Last Updated: December 15, 1998
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RESTON, Va. – The American public thinks the news media should rein
in their eagerness for the sexy story and try harder to be fair, reports
a preliminary survey sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
A final report — including journalists' reactions — is expected in April
1999. That final report is available at http://www.asne.org/kiosk/reports/99reports/1999examiningourcredibility/.
The ground-breaking survey was undertaken to help
newspaper editors better understand the underlying causes of the credibility
challenge and to review their practices and policies with the goal of building
public trust in journalism, according to ASNE president Edward L. Seaton,
editor-in-chief of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury. (His
remarks are available at this link.)
ASNE has embarked on a $1 million project to improve the credibility
of newspapers and journalism. The current study has identified several
areas where newspapers will develop strategic initiatives intended to make
measurable progress in improving credibility, according to Seaton.
The study was based on telephone interviews with 3,000 Americans last
April and May, followed up with 16 focus groups. The research was
designed, conducted and analyzed by Urban & Associates, Inc. of Sharon,
Mass., under the direction of its president, Christine Urban.
“Throughout the survey, the public expresses constant and consistent
appeals for fairness and even-handedness in news coverage,” Urban said.
“They see the editorial page as the only home for opinion or suggestion.
The public believes that the reporter’s job is to report the facts — completely,
insightfully and without spin, and clean of any intent to sway or convince.”
Among the findings that may surprise journalists are:
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The degree to which readers notice factual, grammatical and spelling errors,
and the extent to which this undermines perceptions of journalism credibility.
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The public’s weariness over what it sees as sensational stories being overplayed.
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The public’s feeling that journalists are biased in one way or another.
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The degree to which the public feels the press can be manipulated by powerful
people or advertisers.
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Closeness to the news process generates more negative, rather than more
positive, views of press credibility.
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Admitting errors and running corrections helps, not hurts, credibility.
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The amount of skepticism the public harbors about unnamed sources.
Among the findings:
Inaccuracy: More than a third of adults said they see spelling
or grammar mistakes in their newspaper more than once a week, and 21 percent
said they see them almost daily. “It seems like the paper’s gotten
sloppier in the last 10 years,” said one focus group participant.
Sensationalism: More than 80 percent of Americans believe
that sensational stories get lots of news coverage simply because they’re
exciting, not because they’re important. The motivation is to sell
newspapers and attract news audiences, a similar number of Americans believe.
Bias: While 78 percent of U.S. adults believe there’s bias in
the news media, but there no consensus definition of what “bias” means.
Almost one-third (30 percent) see bias as “not being open-minded and neutral
about the facts”; almost another third (29 percent) believe bias
is “having an agenda and shaping the news to report it”; another third
(29 percent) define bias as “favoritism to a particular social or political
group.” Eight percent said that bias is “all of these.” The
public is also split on liberal vs. conservative, with 47 percent saying
their local paper tends to be more politically liberal than themselves,
and 34 percent saying it tends to be more politically conservative than
they are.
Manipulation of the press: 78 percent of the public believes that powerful
people or organizations can influence a newspaper to “spike or spin” a
story. The most frequently cited groups the public thinks influence
news decisions are politicians or government officials, big business and
wealthy individuals. Half (50 percent) believe that advertisers’
interests influence decisions. A big criticism (felt by 59 percent
of the public) is that newspapers are concerned mainly with making profits,
rather than serving the public interest.
Corrections: When they see errors, 19 percent of readers say they
“always” see a correction, and 40 percent say they “sometimes” see one.
Some 63 percent say they “feel better” about the quality of the news coverage
they get when they see corrections. “If there’s a mistake, admit
it,” said a focus group participant. “People are more likely to believe
you. Don’t hide it in small print. Let them know you want them
to know your mistakes.”
Television and newspapers: The study asked a number of questions
about television and newspapers, in order to draw some comparisons.
For example, when asked which is the worst offender in terms of bias, 42
percent said television, while 23 percent said newspapers. Television
is overwhelmingly seen as the dominant source of national and world news,
while a majority (54 percent) say newspapers are their primary source of
local news. When there are conflicting factual accounts in one medium or
another, the public tends to believe the news medium that had more time
to collect and study the facts.
Unnamed sources: More than three-quarters of U.S. adults expressed
concern about the credibility of news stories that use anonymous sources,
and 45 percent say the story shouldn’t run at all if no one will go “on
the record.” At the very least, newspapers should explain why they
use unnamed sources when they feel they have to, focus group participants
said.
Urban lists the following as the six major conclusions of the study:
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The public sees too many factual errors and spelling or grammar mistakes
in newspapers.
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The public perceives that newspapers don’t consistently demonstrate respect
for, and knowledge of, their readers and their communities.
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The public suspects that the points of view and biases of journalists influence
what stories are covered and how they are covered.
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The public believes that newspapers chase and over-cover sensational stories
because they’re exciting and they sell papers. They don’t believe
these stories deserve the attention and play they get.
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The public feels that newsroom values and practices are sometimes in conflict
with their own priorities for their newspapers.
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Members of the public that have had actual experience with the news process
are the most critical of media credibility.
“ASNE has taken on this long-term challenge to better understand the scope,
dimension and causes of the credibility challenge,” Seaton said. “For journalists,
the fundamental question to ask themselves is ‘Are we living up to our
ideals?’”
As part of the Journalism Credibility Project, eight daily newspapers
have agreed to serve as “test sites.” Starting in the spring of 1999, each
will introduce strategies and content innovations in four major areas the
research identifies as areas where newspapers might build reader trust:
accuracy, sensationalism, bias and connecting with readers.
The eight newspapers are: The Philadelphia Inquirer; The Oregonian,
Portland; Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; San Jose (Calif.) Mercury
News; Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune; The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.;
Daily Press, Newport News, Va.; and Florida Today, Melbourne.
The ASNE Journalism Credibility Project is funded by the Robert R. McCormick
Tribune Foundation and the eight test-site newspapers.
The American Society of Newspaper Editors, with
875 members, is an organization of the main editors of daily newspapers
in the Americas. Founded in 1922, ASNE's focuses on the professional development
of its members and journalism-related issues, including the First Amendment,
newsroom staff diversity, editorial innovation, and the newspaper's role
in providing information necessary to the informed practice of citizenship.
