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Only 17% (down 1% since August 2004) of Australians aged 14 and over think the media is doing a “good” job “covering elections and controversial topics without bias”, 52% (unchanged) think the media is doing a “fair” job, 27% (down 1%) think the media is doing a “poor” job while 4% are undecided, a special Roy Morgan telephone survey on the image of the media finds.

In regards to “keeping Australians informed on subjects that Australians should know about”, now only 28% (down 5% since August 2004) said the media was doing a “good” job compared to 24% (up 2%) who think the media is doing a “poor job”.

Television remains the main source of international and domestic news and current affairs:  53.5% (down 2.5%) say TV is their main source for Australian news and current affairs, with that figure rising to 62.5% (down 3.5%) for international news and current affairs.

Newspapers remain the next popular medium, relied upon by 20.5% (down 1.5%) for Australian news and 13.5% (down 3.5%) for International news, and with Radio relied upon by 18% for Australian news and 11% for International news.

A growing number of Australians are relying upon the Internet as their main source of news and current affairs: 9.5% (up 6.5%) for Australian news and 13% (up 8%) for International news. 

The Internet’s growing popularity becomes even more apparent when the results are analysed by age: 15% of 14-17 year olds, 11% of 18-24 year olds, 16% of 25-34 year olds and 11% of 35-49 year olds said the Internet was their main source of Australian news and current affairs.  This compares to just 6.5% of those aged 50-64 and 1% of the 65+ age group.

This trend was similar with International news and current affairs: 18% of Australians aged 14-17 named the Internet as their main source of International news and current affairs, 23.5% of 18-24 year olds, 19% of 25-34 year olds.  This compares to 7.5% of the 50-64 year olds and just 1% of those aged 65+.

Gary Morgan says:

“Since the last time Roy Morgan conducted this survey in August 2004, the image of the media has declined.  Now 28% (down 5%) think the media is doing a ‘good’ job ‘keeping Australians informed on subjects that Australians should know about’, 24% (up 2%) think the media is doing a ‘poor’ job while 47% (up 4%) think the media is doing a fair job.

“Also, 17% (down 1%) think the media is doing a good job ‘covering elections and controversial topics without bias’, 27% (down 1%) think the media is doing a poor job while 52% (unchanged) think the media is doing a ‘fair’ job. 

“Television is still the main source of information for both Australian (53.5%, down 2.5%) and international (62.5%, down 3.5%) news and current affairs, however, the Internet (Australian news: 9.5%, up 6.5%; International news: 13%, up 8%) has experienced a significant rise in popularity, while there has been a decline in newspapers and radio as a main source of Australian and international news.

“NineMSN is clearly the most relied upon website for both Australian (18%, up 7%) and international (14%, up 6%) news and current affairs.

“The ABC is the most relied upon television outlet for domestic (45%, up 5.5%) and international (36%, up 1.5%) news.  For Australian news and current affairs, Channel 7 (35%, up 4.5%) has overtaken Channel 9 (32%, down 5.5%).  Similarly, Channel 7 (18.5%, down 2.5%) is relied upon by more people than Channel 9 (18%, down 8.5%) as an international news and current affairs outlet.

“Unlike other major newspapers, the Herald-Sun has not declined in popularity with 15.5% (unchanged) of Australians saying they rely upon the paper for Australian news and current affairs and 13% (unchanged) for international news and current affairs.  All other major newspapers experienced a marginal fall.”

Specific Sources of Australian News & Current Affairs

The ABC was mentioned by 45% (up 5.5%) as the TV channel specifically relied upon for Australian news and current affairs, followed by Channel 7 (35%, up 4.5%), Channel 9 (32%, down 5.5%), Channel 10 (19%, down 1%) and SBS (17%, up 1.5%).

The ABC (31%, up 3%) was also the most popular radio station for Australian news and current affairs, followed by Triple J (4.5%, down 0.5%), 3AW (4%, unchanged), and Triple M (3.5%, unchanged).

The Herald Sun was the most popular newspaper for Australian news and current affairs, mentioned by 15.5% (unchanged) of Australians, followed by the Sydney Morning Herald (13%, down 1%), the Daily Telegraph (10.5%, down 2%), and The Age (10%, down 0.5%).

The most relied upon Internet site for Australian news and current affairs is NineMSN (18%, up 7%) followed by the ABC’s online news outlet (6%, up 3.5%).

Specific Sources of International News & Current Affairs

The ABC (36%, up 1.5%) and SBS (32%, up 1.5%) are clearly the most relied upon TV stations for International news, with ABC Radio (28%, up 1%) clearly the most relied upon radio station.

The Herald Sun (13%, unchanged) was mentioned by Australians as the newspaper most relied upon for international news, followed by the Sydney Morning Herald (11.5%, down 2%), The Age (10%, down 0.5%), and The Australian (9.5%, down 2%).

NineMSN (14%, up 6%) is clearly the most relied upon website for international news and current affairs, with the ABC’s online news outlet (4.5%, up 2.5%) coming in second.

Time Magazine (3.5%, down 2%) and The Bulletin (2.5%, down 2%) were the magazines most relied upon for international news.

These are the main findings of an Australia-wide special Roy Morgan telephone survey conducted June 13/14, 2007, with 711 people aged 14 and over.

1. PERFORMANCE OF MEDIA

Respondents were told: “Thinking about the news and current affairs media in Australia, that is, newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows which provide coverage, interpretation and opinion of news and current affairs.  As I read a list of statements please tell me whether you think the media is doing a good, fair or poor job.”

Covering elections and controversial topics without bias

Respondents were then asked: “Firstly, covering elections and controversial topics without bias. Is the media doing a good, fair or poor job?”

Analysis by age shows that, although still low, Australians aged 14-17 were more complimentary of the media, with 24% saying the media is doing a good job at “covering elections and controversial topics without bias”.  Thirty per cent of men say the media is doing a poor job at “covering elections and controversial topics without bias” compared to 25% of women.

	All People			Analysis by Gender and Age
	May 4/5, 1996*	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	Men	Women	14-17	18-24	25-34	35-49	50-64	65+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Good	22	18	17	19	16	24	11	21	20	18	9
Fair	37	52	52	48	56	47	66	54	49	47	54
Poor	37	28	27	30	25	24	18	23	27	32	36
Can’t say	4	2	4	3	3	5	5	2	4	3	1
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Keeping Australians informed on subjects that Australians should know about

Respondents were then asked: “And keeping Australians informed on subjects that Australians should know about. Is the media doing a good, fair or poor job?”

	All People			Analysis by Gender and Age
	May 4/5, 1996	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	Men	Women	14-17	18-24	25-34	35-49	50-64	65+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Good	37	33	28	28	28	39	30	26	29	27	20
Fair	45	43	47	46	47	46	46	45	46	44	55
Poor	17	22	24	26	22	12	23	29	22	25	24
Can’t say	1	2	1	-	3	3	1	-	3	4	1
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

2. MEDIA AS A SOURCE OF AUSTRALIAN NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

“Which one media is your main source of information on Australian news and current affairs?”

	All People		Analysis by Gender and Age
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	Men	Women	14-17	18-24	25-34	35-49	50-64	65+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
TV	56	53.5	47.5	59.5	54	57.5	48.5	56	53	52
Newspapers	22	20.5	22.5	18	14	17.5	17.5	15.5	24	32
Radio	18	16	17	15	17	11.5	18	17	16	15
The Internet	3	9.5	12.5	6.5	15	11	16	11	6.5	1
Magazines	1	0.5	0.5	1	-	2.5	-	0.5	0.5	-
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

“Which TV channels do you specifically rely on for Australian news and current affairs?”

	All People		Main Source of Australian News
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	TV	Radio	Newspapers	Internet
	%	%	%	%	%	%
ABC	39.5	45	40	50.5	51	49
Channel 7	30.5	35	42.5	26.5	28.5	22.5
Channel 9	37.5	32	40	20.5	26	18.5
Channel 10	20	19	22.5	13	15.5	17.5
SBS	15.5	17	16	11.5	17.5	28.5
SKY	3	5	5.5	2	5.5	7.5
WIN	4.5	4.5	5	4	3.5	3.5
Prime	2	2	2.5	1	3	-
Foxtel	2	2	2.5	2	-	3.5
NBN	1.5	2	2	1	3	-
GWN	1	1	1.5	1.5	0.5	-
Southern Cross	1	1	1.5	-	1	1
Imparja	0.5	-	-	-	-	-
Capital	0.5	0.5	0.5	-	-	-
Other	1	1.5	1.5	1	1.5	1
None/Can’t say	4	6	2.5	9	10	10
Total Answers	164*	173.5*	186*	143.5*	166.5*	162.5*

*Note: Some people named more than one TV channel.

“Which Radio stations do you specifically rely on for Australian news and current affairs?”

	All People		Main Source of Australian News
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	TV	Radio	Newspapers	Internet
	%	%	%	%	%	%
ABC Radio	28	31	24	46.5	36.5	32
Triple J	5	4.5	3.5	7	5.5	5.5
3AW	4	4	2	3	7.5	7
Triple M	3.5	3.5	5	1	1	4
2GB	2.5	3	1.5	11	2.5	-
NOVA FM	4	2.5	4	0.5	-	2.5
2UE	2.5	2.5	1	5.5	3	2.5
Fox FM	2	1.5	2	1.5	-	3.5
Today FM	-	1.5	1	2.5	0.5	3
Sea FM	-	1.5	2	0.5	0.5	1.5
Star FM	-	1	1	1	2.5	-
Mix 94.5FM	-	1	1	2	-	-
Hot FM	-	0.5	1	-	-	1
Radio National	2	-	-	-	-	-
SA FM	1.5	-	-	-	-	-
B105	1	-	-	-	-	-
2GO	1	-	-	-	-	-
Local Radio Station	1	-	-	-	-	-
Other	30.5	25.5	26.5	33.5	18.5	19.5
None/Can’t say	21	28.5	34.5	2.5	30.5	32
Total Answers	109.5*	112*	110*	118*	108.5*	114*

*Note: Some people named more than one Radio station.

“Which Newspapers do you specifically rely on for Australian news and current affairs?”

	All People		Main Source of Australian News
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	TV	Radio	Newspapers	Internet
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Herald Sun	15.5	15.5	16	9	24.5	5.5
Sydney Morning Herald	14	13	7.5	17	18.5	23.5
Daily Telegraph	12.5	10.5	11.5	10	8.5	6.5
The Age	10.5	10	6.5	4	19.5	22.5
The Australian	11	9.5	4	11	21	15.5
Courier Mail	8	8	9.5	4	7.5	10.5
The West Australian	7.5	6	6	6	8	1.5
Adelaide Advertiser	4.5	4	3	2.5	10	1
Sunday Mail	4.5	2	3	-	2	-
Australian Financial Review	2	2	1.5	2	3	3.5
Canberra Times	1	1.5	0.5	1	5	1.5
Newcastle Herald	1	1.5	1.5	1	2	-
The Advocate	-	1.5	1	0.5	1.5	2
Sunday Times	1	1	1.5	1.5	0.5	1
The Advertiser	-	1	0.5	-	3	-
Cairns Post	-	1	0.5	2	1	1
The Mercury	1.5	0.5	1	-	0.5	0.5
The Examiner	1	0.5	1	-	0.5	-
Local paper (unspecified)	-	1.5	2	2	0.5	-
Other	10.5	13.5	16	13.5	10.5	5.5
None/Can’t say	13.5	18	21.5	25	1.5	21.5
Total Answers	119.5*	122*	115.5*	112*	149*	123*

*Note: Some people named more than one Newspaper.

“Which Magazines do you specifically rely on for Australian news and current affairs?”

	All People		Main Source of Australian News
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	TV	Radio	Newspapers	Internet
	%	%	%	%	%	%
The Bulletin	5	4.5	3.5	6	6	5.5
Woman’s Day	2	2	2.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Woman’s Weekly	1.5	2	2.5	2.5	0.5	1.5
New Idea	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	-	3.5
Time	2	1	1	-	2	1.5
Who	1	0.5	0.5	0.5	-	-
Other	4.5	5.5	4.5	6.5	4.5	10
None/Can’t say	86	85.5	87.5	83.5	86.5	81
Total Answers	103.5*	102.5*	103.5*	102*	101*	104.5*

*Note: Some people named more than one Magazine.

“Which Internet Sites do you specifically rely on for Australian news and current affairs?”

	All People		Main Source of Australian News
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	TV	Radio	Newspapers	Internet
	%	%	%	%	%	%
NineMSN	11	18	21	10.5	11	31.5
ABC.net.au	2.5	6	2.5	6.5	5	30.5
Sydney Morning Herald	3.5	4	2	1	6	19.5
Yahoo.com.au	1	3.5	3.5	-	1	13.5
News Interactive	2	2.5	0.5	2.5	2.5	15
The Age	1	2.5	1	2.5	2	12
Via Google	1	2.5	3	1	1.5	6
Fairfax Digital	1	1.5	0.5	3	0.5	7.5
BigPond	-	1.5	1.5	1	0.5	1.5
The Australian	-	1	-	0.5	1.5	4.5
Optus News	-	1	2	-	-	1.5
CNN	0.5	-	-	-	-	-
Other	6.5	6	5	3	6	19
None/Can’t say	75	60.5	64	70	69	6
Total Answers	105*	110.5*	106.5*	101.5*	106.5*	168*

*Note: Some people named more than one Internet Site.

3. MEDIA AS A SOURCE OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

“Which one media is your main source of information on International news and current affairs?”

	All People		Analysis by Gender and Age
	Aug 18/19, 2004	June 13/14, 2007	Men	Women	14-17	18-24	25-34	35-49	50-64	65+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
TV	66	62.5	61	64	68.5	56	59.5	64.5	64	62.5
Newspapers	17	13.5	14.5	13	10	9	13	11	16.5	19
The Internet	5	13	14.5	11	18	23.5	19	14	7.5	1
Radio	11	9	8	10	3.5	2	6.5	9	11	16.5
Magazines