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  • Mar, 2014

    Media regulation

    Q. Thinking about the media in Australia, do you think there needs to be more or less regulation of the media or is the present level of regulation about right?

     

    Total

     

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Vote other

     

    Total Mar 13

    Needs to be more regulation

    31%

    41%

    26%

    31%

    25%

    29%

    Needs to be less regulation

    15%

    11%

    17%

    22%

    19%

    10%

    Present regulation about right

    36%

    35%

    40%

    28%

    34%

    43%

    Don’t know

    18%

    13%

    17%

    19%

    23%

    17%

    31% think the media in Australia needs more regulation, 15% think it needs less regulation and 36% think the present regulation is about right. Views have polarised a little since this question was asked in March last year. Those thinking the present regulation is about right has declined from 43% to 36%.

  • Mar, 2014

    ,

    Media regulation

    Q. Mainstream media in Australia is currently regulated by laws requiring diversity of ownership. Would you support or oppose these laws being changed so that media companies can buy any media outlets they wish?

     

    Total

     

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Vote other

    Total support

    29%

     

    27%

    32%

    24%

    25%

    Total oppose

    43%

     

    45%

    41%

    50%

    51%

    Strongly support

    9%

    10%

    7%

    14%

    8%

    Support

    20%

    17%

    25%

    10%

    17%

    Oppose

    26%

    24%

    30%

    19%

    31%

    Strongly oppose

    17%

    21%

    11%

    31%

    20%

    Don’t know

    29%

    28%

    28%

    26%

    24%

    29% support and 43% oppose laws being changed so that media companies can buy any media outlets they wish. While there where some differences across party preference, these differences were not substantial – opposition was over 40% for all voter categories.

    Opposition was highest among respondents aged 55+ (56%).

  • Mar, 2013

    , , ,

    Media regulation

    Q. Thinking about the media in Australia, do you think there needs to be more or less regulation of the media or is the present level of regulation about right?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Needs to be more regulation

    29%

    38%

    22%

    40%

    Needs to be less regulation

    10%

    9%

    11%

    9%

    Present regulation about right

    43%

    36%

    55%

    35%

    Don’t know

    17%

    18%

    12%

    16%

    29% think the media in Australia needs more regulation, 10% think it needs less regulation and 43% think the present regulation is about right.

    38% of Labor voters and 40% of Greens voters think it needs more regulation.

  • Mar, 2013

    , , ,

    Read or heard about media regulation proposal

    Q. The Federal Government has proposed new legislation to regulate the media – including  appointing an advocate to oversee the current self-regulatory bodies such as the Press Council and with the power to prevent media mergers not considered to be in the public interest. How much have you read or heard about the Government’s plans to introduce new regulation of the media?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    A lot

    12%

    12%

    14%

    8%

    Some

    22%

    22%

    26%

    22%

    A little

    31%

    29%

    31%

    42%

    Nothing

    29%

    30%

    24%

    28%

    Don’t know

    6%

    7%

    5%

    1%

    60% said they had heard little or nothing about the Federal Government’s proposed legislation to regulate the media. Only 12% said they had read or heard a lot and 22% said they had read/heard some.

    Those most likely to have read/heard a lot/some were men (45%), Liberal/National voters (40%) and aged 55+ (50%).

  • Mar, 2013

    , , , ,

    Media reporting of proposed media regulation

    Q. Do you think the media reporting and commentary on this issue has been good or poor?

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Total good

    31%

    23%

    39%

    24%

    Total poor

    25%

    34%

    19%

    33%

    Very good

    8%

    9%

    10%

    1%

    Good

    23%

    14%

    29%

    23%

    Neither good nor poor

    39%

    42%

    37%

    38%

    Poor

    17%

    19%

    17%

    18%

    Very poor

    8%

    15%

    2%

    15%

    Don’t know

    4%

    2%

    4%

    5%

    31% of those who had read/heard about the proposed legislation think the media reporting and commentary has been good and 25% think it has been poor.

    Those most likely to think it has been poor were Labor voters (34%) and Greens voters (33%).

  • Mar, 2013

    , , ,

    Support for proposed media regulation

    Q. Do you support or oppose the Government’s plans to reform regulation of the media?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Total support

    29%

    49%

    18%

    29%

    Total oppose

    34%

    18%

    50%

    30%

    Strongly support

    7%

    13%

    2%

    11%

    Support

    22%

    36%

    16%

    18%

    Oppose

    23%

    16%

    31%

    25%

    Strongly oppose

    11%

    2%

    19%

    5%

    Don’t know

    36%

    33%

    32%

    40%

    29% support the Government’s proposed media regulation and 34% oppose. 36% have no opinion. Labor voters tend to support the legislation (49% to 18%) and Liberal/National voters tend to oppose by a similar margin (18% to 50%). 51% of those aged 55+ oppose the legislation.

  • Dec, 2012

    , , , , ,

    Media regulation

    Q. Newspapers and magazines are regulated by the Australian Press Council which was established by the media industry and comprises representatives of media organisations and as well as independent members. It deals with complaints and decides what penalties should be given to journalists and media that break agreed codes of conduct.

    Do you think newspapers and magazines should continue to be regulated by the media industry’s Press Council or should the Federal Government appoint a new independent organisation to deal with complaints?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Press Council should continue to deal with complaints

    44%

    40%

    54%

    38%

    Should be a new Government-appointed organisation to deal with complaints

    28%

    36%

    25%

    40%

    Don’t know

    28%

    25%

    21%

    22%

    44% think that newspapers and magazines should continue to be regulated by the media industry’s Press Council and 28% think the Federal Government should appoint a new independent organisation to deal with complaints.

    Highest support for a new Government-appointed organisation came from men (36%), Labor voters (36%) and Greens voters (40%).

  • Oct, 2012

    , , , , ,

    Attitudes to media regulation

    Q. The Government is planning to propose new rules about how we regulate the ownership of media in Australia (that is, print, TV, radio and online media).  Which of the following statements is closer to your view on media ownership?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    The Government should remove restrictions on ownership and let market forces determine who owns print, TV, radio and online media.

    11%

    7%

    18%

    7%

    The Government should take greater steps to limit ownership that big media companies currently have over mainstream media (e.g. News Ltd).

    34%

    46%

    21%

    63%

    The present regulations, which prevent companies owning print, TV and radio in the same market, are about right.

    29%

    27%

    37%

    20%

    No opinion

    26%

    21%

    25%

    11%

    The largest portion of respondents believe that the ‘Government should take greater steps to limit ownership that big media companies currently have over mainstream media’ (34%), followed by those respondents that believe that the ‘present regulations, which prevent companies owning print, TV and radio in the same market, are about right’ (29%).

    Only 11% of respondents favour ‘removing restrictions on ownership and let[ting] market forces determine who owns print, TV, radio and online media’.

    Greens voters are the most likely to favour greater regulation of ownership (63%), followed by Labor voters (46%).

    Coalition voters are the most likely to favour the status quo (37%).

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