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%.
media diversity, 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%).
25 March 2013, 250313, level of media regulation, 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.
25 March 2013, 250313, media regulation, proposed media regulation
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%).
25 March 2013, 250313, media commentary, media regulation, media reporting
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%).
25 March 2013, 250313, media regulation, 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.
10 December 2012, 101212, code of conduct, complaints, media regulation, Press Council
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%).
Fairfax, limit ownership, media ownership, media regulation, news limited, remove restrictions
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%).