News Outlets Just Don’t Get It, Report

Michael Hedges January 16, 2020 - Follow on Twitter

That the news media has a problem in these interesting times is very much cliché. If the mission is to inform the public with fact and context, to quote an old movie, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” The public, generally, turns away, dismissing journalistic output as irrelevant. Some, then, are entertained by conspiracy theories.

For French newspaper La Croix, Kantar Insights released this week (January 15) its 33rd annual Barometer of French media confidence. Kantar Insights is part of major international media researcher Kantar. La Croix is a 140 year old Paris-based daily newspaper generally aligned with the Roman Catholic church. Kantar Insights conducted 1007 face-to-face interviews during the first week of January with people 18 years and older.

The Barometer report is yet another jolt to the news media. More two-thirds of those interviewed (71%) see the news media failing to meet their needs. Four in ten (41%) have effectively tuned-out news, the lowest interest since 1987. The 2019 Barometer of French media confidence, in the midst of the well-covered rise of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests, showed confidence at a historic low point. This year’s Barometer shows no improvement.

“This drop in confidence, observable over the past five years, is reinforced by news focused since the start of the (2019) school year on pension (reform),” said Kantar investigator Guillaume Caline, quoted by La Croix (January 16). “The French find it difficult to grasp the contours of the (pension) reform, which gives rise to a mobilization and a very classic journalistic treatment.” In other words, news coverage of the pension reform debate in France is an example of a complex issue, insufficiently reported, leading to confusion and distress. Hence, the public loses confidence.

The Barometer showed news credibility from radio broadcasters at 50% (same as 2019), the written press 46% (44% in 2019), television 40% (38% in 2019) and the internet 23% (25% in 2019 and 39% in 2015). Only 18% of young people access news from television, 75% from the internet. Of the internet users under 35 years 40% get news from social media and 30% access newspaper and magazine websites. Perhaps disheartening for new media journalists, two-thirds (68%) of internet users believe them not to be independent from political interests and almost as many (61%) question the financial interests of media proprietors.

Quite revealing, too, is the public view of events covered by French news media. More than half of those surveyed (55%) found too much coverage of the Gilets Jaunes. Also over-covered, by public opinion, was an 8 year old cold-case revival in which seemed to break last October but did not and the fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. “They (the public) were not being critical of journalists but, rather, of the system,” added M. Caline. Some respondents noted that Paris-oriented news is over-represented.

Under-covered, said those interviewed, was reporting on domestic violence as well as environmental disasters in the Amazon, California and Siberia. “Like last year, events linked to climate change are neglected by the media,” said media services chief at La Croix, quoted by Europe 1 (January 16). It’s very strong among young people.” Coverage the news media got about right included the death of former president Jacques Chirac, (66%) the attack on the Paris Police headquarters and the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

See also...

• Hot Topics - Media in France

• Hot Topics - News Media