Russians Still Get News From TV But Trust It Much Less – Poll

File Photo of Russian Television Studio

(RIA Novosti – July 8, 2013) Internet still trails far behind television as the main source of news for the people of Russia but their trust in TV reporting has decreased quite significantly in recent years, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 8 July, quoting the findings of the latest Levada Centre poll.

In the poll carried out on 20-24 June, 88 per cent of respondents said they got their domestic and world news mostly from TV, compared with 94 per cent in June 2009. “Friends, relative and neighbours” came a distant second as the source of news on 24 per cent (down from 26), followed by “online publications” on 21 per cent, which was still a significant improvement on 9 per cent four years ago. Another 14 per cent named “online social networks” as their source of news – up from 6 per cent in 2009. The number of those who mentioned radio and printed publications as their source of news showed a big slump: down from 41 to 16 per cent for radio, from 37 to 20 per cent for newspapers, and from 8 to 4 per cent for magazines.

TV trusted less but considered “mostly unbiased”

Television remained the most trusted source of information but faith in it was significantly lower than in 2009. Asked what sources they trusted the most, 51 per cent chose TV in 2013, compared with 79 per cent four years earlier. Trust in radio and newspapers was also down, from 23 and 16 per cent respectively in 2009 to 12 per cent for both in 2013. It was thus overtaken by trust in what people heard from “friends, relatives and neighbours” (16 per cent, up from 9) and what they read in online publications (14 per cent, up from 7).

Figures on Levada Centre website (http://www.levada.ru/08-07-2013/otkuda-rossiyane-uznayut-novosti) show that social networks are also trusted more that for years ago, with 11 per cent of respondents mentioning them, compared with just 4 per cent in 2009. Another 8 per cent (up from 6) said they did not trust any sources of information.

Asked whether they thought the main Russian TV channels, namely state-controlled Channel One, official state Rossiya 1 and Gazprom-owned NTV, were biased in the coverage of events in Russia and abroad, 12 per cent said their coverage was “completely unbiased” and another 53 per cent, “mostly unbiased”; 24 per cent chose “mostly biased” and only 3 per cent, “completely biased”, with 9 per cent declining to answer.

Use of the internet

Another question in the poll concerned people’s use of the internet. Asked whether they used it and for what purposes, 41 per cent chose the answer “to find the information I need” (up from 33 per cent in June 2011).

Other common answers were:

“for communication” – 31 per cent (up from 25)
“to follow the latest news” – 27 per cent (up from 20)
“for entertainment” – 27 per cent (up from 19)
“to go on a social network/networks” – 26 per cent (the answers was not among the choices in earlier polls)
“to find/watch films” – 24 per cent (up from 17)
“to find/listen to music” – 21 per cent (up from 16)
“to understand what happens in the country and abroad” – 16 per cent (up from 10)
“to find/buy goods and services” – 14 per cent (up from 11)
“to find/read books” – 13 per cent (up from 8).

The share of those who said they did not use the internet was 39 per cent, down from 46 per cent in June 2012 and 55 per cent in June 2011.

The June 2013 poll was carried out among 1,601 respondents aged 18 and over in 130 population centers in 45 regions, Levada Centre said.

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