Public Belief In Internet As Trustworthy And Unbiased Medium Remains Low

TV’s status as the most trusted and unbiased medium has not been shaken by the arrival of the internet as a source of information. New research by CIA MediaLab has revealed that only 5% of respondents claim to trust the information they access via the internet, while 47% saw the BBC as the most trusted medium, and 25% ITV.

David Fletcher, vice chairman of CIA UK, commented, “The media landscape is always changing, as are consumers’ expectations. Consumers’ still prefer to trust the ‘old’ media of TV and print, being suspicious of the lack of ‘editorial control’ on the internet. But not all TV is the same, and there is a battle between channels for the hearts and minds of the UK population.”

BBC1 also managed to achieve a strong image rating across all the social classes, unlike ITV, which was considered the most downmarket of terrestrial channels by 12% of ABC1 Adults polled. Channel 5 was gained even less regard from this group, with 21% seeing it as the most downmarket. ITV’s reputation for fun, innovation and livelier was found to have improved since the last time CIA conducted this research in 1996, and the same was true of Channel 4.

When asked which media was most important in their lives cable & satellite was identified by 9% of respondents, compared to 5% in 1996. Among cable/satellite viewers, this figure was 20%. ITV meanwhile dropped from 12% in 1996 to 9%. Newspapers are regarded as the most important medium across all social classes, but in particular amongst ABC1s and those living in London, the South East, South West and East Anglia. The reputation of national newspapers was found to have improved compared to four years ago, while commercial radio stations are now seen as less boring.

CIA UK: 020 8703 2000 www.ciaworldwide.com

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