Public satisfaction with media reporting of politics increases - July 13
But
tabloids do little to advance political engagement of their readers
The
Hansard Society’s latest Audit
of Political Engagement report
(published Thursday July 12) shows that public satisfaction with media reporting of politics has risen: 45% claim to be
satisfied compared to just 38% who said the same two years ago. But two thirds
of the public perceive the coverage of politics in the tabloid media to be far
more negative and distorting in its portrayal
of politics and politicians than in all other media outlets. Notably, tabloid
readers themselves strongly agree with this negative view of their own
newspapers of choice.
Audit
of Political Engagement 9, Part Two finds that the coverage of politics in all media,
but the tabloid media in particular, contributes to a sense of fatalism among
citizens about their capacity to influence the political process. Broadsheet
readers, even controlling for
demographic differences, are more
likely to be politically engaged and feel they can exercise influence in the
political process. But there is little evidence that tabloid newspapers help
stimulate the political engagement of their readers, relative even to those who
read no newspaper at all (data below in editors
notes).
At the
Leveson Inquiry, the views of leading politicians, journalist, academics and
celebrities are being heard. The Audit explores
what the public think about the relationship between politics and the media.
The
research shows:
- 63% of the public (and 70% of
tabloid readers) say tabloids ‘look
for any excuse to tarnish the
name of politicians’ – compared to 20% for
broadsheets, 21% for TV
programmes and 12% for radio
programmes
- 63% of the public (and 71% of
tabloid readers) say tabloids ‘focus
on negative stories about
politics and politicians’ – compared to 21% for
broadsheets, 29% for TV
programmes and 14% for radio
programmes
- 68% of the public (and 74% of
tabloid readers) say tabloids ‘are more interested in getting a good story than telling the truth’ – compared to
23% for broadsheets, 26% for TV programmes and 14% for radio programmes
When it
comes to positive attributes, the research shows that TV programmes were judged
to be ahead of the other forms of
media. But the public do not give TV a ringing endorsement:
only four or five in 10 people agree
that it is fair in its representation of politics and helps the public learn
about what is happening in politics.
- 38% of the public say TV
programmes ‘do a good job of keeping
politicians accountable for
their conduct’ – compared to 34% for
broadsheets, 29% for tabloids
and 19% for radio programmes
- 41% of the public say TV
programmes ‘are generally fair in
their representation of politicians’ – compared to 27% for broadsheets, 15% for
tabloids and 20% for radio
programmes
- 55% of the public say TV
programmes ‘help the public to learn
about what is happening in politics’ – compared to 37% for broadsheets, 25% for
tabloids and 26% for radio
programmes
Previous
Audit research has consistently revealed that most citizens are observers of,
rather than active participants in, the political process and the media is the
principal conduit by which they conduct that observation of politics. Audit 9
research shows that television is overwhelmingly the most common channel of
communication (75%) for political
news and information - with tabloids
(27%), radio (26%), news websites (20%), broadsheets (16%) and social media
(6%) a long way behind.
Throughout
the nine-year annual Audit lifecycle, the media is the institution that the
British public consistently believes has the most impact on their lives. This
year’s Audit explores what kind of
influence the public believe the media actually has on politics, the electorate and those they elect to office:
- 74% believe the media
influences how people vote
- 60% believe the media
influences the topics politicians debate in Parliament
- 54% believe the media
influences the decisions politicians make
Dr Ruth Fox, Director
of Research at the Hansard Society and joint author
of Audit
of Political Engagement 9, Part Two, commented:
‘The
media plays a vital role in our democracy, providing citizens with access to and
information about politics. Newspapers
typically claim a right to freedom from regulation in the interests of
democracy. But these findings suggest that the media – particularly the
tabloids – do not greatly benefit our democracy from the perspective of
nourishing political engagement.
Given the
influence that the public thinks the media has, and the demonstrable link
between readership and political engagement, the media ought to bear some
responsibility for the consequences
of its coverage of the democratic process and the willingness of citizens to
engage in it. That power and influence should be balanced by some sort of independent, public interest, regulatory framework
– supported by a more effective sanctions regime – which recognises
and is designed to stimulate the responsibilities of the press alongside its
rights within our democracy.’
For further information,
contact Virginia Gibbons at the Hansard Society on 020 7710 6079 or 07812 765 552 or
email comms@hansardsociety.org.uk
Editors’
Notes
- The Hansard Society is the
UK's leading independent, non-partisan political research and education
charity. We aim to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage
greater public involvement in politics.
- The Audit of Political
Engagement is an annual health check on our democratic system. Now in its
ninth year, the study measures the ‘political pulse’ of the nation,
providing a unique benchmark to gauge public opinion across Great Britain
with regard to politics and the political process. It is published by the
Hansard Society with funding from the House of Commons and the Cabinet
Office.
- Newspapers are categorised by title as follows:
|
Type
of newspaper
|
Newspaper
title
|
|
Red-top
|
Sun,
Mirror, People, Daily Star, Daily
Record, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Sunday Sport
|
|
Mid-Market
|
Daily
Express, Daily Mail, Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday
|
|
Tabloid
|
Red-top
and mid-market newspapers
|
|
Broadsheet
|
Daily
Telegraph, Guardian, Financial Times, Independent, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday
Times, Observer, Independent on Sunday
|
- Audit
research findings
- does a citizen’s choice of newspaper have any effect on their propensity
to be politically engaged?
·
42%
of general population are interested in
politics compared to:
o 74% of broadsheet readers
o 56% of mid-market readers
o 40% of local paper readers
o 37% of red-top readers
o 31% of those who read no paper at
all
·
44%
of general population say they are knowledgeable
about politics compared to:
o 70% of broadsheet readers
o 55% of mid-market readers
o 43% of local paper readers
o 39% of those who read no paper at
all
o 35% of red-top readers
·
48%
of general population say they are certain
to vote in an immediate general election compared to:
o 64% of mid-market readers
o 62% of broadsheet readers
o 47% of local paper readers
o 44% of red-top readers
o 35% of those who read no paper at
all
·
24%
of general population think system of
governing works reasonably well
compared to:
o 42% of broadsheet readers
o 34% of mid-market readers
o 21% of local paper readers
o 21% of those who read no paper at
all
o 14% of red-top readers
·
12%
of general population feel they have influence
over national decision-making and 24% feel they have influence over local decision-making compared to:
o 21% (national) and 36% (local) of
broadsheet readers
o 18% (national) and 28% (local) of
mid-market readers
o 11% (national) and 23% (local) of
local paper readers
o 11% (national) and 21% (local) of
red-top readers
o 7% (national) and 18% (local) of
those who read no paper at all
·
40%
of general population say they are knowledgeable
about Parliament compared to:
o 68% of broadsheet readers
o 51% of mid-market readers
o 38% of local paper readers
o 32% of those who read no paper at
all
o 31% of red-top readers
·
66%
of general population say Parliament is
essential to our democracy compared to:
o 90% of broadsheet readers
o 82% of mid-market readers
o 67% of local paper readers
o 59% of red-top readers
o 56% of those who read no paper at
all
- Broadsheet
and tabloid readers’ relationship to politics - compared to a reference
group of non-readers of newspapers (calculated using multivariate
regression analysis)
|
Political
Engagement Indicator
|
Broadsheet-only
readers
(compared
to readers of no newspaper at all)
|
Tabloid-only
readers
(compared
to readers of no newspaper at all)
|
|
Interest
in politics
|
6.5
times more likely to express
interest
|
1.5
times more likely to express
interest
|
|
Knowledge
of politics
|
7.3
times more likely to claim
knowledge
|
1.4
times more likely to claim
knowledge
|
|
Certainty
to vote
|
3.5
times more likely to be certain to
vote
|
1.4
times more likely to be certain to
vote
|
|
Voted
in last general election
|
2.5
times more likely to have voted
|
1.5
times more likely to have voted
|
|
System
of governing works at least
reasonably well
|
Roughly
twice as likely to consider the political system to be working well
|
Marginally
less likely to consider the political system to be working
well
|
|
Efficacy
of involvement in national politics
|
Twice
as likely to think that if people like themselves get involved in politics
they can really change the way the country is run
|
1.5
times more likely to think that if
people like themselves get involved in politics they can really change the
way the country is run
|
|
Efficacy
of involvement in local area
|
Twice
as likely to think that if people like themselves get involved in their local
community they can really change the way that their area is run
|
1.2
times more likely to think that if
people like themselves get involved in their local community they can really
change the way that their area is run
|
|
Influence
over national decision-making
|
Twice
as likely to feel able to influence national decision-making
|
No
more likely to feel able to
influence national decision-making
|
|
Influence
over local decision-making
|
2.5
times as likely to feel able to influence local decision-making
|
No
more likely to feel able to
influence local decision-making
|
- The
information in the Audit
of Political Engagement 9, Part Two is based on a Political Engagement
Poll undertaken by TNS-BMRB on behalf of the Hansard Society. The findings
are based on face-to-face interviews conducted in respondents homes with a
representative quota sample of 1,163 adults aged 18 or
above living in Great
Britain
between 7 and 13 December 2011. The survey was repeated between 11 and 15 January 2012: 1,235
face-to-face interviews were carried out. Both surveys included booster
sample interviews in Scotland, Wales and with respondents from Black and
Minority Ethnic (BME) cultural
backgrounds. The datasets have been
weighted to the national population profile of Great Britain. For the purposes of the multivariate regression
study the two survey datasets were pooled to provide a total of 2,404
cases for analysis.
- The Audit also draws on the
findings of 14 mixed demographic focus groups held across Great Britain
between November 2011 and March 2012 exploring
public attitudes to politics. This research was funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council (RES-00-22-4441).
- Audit
9, Part One, which explored
public attitudes to the political process, was published in April 2012 and
is available to download.