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  • Jul, 2011

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    Trust in Newspapers

    Q. How much trust do you have in what you read in the following newspapers?

    A lot of trust Some trust Not much trust No trust at all Don’t know
    The Australian 16% 53% 19% 8% 5%
    The Telegraph (NSW only) 7% 45% 25% 21% 2%
    Sydney Morning Herald (NSW only) 20% 54% 19% 6% 1%
    The Age (Victoria only) 23% 56% 15% 3% 3%
    Herald Sun (Victoria only) 7% 47% 32% 12% 2%
    Courier Mail (Queensland only) 9% 56% 22% 12% 1%

    * Note : Percentages based only on respondents who had read each newspaper.

    Among those who have read each newspaper, 23% have a lot of trust in The Age and 20% have a lot of trust in the SMH. 16% of readers of The Australian have a lot of trust in the newspaper but only 7% have a lot of trust in The Telegraph and The Herald Sun.  46% have not much or no trust in The Telegraph and 44% have not much or no trust in The Herald Sun.

    Liberal/National voters (21% and 57%) are more likely than Labor voters (17% and 50%) to have a lot or some trust in the Australian.

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  • Jul, 2011

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    Concern about Phone Hacking

    Q. Have the recent events in Britain concerning phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper, made you more or less concerned about the conduct of Australian newspapers?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    Total more concerned 51% 56% 48% 68%
    Total less concerned 5% 5% 4% 3%
    Much more concerned 15% 19% 11% 26%
    A little more concerned 36% 37% 37% 42%
    A little less concerned 4% 4% 4% 3%
    Much less concerned 1% 1% >1%
    Makes no difference 38% 33% 44% 26%
    Don’t know 6% 6%

    Just over half (51%) of respondents are more concerned about the conduct of Australian newspapers following the recent events in Britain. 5% are less concerned, 38% say it makes no difference and 6% stated don’t know.

    Green voters were more likely to state that they were more concerned (68%). Labor voters (56%) were more likely than Liberal voters (48%) to state that they were more concerned.

    There was no substantial difference between the genders, states or age groups.

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  • Jul, 2011

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    Regulation of Media

    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 48% 54% 39% 73%
    Needs to be less regulation 6% 5% 6% 3%
    Present regulation about right 31% 26% 40% 15%
    Don’t know 15% 15% 13% 9%

    48% of respondents think that there needs to be more regulation of media in Australia. 31% think that the current level of regulation in about right.

    Green voters (73%) are the most likely to think that there needs to be more regulation. This is followed by those that vote Labor (54%) and those that vote Lib/Nat (39%).

    There was little difference between the genders, states or ages.

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  • May, 2011

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    Trust in Media

    Q. How much would you say you trust each of the following media sources to provide you with the news and information you want about Australian politics?

    A lot/some trust
    Total a lot/some trust Total not much/no trust A lot of trust Some trust Not much trust No trust at all Don’t know Aged 18-34 Aged 35-54 Aged 55+
    ABC TV 76% 15% 29% 47% 9% 6% 9% 73% 77% 79%
    SBS 70% 15% 24% 46% 10% 5% 15% 69% 72% 67%
    ABC radio 69% 17% 25% 44% 11% 6% 14% 66% 71% 71%
    Daily newspapers 53% 40% 6% 47% 31% 9% 7% 52% 53% 52%
    Commercial TV 45% 48% 4% 41% 35% 13% 7% 42% 48% 44%
    Sky News 41% 25% 7% 34% 17% 8% 34% 46% 42% 34%
    Commercial radio 40% 48% 4% 36% 34% 14% 12% 34% 44% 41%

    The most trusted media for news and information about politics were ABC TV (76%), SBS (70%) and ABC radio (69%). The least trusted were commercial radio and commercial TV (both 48% not much or no trust).

    Those aged 18-34 tended to have more trust in Sky News (46%) but less trust in commercial radio (34%).

    The major differences by voting intention were that Liberal/National voters have more trust in commercial TV (52%), Sky News (48%) and commercial radio (49%).

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  • May, 2011

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    Perceptions of Media

    Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

    Total agree Total disagree Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know
    The media usually reports the news accurately 35% 54% 2% 33% 41% 13% 12%
    The media usually reports all sides of a story 21% 69% 1% 20% 46% 23% 10%
    The media is too critical of government and politicians in Australia 29% 57% 4% 25% 46% 11% 14%
    These days I rely more on the internet than newspapers and TV for my news and information about politics. 44% 46% 12% 32% 37% 9% 10%
    I trust the media more than I trust politicians 37% 43% 4% 33% 33% 10% 20%
    I trust politicians more than I trust the media 16% 65% 1% 15% 44% 21% 18%
    The media does a good job of scrutinizing politics and holding politicians accountable 45% 43% 3% 42% 31% 12% 12%
    Overall, the media are politically biased in favour of the Liberal Party 19% 55% 4% 15% 44% 11% 26%
    Overall, the media are politically biased in favour of the Labor Party 23% 50% 5% 18% 41% 9% 25%
    The media are too focused on personalities and not enough on policies 70% 18% 21% 49% 15% 3% 12%
    There is too much coverage of politics in the media 34% 52% 7% 27% 45% 7% 14%
    The media does a good job of helping people to understand political and social issues 40% 48% 2% 38% 36% 12% 12%
    I follow the news closely every day 57% 38% 10% 47% 32% 6% 6%

    The majority of respondents disagree that the media usually reports all sides of a story (69%) and that the media reports the news accurately (54%).

    However, they tend to trust the media a little more than they trust politicians – 37% agree they trust the media more and 16% agree they trust politicians more.

    The results also indicate that respondents want more rather than less coverage of politics – only 34% agree that there is too much coverage of politics and 57% disagree that the media is too critical of government and politicians.

    Respondents were divided over whether the media does a good job of scrutinizing politics and holding politicians accountable (45% agree/43% disagree) and tended to disagree that the media does a good job of helping people to understand political and social issues (40% agree/48% disagree).

    70% agree that the media are too focused on personalities and not enough on policies.

    A minority of respondents think the media are biased – 23% think they are biased in favour of the Labor Party and 19% in favour of the Liberal Party.

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  • Dec, 2010

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    No names rule in media jungle

    First Published on The Drum 14/12/2010

    Here is the word cloud that will prick a thousand egos – and restore some reality to the debate about the future of the media.

    In an era of celebrity journos building Twitter empires and media business models inspired by the porn industry, the truth is that very few members of the public have any idea who is writing or reporting their daily news.

    That’s what Essential Research found while working with the Media Alliance’s Future of Journalism Project – when asked to name  a journalist, the vast majority of respondents could come up with only one name: ‘Don’t Know’.

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  • Dec, 2010

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    The Past Year – The Economy and Industries

      Q. Thinking about the last 12 months, has it been a good or bad year for each of the following?

      Total good Total bad Very good Good Neither good nor bad Bad Very bad Don’t know
    The banks 69% 13% 42% 27% 14% 9% 4% 4%
    The mining industry 57% 14% 27% 30% 24% 11% 3% 6%
    Large companies and corporations 44% 15% 10% 34% 35% 13% 2% 7%
    The Australian economy 41% 20% 5% 36% 36% 17% 3% 4%
    The media 30% 14% 8% 22% 45% 10% 4% 10%
    The environment 14% 37% 2% 12% 43% 28% 9% 5%
    Small business 14% 45% 2% 12% 35% 34% 11% 6%
    Farming and agriculture 14% 50% 2% 12% 31% 35% 15% 5%

     A majority of respondents think it has been a good year for the banks (69%) and the mining industry (57%). They are also more likely to think it has been a good year for large companies and corporations (44% good/15% bad), the economy (41%/20%), and the media (30%/14%).

     However, they are more likely to think the year has been bad for farming and agriculture (50%), small business (45%) and the environment (37%).

    In terms of the economy, all voter groups were more likely to think it has been a good year – Labor 55% good/11% bad, Liberal/National 33%/29% and Greens 53%/12%. Comments »

  • Dec, 2010

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    News Sources – Weekdays

    Q. Thinking about where you get your news, on an average weekday which of the following media would you use?

      Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    Daily newspaper 42% 42% 47% 38%
    Commercial (free-to-air) TV news 64% 68% 67% 57%
    ABC TV news 32% 34% 34% 32%
    SBS TV news 12% 10% 11% 19%
    Pay TV news 10% 11% 11% 6%
    Commercial radio news 27% 23% 34% 20%
    ABC radio news 17% 17% 17% 22%
    Internet news sites – e.g. newspaper sites, ABC, etc 55% 54% 59% 56%
    Internet blogs 6% 4% 7% 10%
    None of them 5% 2% 3% 10%

    The most commonly used news sources on weekdays are commercial TV news (64%), internet news sites (55%) and newspapers (42%).

    Respondents aged 45+ were more likely to use commercial TV news (70%), newspapers (48%), and ABC TV news (43%). Those aged under 35 were more likely to access internet news sites (60%) and less likely to read newspapers (36%). Comments »

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