Trust is the new currency for publishers, according to the 2017 World Press Trends survey.

Key findings from the annual study were presented by WAN-Ifra chief executive Vincent Peyrègne at the opening of the World News Media Congress in Durban, South Africa. They depict an industry increasingly building loyal audiences around high-quality journalism, as the shift to reader-based revenue continues. Some 56 per cent of newspapers' overall revenue in 2016 came from circulation sales, both print and digital.

Peyrègne (pictured) says the shift from advertising to reader-based revenue is reshaping the fundamentals of the industry: "We have entered a pivotal moment, and more than ever our focus needs to be on our audience and producing high-quality, engaging journalism."

The trend continues to emerge at a time when surveys are showing that people around the world are not only losing their trust in media, but societal institutions in general. "The decline in trust is the biggest risk we face as an industry, and all our efforts must be with the aim of getting it back.

"We used to trade in attention," says Peyrègne, "but trust is our new currency. Any decline in trust erodes the foundation of our business - credible, first-rate journalism."

He said a fundamental shift in newspapers' business model took place two years ago, when reader revenue became the biggest source of revenue for news publishers.

Global digital circulation revenues grew by 28 per cent from 2015 to 2016, and a full 300 per cent from 2012 to 2016, with the trend expected to continue. Despite that, total global newspaper revenues fell 2.1 per cent in 2016 from a year earlier, and are down 7.8 per cent over the last five years.

Advertising revenues continue to decline in most markets, although there are notable exceptions in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and rates of decline vary greatly between different markets.

The World Press Trends survey includes data from more than 70 countries, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the global industry's value. The data is provided by dozens of national newspaper and news media associations, with additional information coming from global suppliers: Zenith, IPSOS, PwC and Chartbeat.

The 69th World News Media Congress and 24th World Editors Forum opened yesterday with a star-studded Women in News Summit, the annual meeting of WAN-Ifra's Small and Midsized Business group, GAMI and press freedom roundtables, and the official opening and presentation of the Golden Pen Award.

The programe continues until Friday.