In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets

In the age of misinformation, trust and trustworthiness – core values of journalism – have become more important as news companies reeling from the pandemic seek emergency funding for their operations from the public and funders look for trusted brands to support. Earlier studies indicated people ar...

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Main Authors: Merja Myllylahti, Greg Treadwell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2022-01-01
Series:Kōtuitui
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2021.1948873
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author Merja Myllylahti
Greg Treadwell
author_facet Merja Myllylahti
Greg Treadwell
author_sort Merja Myllylahti
collection DOAJ
description In the age of misinformation, trust and trustworthiness – core values of journalism – have become more important as news companies reeling from the pandemic seek emergency funding for their operations from the public and funders look for trusted brands to support. Earlier studies indicated people are more willing to pay for trusted news brands, and recently, the public funding of news has been directed to institutions that are regarded as trustworthy news outlets, and provide information that is in the public interest. While the concept of trust is complicated and measuring it is challenging, trust has rapidly become a key inquiry in academia. However, New Zealand lacks in this research, and this study aims to start to fill that gap. The paper is based on our survey of 1204 New Zealanders, and comparable data from 38 countries surveyed in the Reuters Digital News Report 2019. The paper finds that trust in news in New Zealand is high when compared internationally, but a large proportion (47%) of citizens don’t trust the news. It also finds New Zealanders are more concerned about misinformation and disinformation than respondents in other Western societies.
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spelling doaj.art-1f14c7aae6684d959f54822bde60413d2022-12-21T21:20:48ZengTaylor & Francis GroupKōtuitui1177-083X2022-01-011719010010.1080/1177083X.2021.19488731948873In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media marketsMerja Myllylahti0Greg Treadwell1School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of TechnologySchool of Communication Studies, Auckland University of TechnologyIn the age of misinformation, trust and trustworthiness – core values of journalism – have become more important as news companies reeling from the pandemic seek emergency funding for their operations from the public and funders look for trusted brands to support. Earlier studies indicated people are more willing to pay for trusted news brands, and recently, the public funding of news has been directed to institutions that are regarded as trustworthy news outlets, and provide information that is in the public interest. While the concept of trust is complicated and measuring it is challenging, trust has rapidly become a key inquiry in academia. However, New Zealand lacks in this research, and this study aims to start to fill that gap. The paper is based on our survey of 1204 New Zealanders, and comparable data from 38 countries surveyed in the Reuters Digital News Report 2019. The paper finds that trust in news in New Zealand is high when compared internationally, but a large proportion (47%) of citizens don’t trust the news. It also finds New Zealanders are more concerned about misinformation and disinformation than respondents in other Western societies.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2021.1948873trusttrustworthinessnewsjournalismaotearoa new zealand
spellingShingle Merja Myllylahti
Greg Treadwell
In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets
Kōtuitui
trust
trustworthiness
news
journalism
aotearoa new zealand
title In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets
title_full In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets
title_fullStr In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets
title_full_unstemmed In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets
title_short In media we trust? A comparative analysis of news trust in New Zealand and other Western media markets
title_sort in media we trust a comparative analysis of news trust in new zealand and other western media markets
topic trust
trustworthiness
news
journalism
aotearoa new zealand
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2021.1948873
work_keys_str_mv AT merjamyllylahti inmediawetrustacomparativeanalysisofnewstrustinnewzealandandotherwesternmediamarkets
AT gregtreadwell inmediawetrustacomparativeanalysisofnewstrustinnewzealandandotherwesternmediamarkets