Alma Media’s poll: Finns don’t think all news is as true as some

Alma Media Corporation                     Press Release 16 July 2015                             at 14.00 (EEST)

ALMA MEDIA’S POLL: FINNS DON’T THINK ALL NEWS IS AS TRUE AS SOME

Finland has often been acknowledged as a leading country in press freedom in the world; however, nine out of ten Finns do not believe all the news they read. Media literacy learnt at school makes Finns critical, but the greatest reason for distrust is the growing concern over the quality of the news.

Approximately 89 per cent of Finns do not believe all the news they read, as can be seen from a poll commissioned by Alma Media. The poll was carried out to chart the attitudes and opinions of Finnish media consumers on the reliability of media channels and the credibility of the news. Less than six per cent of respondents say that they trust all the news.

In Finland, schools invest in teaching source criticism and media literacy, which can partly explain the result. In addition to healthy criticism, worrying themes were highlighted in the answers of those respondents with a negative attitude. The themes include, for instance, the increase of entertainment in the media, the lack of objectivity, possible factual errors resulting from the ever-accelerating speed of publishing, and the tightening of competition for readers.

Most respondents felt that one factor increasing distrust was that the competition between different media has led to so-called clickbaits and click journalism in which the importance and success of the news is measured by the number of clicks. Respondents felt that readers are being attracted with at best exaggerated and at worst misleading headlines. In addition, the political commitments of the press as well as the tendency to present one’s own opinions as facts were questioned.

TV news and newspapers the most credible news sources, SoME news is not trusted

Even though most news is offered in electronic channels through the Internet, all age groups regard TV news and newspapers as the most credible sources of news. The least credible is news content shared in social media.

Respondents feel the following factors contribute to making a piece of news suspicious: incredible content (51% of respondents), lack of or incredibility of sources (45%), untrustworthiness of media (39%), factual error in text (36%) and badly written text (29%).

The results show that Finns are quality-conscious and detail-oriented media consumers who long for professionally produced news content and still value traditional news channels. Respondents hope that news producers would offer high-quality journalistic content regardless of the channel.

In June 2015, a total of 1,036 Finns aged 15–70 replied to the online panel poll carried out by market research company Cint.

In Suomiareena, Alma Media together with Satakunnan Kansa newspaper will raise the changes in media and the required changes.The panel discussion will tackle the change in media brought about by the Internet and the future of media. The Mediatoimijat vapaassa verkossa –pöhinää ja pelisääntöjä [Media players in the free net – hype and rules] event will be organised on 16 July 2015 at 2 pm in Puuvillan puisto park. The panel discussion will be lead by journalist Maria Veitola.

For more information, please contact:
Rauno Heinonen, Vice President, Corporate Communications & IR, +358 10 665 2251, rauno.heinonen@almamedia.fi

Background:
www.almamedia.fi/kestavamedia/ajatusjalki/
suomiareena.fi/tapahtumat/123-mediatoimijat-vapaassa-verkossa-pohinaa-ja-pelisaantoja/

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a media company focusing on digital services and publishing. In addition to news services, the company’s products provide useful information related to lifestyle, career and business development. The services of Alma Media have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. In 2014, the company employed an average of 1,830 professionals (excluding deliverers), of whom approximately one quarter worked outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2014 totalled approximately EUR 295 million. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.

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