Trust in the news media

[Secret Chief]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

 

[crossfire]

I trust the local news media here (even the fox station.) I'm less trusting of the national news agencies. Opinion pieces are not news.

 

[Secret Chief]

... the UK....

"The British public’s trust in the media has fallen off a cliff in the last five years, particularly among leftwing voters, research suggests.
...
Just 15% of left-leaning voters now say they trust most news most of the time, down from 46% as recently as 2015, Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found.
...
As a result, Britain now ranks below the likes of the US and Hong Kong when it comes to public trust in the media.
...
The BBC remains the most trusted national news outlet, but support among the most politically partisan consumers – on both the left and right – has fallen by 20 percentage points since 2018.

The study found there was a “silent majority” of Britons who still strongly wanted the news to be presented in a “neutral and detached” manner, backing BBC news bosses who discourage their reporters from expressing personal political views on social media."

- Leftwing voters lead decline in trust in UK news media



I am leftwing in my views. Of the major outlets, I mainly use the online version of the Guardian. I still read the BBC online news but only for comparison and basic facts. I never watch the BBC news, it is too shallow - probably because of cutbacks and the implicit threat of funding cutting by the tory government. The Beeb espouses neutrality and balance. So if there was an article on the shape of the planet there would be equal serious consideration given to flat earthers. And Nigel Farage has appeared on the "flagship" political discussion programme Question Time more times per year on average since Question Time started (32 at the last count, even though he was never an MP - even after 7 attempts). Neutral and balanced much?

 

[bobhikes]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

Trust depends on the person; however, no one should trust one source of information. You need to verify anything you want to consider truth otherwise it is just a belief.

 

[Lyndon]

ABC Australia is the best source I know, BBC is lame and opinionated

 

[Kenny]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

I don't trust any media.

there is what one media side that "says", then there is the other side of media that "says" and then there is the truth.

So, I read both. But I distrust the left leaning liberal socialist/marxist political media more than I do the capitalistic conservative right media.

 

[Lyndon]

So you prefer your news Fake??

 

[`mud]

CNN and MSNBC...

They're only wrong half the time

 

[lewisnotmiller]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

It's not as unbiased and trustworthy as it was in my country. Our main issue isn't so much around government interference as it is around monopolisation of media, and the subsequent reduction in the spread of opinion and information.

The government channels (ABC and SBS) are generally very good for news reporting. Their satire and current affairs are more left leaning, though.
There are also some lesser known outlets. One interesting one worth mentioning is
The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.

It started in Australia, but now has editions dedicated to various spots around the world, including the US and UK. It's an independent, not for profit news source.

The Conversation - Media Bias/Fact Check

 

[lewisnotmiller]

ABC Australia is the best source I know, BBC is lame and opinionated

Are you aware of SBS? You might find it interesting, as it has a lot of human interest stories. Much like the ABC, it's government funded, but run independently. Also like the ABC, it leans left on social issues (in particular) but it's news division is pretty good.

SBS - Special Broadcasting Service

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I don't trust any media.

there is what one media side that "says", then there is the other side of media that "says" and then there is the truth.

So, I read both. But I distrust the left leaning liberal socialist/marxist political media more than I do the capitalistic conservative right media.

You should at least try The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.
It's whole purpose is to be unbiased (which is impossible, but there are stories from both sides of the fence, generally, and they fact check pretty thoroughly).
One thing you might find interesting is that they have a specific religion and ethics section.

 

[metis]

I don't trust any media.

there is what one media side that "says", then there is the other side of media that "says" and then there is the truth.

So, I read both. But I distrust the left leaning liberal socialist/marxist political media more than I do the capitalistic conservative right media.

I'm with ya on the top two sentences but have to wonder which "liberal socialist" media is "marxist" that you cite in the last sentence?

OK, let's compromise: if you call one or more on the left "marxist", can I call one or more on the right "fascist"?

 

[`mud]

Ahh...yes...Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini
calling each other offensive names
what happened to the media faults ?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

I'm in Canada. Generally pretty well, I think. Especially for broadcast news.

For newspapers, there's more of a perception of bias in different directions, depending on the specific paper/publisher... though this is more about editorial and opinion pieces than straight news coverage.

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

None completely, though this isn't really about worries around bias.

It's been interesting to see news coverage of issues where I have expertise and critiquing it. I usually end up thinking "well, that's sorta right, but they got some detail or nuance wrong that's actually pretty important."

I can only assume that people who have expertise in areas where I don't are probably thinking the same thing about stories that don't raise red flags for me.

In general, I'm more concerned with the effects of budget cutbacks on the quality of news coverage than I am with intentional bias.

It's becoming less and less common to have reporters who specialize in one area, whether it's science coverage or the City Hall beat. When every reporter is a generalist and all of them are ridiculously busy as they try to do the same amount of news coverage with fewer and fewer staff, quality suffers.

 

[Notanumber]

The BBC has been found out too many times to be taken seriously anymore.

You have to double check everything they tell you.

We have to pay for the BBC whether we watch it or not.

If we do not like a newspaper, we do not buy it so it does not hurt our pockets as well.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I tend to go with the online ones that don't insist on serving up adverts all the time or having to subscribe - the Guardian being the only one I'm registered on although I am registered on the Telegraph but hardly look at it now (being too right-wing for my taste). I also read the Independent, i-news, the Metro, and the Mirror, but have given up on any of the more right-wing news outlets (for balance). I also look at the New Statesman but that is a bit too left-wing for me all too often. I look at the BBC News online and a few in the USA occasionally, but I tend to rely on medical, technical, or scientific news outlets for anything that has appropriate content to discuss. For TV, the BBC and Channel 4 news are mostly reasonable.

Not sure I trust any, and tend to go with corroborating evidence if something is questionable. Like the OP, all viewed from the UK.

Not sure it bothers me if any are biased as I'll try to filter the facts from the fiction as best I can. They are not doing a great job if they are trying to influence me as my views don't seem to have changed much over my lifetime.

 

[Nakosis]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

It's all about the ratings IMO. It all went downhill as soon as the broadcast companies realized they could make a profit from the news.

 

[sun rise]

How is the news media generally perceived in your country? Is it generally trusted? Has there been much change in this in the last few years? Why?

The "news" has gone back to being more partisan than it was in the 50's and 60's.

And, as an individual, given your political affiliation, which sources do you trust?

The BBC because they're reporting on the US. Public TV and radio because they don't sensationalize.

Personally I find this chart accurate. Somewhat recently I added "The Hill" to my Flipboard list of outlets so I'd be exposed to a 'skew's right' outlet.

 

[sun rise]

As you can tell from my preceding and this post, I don't so much trust the media but want to see information. I have "Newsguard" add-on for my browser so I can see things like this: NewsGuard Nutrition Label which is not about bias but about reliability

NewsGuard – The Internet Trust Tool for more info.

 

[Kenny]

You should at least try The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.
It's whole purpose is to be unbiased (which is impossible, but there are stories from both sides of the fence, generally, and they fact check pretty thoroughly).
One thing you might find interesting is that they have a specific religion and ethics section.

Thanks for the info... I will definitely look it up!