This article is a companion piece to the article about Media Literacy and continues the theme of the difficulties faced by mainstream media and why those difficulties are being experience.
The “problem” in the title of the article refers to the continuing decline in trust and confidence in the media.
Introduction
The Trust in News Aotearoa New Zealand Report 2024 is the fifth report about trust in news in New Zealand. It is produced by the AUT research Centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy and was completed in collaboration with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
The report is based on a survey comprising 11 questions, most of which mirror those asked by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in its annual international survey.
The questions concerning news trust, news interest and news avoidance match those asked for the Reuters Institute’s annual Digital News Report. In 2023, the Reuters Institute conducted a survey of 46 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia/Pacific and Africa, and the New Zealand report’s international comparisons are made against this group.
In 2024, 15 New Zealand news brands were included in the study, but this time MediaWorks was excluded because its flagship radio station, Today FM, was taken off air in 2023.
While Warner Bros Discovery announced in February 2024 it would close down Newshub, the closure had not materialised by the time of writing the report. Hence results concerning the news brand are included.
The data for this research was collected by Horizon Research Ltd, a company specialising in online polling. The results in this report are drawn from a national online survey of 1,033 New Zealand adults (18 years of age or over) who are members of Horizon Research’s HorizonPoll (adult general population), Horizon Research Māori (Māori, 18+ years) panels and a third-party 18+ panel.
The survey was carried out from February 12 to February 16, 2024. The sample is weighted on age, gender, highest educational qualification, personal income, ethnicity and region to match the New Zealand adult population. It has a maximum margin of error at a 95% confidence level of ±3% overall.
The Report in Brief
Since the first Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report in 2020, general trust in news in New Zealand has continued to decline. In 2020, 53% of New Zealanders said they trusted the news in general. In 2024, that figure was at 33%.
In five years, general trust in the news has fallen 20 percentage points. The Acumen Edelman Trust barometer in 2023 showed that 58% of New Zealanders trusted businesses, 51% the government and 41% the media. While there is no single reason to explain the decline in news trust there are a number of indicators that appear in the report and which I shall identify later in this article.
TVNZ has remained the biggest source of news for New Zealanders, but Facebook has become the second most important source of news, despite a drop in its trustworthiness.
Journalism has lost its authority as the main source of news and information. In general, people distrust the information they see, and they are increasingly checking their ‘facts’ themselves. One reason clearly is MSM distrust. Another reason is to ensure reliability – a simple example of media literacy.
In 2024, all the major New Zealand news brands suffered declines in trust. The Otago Daily Times was regarded as the most trustworthy news brand, followed by RNZ and NBR in the second place. TVNZ, Newsroom, other commercial radio stations and BusinessDesk were jointly regarded as the third most trustworthy sources.
Trust in news and news outlets keeps declining and journalists and media companies need urgently to form relationships with their audiences and with communities to rebuild that trust, says Dr Greg Treadwell, a co-author of the report.
Reasons for declining trust
The AUT survey indicates that declining trust in news comes down to a number of factors.
“Those who say they don’t trust and/or avoid the news are most concerned about the negativity of news, including its impact on their mental health, and what they perceive as political bias and opinion masquerading as news.”
Treadwell said: “Trust in news and news outlets keeps declining and journalists and media companies need urgently to form relationships with their audiences and with communities to rebuild that trust.”
The report identifies seven major reasons for the growth in MSM distrust. These are:
Biased and unbalanced reporting: Approximately 87% of respondents believe that the news is biased and unbalanced. They feel that the news reflects the political leaning of the newsroom and lacks actual information. This perception of bias is stronger towards left-wing bias than right-wing bias.
Lack of transparency: Some respondents believe that there is a lack of transparency in the way the news media operates. They feel that the news is not transparent about its sources and methods of reporting.
Opinionated reporting: Many respondents feel that the news is too opinionated and lacks factual information. They believe that the news is more focused on presenting opinions rather than providing objective reporting.
Poor journalism: Some respondents perceive poor journalism in the news media. They feel that the reporting is sensationalized, clickbait-driven, and lacks in-depth investigative journalism. They also criticize the news for being repetitive and boring.
Lack of trust in journalists to hold the government to account: A proportion of respondents believe that the government financial support for the media in New Zealand means that journalists cannot be trusted to hold the government to account.
Allegations of bias and capture by corporate and commercial interests: Some respondents accuse the news media of being captured by corporate and commercial interests. They believe that the news is influenced by these interests and does not provide unbiased reporting.
Perception of poor journalism during the pandemic: Some respondents believe that the news media was captured by government funding through the pandemic-related Public Interest Journalism Fund. They perceive this as a reason to distrust the news.
These are the issues that media companies need to address. They are primarily internal but they will ultimately be directed to re-establishing the trust relationships with their audience as Greg Treadwell suggests.
It is simply not good enough and indeed rather facile for MSM to blame social media, fake news, misinformation or disinformation. This does not address the problem that arises from the way that MSM has comported itself over the last five to ten years leading to an exasperation on the part of its audience.
I have written elsewhere about paradigmatic changes in technology which impact upon information perceptions. This is part of the problem facing MSM – an inability to recognize that the information landscape has changed utterly but MSM has not adapted and has not changed. Hence it has been unable to keep up with audience information expectations and requirements.
A Continuing Story
Disenchantment with the media is not new. Thomas Jefferson complained:
“I have been for some time used as the property of the newspapers, a fair mark for every man's dirt. Some too, have indulged themselves in this exercise who would not have done it, had they known me otherwise than through these impure and injurious channels. It is hard treatment, and for a singular kind of offence, that of having obtained by the labors of a life the indulgent opinions of a part of one's fellow citizens. However, these moral evils must be submitted to, like the physical scourges of tempest, fire, etc.”
Jefferson also suggested that
“the man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers”.
Speaking of newspapers Thomas Jefferson expressed an acidic concern that editors
“fill their newspapers with falsehoods, calumnies and audacities”.
Sounds like Mr Winston Peters.
In 1982 Don Henley, a member of the Eagles, had a run in with news media. Usually it is the media that has the last word but not in this case. Henley wrote and recorded a song entitled “Dirty Laundry”. It provides an interesting commentary on the media and despite the fact that it is over forty years old the message is as relevant now as it was then. Distrust – ambivalence about the role of the media continues.
The song is about the callousness of network television news reporting as well as the tabloidization of all news. Henley sings from the standpoint of a news anchorman who "could have been an actor, but I wound up here".
The song's theme is that TV news coverage focuses too much on negative and sensationalist news; in particular, deaths, disasters, and scandals, with little regard to the consequences or for what is important ("We all know that crap is king").
The song was inspired by the intrusive press coverage surrounding the deaths of John Belushi and Natalie Wood, and Henley's own arrest in 1980 when he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of marijuana, cocaine, and Quaaludes after a 16-year-old girl overdosed at his Los Angeles home.
The "bubbleheaded bleach blonde" mentioned in the song was rumored to have been Christine Lundstedt (Christine Lund) of KABC-TV in Los Angeles, but Henley has categorically denied this.
The song can be found here
And the lyrics are as follows:
[Verse 1]
I make my livin' off the evenin' news
Just give me somethin', somethin' I can use
People love it when you lose
They love dirty laundry
[Verse 2]
Well, I coulda' been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry
[Chorus]
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around
[Verse 3]
We got the bubble-headed bleached-blonde, comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die
Give us dirty laundry
[Verse 4]
Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry
[Verse 5]
You don't really need to find out what's goin' on
You don't really wanna know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry
[Chorus]
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff
Kick 'em all around
[Post-Chorus]
(Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff
Kick 'em all around)
[Verse 6]
Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry
[Verse 7]
We can do "The Innuendo", we can dance and sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!
[Guitar solo]
[Outro]
(Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down