Quality journalism ‘more important’ amid cost-of-living crisis

More than a third of Brits (36%) believe quality journalism matters more today than ever before, as the UK faces a cost of living crisis and political instability.

That is according to a survey of 2,000 Britons conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Newsworks for Journalism Matters, a week-long campaign to highlight “the vital role trusted news media journalism plays in our democratic society”.

The study found that nearly two-thirds (62%) of Brits believe journalists are playing a “valuable role” in covering the cost of living crisis.

Importantly for advertisers, of those surveyed who believe that the cost-of-living crisis would be much worse without a free press, six in 10 said that it would mean there would be no pressure on big businesses to keep costs down because people would be unaware of what competition was available. The result implies that quality journalism—rather than just advertising alone—is needed to inform consumers of how to wisely spend money during a downturn.

The top five roles respondents said journalists perform that help readers navigate tough times include:

• Raising important issues that may never otherwise come to light.
• Providing information and advice to readers so that they can make informed decisions.
• Unpicking complicated government policies and explaining what this means to everyday life.
• Challenging policies and decisions made by food, energy, and service providers.
• Reporting the facts and providing opinion.

Newsworks CEO Jo Allan said: “Trusted journalism helps provide people with a clear understanding of what is going on in the world, and how it affects them day-to-day. Quality journalism also offers vital information and advice while challenging the powerful by scrutinising every decision made. And given the current global economic backdrop and political chaos here in the UK, the role of journalists couldn’t be more vital right now.”

The survey also found that a majority (55%) of Brits agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “local and national newspapers are playing different but equally valuable roles”.