Australians say they do not trust 'most news most of the time' but they are much more likely to trust the news outlets they personally use, new research suggests.

In a worrying sign for the likelihood you will trust this very sentence, only 39 per cent of Australians say they "think you can trust most of the news most of the time", according to a survey conducted for the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report.

But 53 per cent say they can trust "most of the news that I use most of the time".

Phew. It's reassuring to know that at least half the people reading this sentence are inclined to trust me.

Of the 12 countries covered in the report, Australia has the second-largest gap between the level of trust in 'all news' and the level of trust in 'my news'. The United States is the only country with a greater gap.

"The discrepancy between those two figures seems greatest in countries with the most partisan and hence polarised media," said Reuters Institute director David Levy.

That's just one of the findings of the Digital News Report, which surveyed more than 2,000 Australians on how they access the news. Other findings include:

Australians cite online outlets as their 'main source of news' more than TV, radio or print

Australians cite online outlets as their 'main source of news' more than TV, radio or print 59 per cent of Australian respondents use their smartphones to access news, the highest rate of all 12 countries in the survey

59 per cent of Australian respondents use their smartphones to access news, the highest rate of all 12 countries in the survey only 15 per cent use news apps, even though most have downloaded them

only 15 per cent use news apps, even though most have downloaded them on the other hand, 48 per cent say they use Facebook for news

on the other hand, 48 per cent say they use Facebook for news less than 11 per cent of respondents had paid for online news in the previous year

less than 11 per cent of respondents had paid for online news in the previous year most of those who hadn't paid for news said it was very unlikely they would ever do so

most of those who hadn't paid for news said it was very unlikely they would ever do so listicles, despite their reputation as the lowest common denominator of online 'content' (ahem), actually increase in popularity with higher education levels

9 charts that reveal how Australians consume the news

Alright, with that last finding in mind, for the pleasure of our highly educated audience, here are 9 charts that reveal how Australians get their news in 2015.

1. When asked to name their single main source for news, 44 per cent said the internet.

2. As you might expect, the internet is more likely to be younger people's main source of news, while many older Australians still turn to TV, radio and print.

3. TV and social media are the most common ways to get news.

4. While most Australians are accessing news on their phones, only one in seven regularly uses news-specific mobile apps.

5. Australian's don't trust 'all news' but have more faith in their preferred sources.

6. Australians' level of trust in the news is towards the lower end of the scale.

7. Australians say international news is most important to them.

8. When it comes to accessing internet news, younger Australians strongly prefer to get it on their phones.

9. Not many Australians are paying for digital news, and not many more are planning to.

Reading full story 'an older behaviour'

Audience tracking data suggests only about 10 per cent of people will have scrolled this far through a news story of this length, so if you're still reading you're probably either:

deeply interested in this subject;

deeply interested in this subject; desperately bored; or

desperately bored; or scrolling straight to the bottom in the hopes there's some kind of final pay-off.

Whatever the case may be, it turns out that just by reading this story, you're engaging in an "older" behaviour.

"Regarding interactions with text, of those who accessed news online in the past week, less than half looked at a list of news headlines, and less than two-thirds read news stories or articles," the report said.

"Reading [lists of] headlines is an 'older' behaviour, proving least popular with the 18-24 age group. Clicking through to read full stories was also an 'older' behaviour, being most popular among 45-54 year olds and least popular with 18-24 and 35-44 year olds."

Globally, the Reuters report emphasises the rising importance of Facebook in the distribution of digital news: 41 per cent of respondents across the 12 countries surveyed used Facebook for news.

Users praise social media for presenting them with news stories they would not have seen otherwise, but do express some reservations about what to trust.

"Our research documents that most people like news and use news but they don't want to pay for it, don't want to see advertising around it and don't want to see it mixed up with sponsored content," said Reuters Institute director of research Rasmus Kleis Nielsen.

"This means sustainable business models remain elusive even for those who succeed in building an audience."

There you have it: that's how Australians get their news. But only if you trust me.

(Or, if you don't, you can check out the full report.)