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Over seven-in-ten Australians (71%) believe Media organisations are more interested in making money than in informing society and 67% believe The Media is not objective enough . In addition the majority of Australians don’t trust newspaper journalists (63%), Talk-back radio hosts (57%) and TV reporters (53%) to tell the truth. Despite this 60% of Australians believe Media overall is a force for good in the world and only 34% distrust big international TV chains such as BBC, CNN and Fox. These are the main findings of a special Roy Morgan telephone survey on the image of the Australian Media.

‘Free-to-air’ TV is the first choice for Breaking news on global events (54%) and Events in Australia (56%), with the Radio the next popular first choice ( Global events — 17%, Events in Australia — 18%).

Austral For Political background and analysis of events in Australia most Australians turn to ‘Free-to-air’ TV (41%), followe followed by Newspapers (27%), Radio (13%) then Internet (9%).

For Important news from the Asia Pacific region , ‘Free-to-air’ TV (48%) is the first source of information, followed by Newspapers (17%), Radio (11%) and the Internet (11%).

For Australians seeking Views and opinions of people like me , ‘Free-to-air’ Television (28%) has only about the same support as Newspapers (26%) with 18% saying Radio and 10% Internet.

At least 8% of Australians view the Internet as their first source for all types of information, although it is used more for Political background and analysis of global events (11%) and Important news from the Asia Pacific region (11%).

Gary Morgan says:

“With the Media constantly reporting on the financial performance and profits of the Media companies, it is hardly surprising that 71% of Australians believe Media organisations are more interested in making money than in informing society.

“Whether it is for breaking domestic or international news, news from the Asia Pacific region or political analysis, more Australians turn to ‘Free-to-air’ TV first than other media, yet 53% of Australians do not trust TV reporters to tell the truth!

“However for views and opinions of people ‘like me’ the Australian print media (26%) is considered nearly as often as ‘Free-to-air’ TV (28%).”

Which Media Do You Turn To First For Information?

Respondents were asked: “For the following types of information, which of these sources do you turn to FIRST?”

Breaking news on global events (eg. The Tsunami, Bali Bombs)

For Breaking news on global events Australians turn to ‘Free-to-air’ TV Stations (54%) first. Radio (17%), Internet Media Website (8%) and Sky TV (also 8%) are also important sources of information.

Events in Australia

The majority (56%) of Australians turn to ‘Free-to-air’ TV Stations first for Events in Australia , followed by Radio (18%) and Newspapers (11%).

Political background and analysis of events in Australia

Although ‘Free-to-air’ Television (41%) is highly regarded as the first source of information for Political background and analysis of events in Australia , many Australians also turn first to Newspapers (27%).

Political background and analysis of global events

For Political background and analysis of global events , 42% of Australians turn first to ‘Free-to-air’ Television, with 23% turning to Newspapers first and 11% turning first to Internet Media Websites.

Important news from the Asia Pacific region

For Important news from the Asia Pacific Region , ‘Free-to-air’ Television (48%) is once again the media that most Australians turn to first followed by Newspapers (17%), Internet Media Website (11%) and Internet Blogsites (also 11%).

Views and opinions of people like me

Australians turn to ‘Free-to-air’ TV Stations (28%) and Newspapers (26%) first for Views and opinions of people like me. The Radio (18%) is also a popular first choice.

Media in Australia

Respondents were then asked: “Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?”

Australians overwhelmingly agree (88%) that News from around the world is changing the way we think , however over three quarters (78%) of all Australians agree that they Want more in depth analysis of the news, not just headlines .

Australians do not trust journalists to tell the truth, with 63% agreeing I don’t trust newspaper journalists to tell the truth , 57% agreeing I do not trust talk back radio hosts to tell the truth and 53% agreeing I do not trust TV reporters to tell the truth .

A majority of Australians (67%) believe The Media is not objective enough , with 56% agreeing The Media is too close to politicians .

Although the majority of Australians (60%) agree that the Media overall is a force for good in the world , more than seven-in-ten Australians (71%) agree that Media organisations are more interested in making money than in informing society . Fifty percent of Australians Trust more small Media organisations or bloggers than big Media organisations , although 55% disagree with the statement I distrust big international TV chains such as BBC, CNN and Fox.

Fifty-five percent of Australians disagree with the statement I trust Media organisations that have an opinion similar to mine .

This special Roy Morgan telephone survey was conducted on the evenings November 2/3, 2005, with an Australia-wide cross section of 653 respondents aged 14 and over. A similar Roy Morgan telephone survey was conducted in New Zealand between November 15-27, 2005 with a cross-section of 1,094 respondents aged 14 and over.  

For further information:

Gary Morgan:   Office +61 3 9224 5213   Mobile +61 411 129 094   Home +61 3 9419 3242

Michele Levine:   Office +61 3 9224 5215   Mobile +61 411 129 093   Home +61 3 9817 3066

1 . Which Media do you turn to first for Information?

Respondents were then asked: “For the following types of information, which of these sources do you turn to FIRST?”

	Breaking news on global events (eg. The Tsunami, Bali bombs)	Events in Australia	Important news from the Asia Pacific region	Political background and analysis of global events	Political background and analysis of events in Australia	Views and opinions of people like me
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Australian “Free-to-air” TV stations	54	56	48	42	41	28
Sky TV	8	4	5	4	2	1
International TV Stations such as BBC, CNN and Fox	6	1	4	4	*	*
Total Television	68	61	57	50	43	29
Newspapers	6	11	17	23	27	26
Radio	17	18	11	10	13	18
Internet media website	8	8	11	11	9	7
Internet blogsite	*	*	*	1	*	3
Total Internet	8	8	11	12	9	10
Magazines	*	*	*	1	1	2
Can’t say	*	1	4	4	6	14
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

* Less than 1%

2. Agree or Disagree with statements on the Media

Respondents were then asked: “Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.”

	Agree	Disagree	Can’t say
	%	%	%
News from around the world is changing the way we think	88	11	1
I want more in-depth analysis of the news, not just headlines	78	20	2
Media organisations are more interested in making money than in informing society	71	22	7
The media is not objective enough	67	28	5
I don’t trust newspaper journalists to tell the truth	63	30	7
Media overall is a force for good in the world	60	32	8
I don’t trust talk-back radio hosts to tell the truth	57	32	11
The media is too close to politicians	56	38	6
I don’t trust TV reporters to tell the truth	53	38	9
I trust more small media organisations or bloggers than big media organisations	50	38	12
I trust media organisations that have an opinion similar to mine	40	55	5
I distrust big international TV chains such as BBC, CNN and Fox	34	55	11

The Morgan Poll is conducted by the ONLY

  Australian and New Zealand member of the Gallup International Association.

  No other public opinion poll taken in Australia or New Zealand

has this qualification.

© 2007 Roy Morgan Research. All Rights Reserved
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