyone wins, especially the audience, which gains access to diverse and high-quality products," says Xavier.
In an environment marked by audience dispersion, distrust, and disinterest, CNN Brazil's experience suggests an important lesson.
Technology may have transformed the way we consume news, but the credibility of information remains the most valuable asset—and, increasingly, a condition for the survival of the journalism industry.
