Digitalization fundamentally brought new ways in how media distribute and audiences consume media content, transforming the existing media environment and bringing new competitors to media organizations. On one side, new platforms and technology companies give media ample opportunities to reach their audiences; on the other, they develop a highly competitive information environment - oversaturated and fragmented where the point of differentiation between media brands could be higher. Furthermore, multi-platform and content on-demand consumption delude and endangers media brand associations, contributing to an environment where audiences care less about media brands and more about the moment of consumption independently from platform, time and media brand. The younger audience, Generation Z, is an even more platform, on-demand and experience-driven audience who prefers social media and global media and cares less about national media brands raising vital questions about whether national news media brands will have an audience in future. Therefore, young audience consumption trends have become significant media industry factors as the sector recognizes this audience as a significant portion of the market today and shortly signalling media consumption trends after coming generations. The research actuality is based on these aspects that challenge national news media brands to attract a younger audience, ensuring news media brand attribution and strong brand equity in a contemporary media environment. Numerous experts believe that competition among news media outlets has intensified dramatically due to the fragmentation of the news media market, compelling media managers to continually search out new methods to differentiate their media brands. In the meantime, realising that news media brand uniqueness is uncommon and developing a continual stream of items with distinctive characteristics is exceedingly challenging. This study focuses on national news media and analyzes how news media attributes and perceived uniqueness impact news media brand equity in a contemporary media environment transformed by digitalization. The study highlights the importance of media brands' distinctiveness and impact on news media brand equity. The authors utilised multiple linear regression analyses and the decision tree method to estimate the most influential news media attributes contributing to news media brand equity. The impact of the perceived uniqueness of news media brands was analyzed along with other news media brand attribute-based associations.