In April 2020, together with my college Dr Greg Treadwell, we published the first Trust in News in New Zealand report which was produced in collaboration with the Reuters Institute for Study for Journalism. The report was published by the AUT research center for Journalism, Media and Democracy (JMAD). In our report we found that trust in news in New Zealand was high in international terms
Here is a summary of key findings:
- Compared internationally, trust in news in Aotearoa New Zealand generally is high, with 53% of people agreeing they can trust ‘most of the news most of the time’.
- Even more New Zealanders (63%) trust the news they personally consume.
- Trust in news consumed via social media and search engines in Aotearoa New Zealand is low when compared internationally.
- State broadcasters are the most trusted outlets for news in Aotearoa New Zealand, with Radio New Zealand (7) and Television New Zealand (6.8) topping the rankings as most trustworthy when ranked out of 10.
You can find the full report here.
Dr Merja Myllylahti 