Traditional media wins back readers’ trust
Trust in traditional journalism is now at 53% — an increase of five percentage points on last year, according to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer.
It shows that trust in search engines and social media platforms dropped by eight percentage points to 33%.
A significant majority (64%) are concerned about fake news, while trust in journalists as voices of authority increased by 20 points to 43%.
Most people believe traditional journalists are meeting their expectations in terms of investigating corruption (56%), guarding information quality (54%), and educating on issues (61%).
More people are putting their trust in experts. Academic (68%) and technical (66%) experts are regarded as the most credible spokespeople for a company.
Trust in ‘a person like yourself’ dropped two percentage points to 52%.
“At a time when people are struggling with who and what to believe there is a notable rise in trust in journalism,” said Edelman Ireland managing director Joe Carmody.
“People’s trust in social media as a source of news is collapsing leaving an opportunity for journalists and bona fide experts to inform society.”
“I think this is really good news for people who believe in the values of great journalism” @marklittlenews sharing brilliant insights into the findings of the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer #EdelTrust pic.twitter.com/0n7PrcXR41
— Edelman Ireland (@edelmanireland) February 8, 2018
People are also sceptical of news organisations — 63% believe these are more concerned about attracting a big audience than reporting and that 60% sacrifice accuracy to be first to break a story.
And when it comes to covering politics, almost half (48%) believe news organisations are overly focussed on supporting an ideology rather than on informing the public.
Over the last five years, trust in Government increased by 15 points and now stands at 35%.
It is the preferred institution (27%) ahead of business (23%) and non-government organisations (22%) to lead Ireland to a better future.
However, more than half of people (51%) think the Government is the institution most broken.
Trust in chief executive officers increased by 14 percentage points to 41% and people now expect business to be an agent of change.
This study shows that 63% want chief executives to take the lead on change and not wait for the Government to impose it.
Trust in US-headquartered companies in Ireland fell by six points to 29%. It is highest in Canada at 64% and lowest in Brazil, China and India at 18%.
Manufacturing (61%) and education (70%) are the most trusted sectors, with financial services (29%) and automotive (44%) the least.
