Young people see the media as powerful but don’t trust it: particularly not the tabloids
Recent research reveals that young people in the UK have little faith in journalists, but see them as having the greatest influence on government decisions. And tabloid journalists, it seems, are the worst of a bad bunch.
The research was undertaken last week by online pollsters YouGov, on behalf of the Citizenship Foundation. Almost 4,000 young people between 14 and 25 took part in the survey.
In answer to the question ‘How much, if at all, do you trust the following to tell the truth?’, journalists fared poorly. The scores for ‘little to no trust’ make worrying reading:
| TV news presenters and reporters | 48% |
| Journalists on ‘up-market’ papers (eg The Guardian and The Times) |
49% |
| Journalists on local papers | 56% |
| Journalists on ‘mid-market’ papers (eg The Mail and The Express) |
81% |
| Journalists on tabloid papers (eg The Sun and The Mirror) |
87% |
Or do they? Is it in fact reassuring that The Sun isn’t trusted by its vast readership, or that newspapers don’t necessarily hold as much sway over the public as maybe we believe?
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Really interesting survey, full of interesting and subtle contradictions, and probably quite reflective of older opinions too. More enthusiasm for rights, over our responsibilities, mistrust and disappointment with politicians who don’t live up to expectations, but no great concern over whether they are accessible, and responsive to those that elect them. At the same time, the best way to make a difference is still seen as emailing your MP.
Interesting also to see that those trusted the most, are those with a direct and meaningful relationship, parents, family etc, closely followed by teachers. At the bottom, are those who are seen as more distant.
And, finally, there is a general sense that early experiences of involvement can easily damage perceptions of participation and influence more widely. A significant proportion did not think that involvement on bodies such as schools councils led to influence.