BBC News output across the web, television and radio is considered the most trustworthy source of political news by the British public – a Press Gazette survey has found.
More than 50 per cent (503 people) of the 1,000 British adults quizzed by polling firm iCD Research – on behalf of Press Gazette – said they favoured the BBC’s political reporting over other radio, TV, print and online sources.
Sky News was considered the second most trustworthy source of political reporting, named as such by seven per cent of respondents, followed by ITV national news which was named by 5.3 per cent of those surveyed.
When we asked the public to name the print publication, website or broadcast news outlet they must trust when it comes to political news – five per cent said they don’t trust any of them, this was the fourth most popular answer.
Press Gazette also asked the sample how they prefer to keep informed about politics and found that national TV news bulletins was the preferred medium, cited by 33 per cent of respondents.
Twenty per cent of respondents preferred the national press as the best way to gather political news, with 13 per cent preferring to gather information online, five per cent from national radio and 2.8 per cent from local newspapers. Some 17 per cent of respondents said that they are not interested in keeping informed about politics.
PG poll: Trust top ten
Name the print publication, broadcast news outlet or website you most trust when it comes to political news:
1 – BBC News (online, TV and radio): 50.3 per cent.
2 – Sky News (6.5 per cent)
3 – ITV national news (5.3 per cent)
4 – I trust no-one when it comes to political news (five per cent)
5 – ITV regional news (3.7 per cent)
6 – The Times (3.3 per cent)
7 – Daily Mail (2.5 per cent)
8 – Channel 4 News (2.3 per cent)
9 – The Daily Telegraph (1.9 per cent)
10 – The Guardian (1.8 per cent)
A full breakdown of results can be found in the April edition of Press Gazette magazine.
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