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Public Attitudes
Amid everything one can say about local television news,
the most striking public attitude toward local television
is trust. Over the years survey after survey have shown a
consistent pattern: when asked to rate different news mediums,
people generally trust local television more than any other
type of news. (When it comes to individual channels, CNN has
come to be considered more credible, according to surveys.)
Believability of News Media
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Percent of public rating medium highly believable, 1985
to 2002
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While local television news still outpolls the broadcast
news divisions and local newspapers for believability, the
public's trust is diminishing. In 1985, a third of the public
(34 percent) said they could believe "all or most"
of what they saw on local television news. In 2002, that had
declined to one-fourth of the public (26 percent).
The surveys also support what was indicated by the Nielsen
ratings data. The public continues to turn to local television
news more than any other television news source, but its influence
is waning. In 1993, 76 percent of the public said they "regularly"
turned to local television news for information. By 2002,
that figure had fallen to 57 percent. Nonetheless, local television
holds a large lead over its closest competitor, network television
news. In 1993, 58 percent of the public turned to network
news "regularly," but that fell to 32 percent by
2002.
There are some other reasons, perhaps, for local news professionals
to be wary when public attitudes toward the medium are examined.
There is a big gap - and a potential problem for journalists
- between what the public thinks of local television journalism
and what the people who produce it think.
A large portion of the public, for instance, thinks think
powerful outside forces - such as advertisers - "improperly
influence" what news professionals present on broadcasts.
Large numbers also do not feel that television news addresses
their concerns. The television news people do not think there
is any problem.
In some cases, the gap in perception between viewers and
journalists about local television news is so large that,
regardless of which group is right, the gap itself is a problem
that needs to be addressed. Yet the fact that journalists
seem so self-satisfied raises questions about whether they
are ready to deal with it.
The gap is probably most noticeable when it comes to the
question of outside forces improperly influencing newscasts.
Fully 42 percent of the public think advertisers improperly
influence the news, according to surveys from Bob Papper at
Ball State University. And 40 percent think station owners
do.
Yet only 6 percent of news directors perceive improper influence
by advertisers and only 7 percent by owners. Do the news directors
think there is no influence, or only that that influence is
not improper? It isn't clear.
There are gaps in perception between the two groups of 36
and 33 percentage points. Even if one assumes the news directors
are right and the public is wrong, this represents a serious
perception problem for local television news.
Percent of General Public and News Directors
Saying Local TV News Is "Often" Influenced by Specific
Groups/Individuals
| |
General Public |
News Directors |
Margin |
| Advertisers |
42% |
6% |
36% |
| Station Owners |
40 |
7 |
33 |
| Big Business |
37 |
7 |
30 |
| Elected Officials |
30 |
7 |
23 |
| Federal Government |
28 |
5 |
23 |
| Interest Groups |
27 |
8 |
19 |
There is a similar perception gap over the question of whether
local television news responds to viewer concerns. Fully four
out of ten viewers (41 percent) think it does not or are unsure.
Yet a whopping 95 percent of news directors think the industry
does. When survey researchers asked people who had contacted
a local television news station about having a concern addressed,
respondents said by a 3-to-1 margin that the station had failed
to do so.
The public is also much more likely than news directors to
believe that television reporters allow their personal opinions
to affect how they cover the news: Nearly a quarter of the
people (22 percent) say they think the local television news
reporters are "often" biased in their reporting,
and 42 percent think it "sometimes" happens.
Yet only 8 percent of news directors see bias as a frequent
problem and 46 percent see it as an occasional problem.
Finally, part of the perception gap concerns the ability
of local news to handle complex issues. A majority of the
public (52%) tend to think ("strongly or mildly agree")
local television news shies away from the complex, compared
with 30% of news directors.
There is consensus in the research about what people want
from local television. When asked what one quality they would
like their local television newscast to emphasize, both the
public and news directors put "thorough and complete"
coverage of important local stories as their No. 1 priority,
with 53 percent of the public putting this first and 71 percent
of news directors putting it first. But the public is more
likely than news directors to say that they wish their local
news broadcast would emphasize investigations and be unafraid
"to take on powerful people and business." Twenty-nine
percent of the public said that would be their first choice
in a newscast, while only 16 percent of news directors would
make that their first priority.
Factors Often Influencing Local TV News
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General public opinion vs. news director opinion
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