Trust in mainstream media has dropped 8% in two years, report reveals
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
Public trust in mainstream media has dropped by 8 per cent in the past two years, a new report shows.
The report, by Auckland University of Technology’s journalism, media and democracy centre, showed nationwide trust in the media had fallen from 53 per cent in 2020, to 45 per cent in 2022.
In total, 1085 Kiwi adults were surveyed from late February to March 1.
The results followed a similar trend internationally, in which public trust in the media dropped to 50 per cent worldwide from 56 per cent in 2020.
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One of the study’s co-authors, AUT senior lecturer Dr Merja Myllylahti said a major reason for the decline in trust, and increase of aggression and attacks on journalists, was a perceived link between the media and the government.
The government’s Public Interest Journalism Fund, a $55 million dollar boost to New Zealand media, has often been the target of criticism.
“The general trust in the government has declined, and we now have funding of the news by the government, so a lot of people perceive that the media is in the government’s pocket,” she said.
“Māori trust in the government, for example, has long been tempered by the negative effects of colonisation for which Māori hold the government accountable.
“Attacks on journalists stem from the same idea – that the media is an extension of the government.”
The researchers also found misinformation and disinformation were contributing factors to a lack of trust in media.
The Disinformation Project, who has been tracking misinformation and disinformation, found conspiracy theories about Covid-19 had escalated since the arrival of the Delta variant in 2021.
Much of the misinformation and disinformation shared framed the Covid-19 response as a fight between the individual and state, which included the media.
The report found Radio New Zealand remained the most trusted news organisation, at 6.2 out of 10 on the trust score. However, this was a sharp decrease from 7.0 in 2020.
Māori media outlets also experienced a considerable decline, with Māori Television and iwi radio falling to 5.6 and 5.0, down from 6.3 and 5.7 only a year ago.
Stuff and The New Zealand Herald both scored 5.7, dropping from 6.1 and 6.3 respectively in 2020.
TVNZ dropped to 5.9, from 6.8 in 2020.
Myllylahti said there was no single solution for journalists to regaining the public’s trust.
“If I knew I would sell my answer to the media and become a billionaire,” she said.
“I don’t think there is one remedy. One major answer that we got from our respondents was that bias and opinion should be kept out of the news. By clearly labelling what is opinion and what is fact people are able to differentiate.
“Lines have been blurred between opinion and factual reporting. Our respondents largely just want news, data and facts.”
Stuff head of news Mark Stevens said the study was sobering and a reminder that perception didn't always reflect the reality of robust newsroom practices.
Public trust was a key measure of success for Stuff's news team and independence was enshrined in the company charter and Editorial Code of Practice and Ethics, he said.
“We have a strong history of holding the powerful to account, including the Government, and reporting without fear or favour,” Stevens said.
“Our independent and impartial journalism is no more influenced by the PIJF than it is by advertisers or subscribers, who contribute the lion's share of any commercial media organisation's revenue.”
Importantly, Stevens said, funding from New Zealand on Air via the Public Interest Journalism Fund was a minuscule fraction of Stuff's investment in news-gathering and journalism over more than 150 years.