Trust levels in Irish news media remain high. 53% of those surveyed trust the news overall and 74% of those trust the Irish Independent.
The tenth edition of the Reuters Digital News Report 2021 covers 46 markets which is more than half the worlds population. The findings this year show that the global pandemic has exacerbated many medium to long-term trends such as the move to a more digital, mobile and platform dominated media environment. As a result, traditional Business models are under pressure, however familiar and trusted news brands continue to capture attention. From an Irish perspective trust levels remain high with 53% of the Irish population trusting the news overall and 74% of them trusting the Irish Independent. Engagement rates have also been sustained with 22% of the population engaging more than three times a week with the print editions of the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent, whilst 28% engage with the Irish Independent online more than 3 times a week.
Key findings.
- Proportion that trusts most news brands most of the time is up six percentage points, 44% whilst trust in distributed/social environments remains the same at 24%.
- More people say that they have seen misinformation about Covid-19 ( 54%) than about politics (43%).
- False and misleading information is spreading through different platforms and can be harder to spot and debunk in messaging apps like Whats App.
- Quality national titles are still benefitting most as ‘winner takes most dynamics’ persist, in the Irish market the Irish Independent and the Irish Times are cited.
- Across all audiences’ countries want a range of views, as there is still a strong commitment to the ideal of the impartial and objective news.
- There is low awareness about the problems of the news industry and little support for government help. Just 31% of those surveyed were aware that the news industry is less profitable these days, 53% were unconcerned and only 27% would support the government stepping in to help.
Download the report Reuters Digital News Report 2021
Source:
The Reuters Digital News Report is produced annually by the Reuters Institute and The University of Oxford.
Newman, Nic, Richard Fletcher, Anne Schultz, Simge Andi, Craig T Robertson, Rasmus Kleis, Nielsen. 2021. Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
