Survey Reveals Declining Interest of New Zealanders in News Outlets
Trust in news has hit an all-time low in New Zealand, as more people actively avoid consuming news. The Auckland University of Technology’s Centre for Journalism Media and Democracy (JMAD) conducts an annual survey to gauge public opinion on the country’s news media. Unfortunately, for publishers and broadcasters, the results seem to get bleaker each year.
In 2024, overall trust in the news plummeted to a mere 33 percent, down from 42 percent in the previous year. This puts New Zealand well below the international average of 40 percent. Even more concerning is the fact that the proportion of people avoiding the news to some extent increased from 69 percent in 2023 to 75 percent in 2024.
Television channels seem to be facing particularly low levels of trust. Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) saw a decline of 14.6 percent in trust, followed by TVNZ with a drop of 9.4 percent, and Newshub, which is under the threat of closure by its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, with a decrease of 7.8 percent. However, it’s worth noting that trust in search engines and social media also declined by 4 and 3 percentage points respectively.
Interestingly, the survey revealed that New Zealanders are more interested in news than many of their overseas counterparts. Out of those surveyed, a staggering 72 percent expressed either extreme interest, interest, or some level of interest in the news.
When it comes to the reasons behind the declining trust, participants were asked if they believed that the news media was independent of undue political or government influence most of the time. In 2024, only around 27 percent agreed, compared to 32 percent in the previous year. Concerns about poor journalism were also highlighted, with approximately 92 percent expressing worry over factual mistakes, dumbed-down stories, and misleading headlines or clickbait. Additionally, 96 percent were concerned about stories that were spun or twisted to push a particular agenda, and 89 percent believed that some stories were completely made up for political or commercial reasons but presented as news.
On the other hand, those who still trust the news were asked why. About 65 percent of this group agreed that journalists provide quality information about important issues, while 54 percent depended on journalists to provide fair and honest reporting without misinformation. Almost half of them (46 percent) trust news because journalists strive to present both sides of a story.
It’s important to note that New Zealanders are not alone in their declining trust in news. The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2023 found that trust in news fell from 42 percent in 2022 to 40 percent in 2023 across the 46 markets included in its study. Finland maintains the highest level of trust at 69 percent, while Greece has the lowest at 19 percent. Similarly, Americans have a similar level of trust as New Zealanders, with only 32 percent trusting mass media to report news accurately and in full, which is also the lowest historical reading since 2016 according to Gallup.
The decline in trust in news outlets is a concerning trend not only for publishers and broadcasters but also for the general public. As more people actively avoid news and lose faith in its accuracy and objectivity, it becomes crucial for the media industry to address these issues and rebuild trust with the audience.
