Journalists: We don't suck as much as you might think

How about some non-political polling news for a change? These figures come from Ipsos-Reid via the Canadian Journalism Foundation, and as a journalist by trade they help to soothe my tiny journalist heart a little:

An Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the CJF reveals that when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly, seven in 10 (69%) Canadians have "trust and confidence" in traditional news media such as newspapers, news magazines, TV and radio. Canadians were also asked whether they feel there is a political bias in the media, if the media's primary goal is truth or business oriented, and if they would encourage their children to pursue a journalism career.

Some 31 per cent didn’t have very much confidence in the media and four per cent had none. Journalists are generally thought of as derided but see, but it seems we don’t totally suck after all. Take that lawyers and politicians!

Clicking this link will get you a word file (weird, I know) with lots more interesting figures from the survey, but I’ll highlight a few:

*On blogging and online media, 41 per cent indicated they have trust and confidence in them to report the news fully, accurately and fairly, while 52 per cent had ‘not very much’ confidence and 7 per cent had none at all. Not surprising the numbers are lower here. While the gap is played-up more in the release, I think the fact that just 28 per cent trust the MSM more than blogs is pretty good, and something the MSM should take note of.

*Speaking of bias: what bias, say Canadians. More Canadians (20 per cent) think the media has a Conservative bias then think it has a Liberal bias (18 per cent). Sorry Blogging Tories. Like Goldilocks, 62 per cent say the media is “just about right.” And here’s a stat I love, and Stephen Harper will hate:

…when senior government officials deny reports in the national news media and say that the reports are not accurate, most Canadians tend to believe the news media (84%) in these cases, not the government (16%).

How do you like them apples, Sandra Buckler?

Finally, I’ll sign-off with some regional and demographic breakdowns on the blogging/new media trust numbers:

*Atlantic Canadians (54%) are the most likely to have trust and confidence in this type of media, while those in Quebec (43%), British Columbia (42%), Ontario (38%), Alberta (38%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (36%) are considerably less likely.

*Men (44%) are more likely than women (38%) to have trust and confidence in new types of online media.

*Younger Canadians (46%), aged 18 to 34, are more likely than middle-aged (40%), aged 35 to 54, or older Canadians (37%), aged 55 and older, to have trust and confidence in new forms of online media.

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