△ MENU/TOP △

Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
SearchClose Icon

Brits rate mainstream media more trustworthy than new media

The BBC reports that respondents to a new study ranked traditional media—TV and newspapers—as far more trustworthy than websites and blogs. The study, from interactive marketing firm Telecom Express, queried 1,000 people on the percentage of information from different sources they found to be accurate. Television ranked highest, at 66%, followed by national, regional, and local newspapers, which scored 55%. Websites were seen as accurate by 36% and blogs by only 24%.

“This study scotches any idea that the British media is no longer valued by the populace,” according to a Telecom Express spokesman.

The study results reinforce two of my long-held beliefs. First, new media do not kill old media. The notion that blogs are replacements, rather than supplements, of traditional journalism is simply wrong. Second, these studies ask the wrong question. If a research firm asked me if I trust blogs, I’d respond as most of those in the Telecom Express study did: no. But if somebody asked me whether I trusted Jim Horton’s or Mike Manuel’s blog, I’d answer yes. I don’t know the authors of most blogs; with Technorati tracking 51.8 million blogs as of today, there’s no way the average person can pay attention to more than a handful; they can assess the accuracy and value of only a percentage of those.

But I know Mike and Jim, and I’ve read enough of some other bloggers whom I’ve never met to decide that I can believe what they’ve written, too.

Further, whether you trust blogs in general or not, they’re still breaking news right alongside traditional journalists—and in the UK, with one in four Internet users writing blogs—that’s a lot of potential for influence. The BBC report notes as an example that it was a blogger who revealed that Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had stayed at a ranch owned by U.S. businessman Philip Anschutz.

12/31/69 | 26 Comments | Brits rate mainstream media more trustworthy than new media

Comments

  • 1.As I have commented here before, asking people if they find blogs to be accurate is like asking them if they find people to be accurate.

    The other point I would make on your post, Shel, is that accuracy does not equal trust (unless I trust those sources to be accurate). I'm not sure what the wording of the conclusions were, but your headline suggests it's about trustworthiness.

    Niall Cook | August 2006

  • 2.Hi, Niall. That's what the BBC story talked about -- trust. I agree, of course, that accuracy does not equate to trust. However, I would argue that inaccuracy breeds mistrust!

    Shel Holtz | August 2006 | Concord, CA

  • 3.Shel - Let's face it, it's more the messenger and the quality and relevance of the message than the delivery vehicle. But it's also the subject matter. If you're planning to buy a new car, do you trust the hype in Car and Driver magazine or the word of 50 consumers who've actually owned and driven the automobile?

    Leo Bottary | August 2006 | Tampa, FL

  • 4.Hi, Leo. Mainly, I trust the word of five friends or family mamebers who've actually owned and driven the automobile! Which is why I trust blogs like yours and other people whose reputations I know and with whom I've communicated, versus 50 bloggers who are, well, just bloggers, unknown to me personally. They may be interesting, they may even be accurate, but they're not automatically trustworthy.

    Shel Holtz | August 2006 | Concord, CA

  • 5.Shel Holtz blogs about a BBC report on a survey from interactive marketing firm Telecom Express showing British people rank traditional media???TV and newspapers???as far more trustworthy than websites and blogs.
    Shel makes some interesting observatio...

    http://www.breakawaycontent.com/blog/archives/64 | August 2006

  • 6.Point taken. I think we agree on this, and it explains why I said 50 bloggers not five. Because I don't know them, (to your point) it will take more of them in a collective sort of way for me to give real credence to their opinions. It's just great to be able to add that resource to the mix.

    Leo Bottary | August 2006 | Tampa, FL

  • 7.Hey namesake, I agree with everything you say in this post, except where I'd focus is that 66% of those polled trust TV. Is their tube programming that much better than in the US or do these people have kidney pies for brains?

    shel israel | August 2006 | Silicon Valley, USA

  • 8.Oh, it's definitely better than in the US! So is their radio, for that matter. Newspapers, on the other hand...

    Shel Holtz | August 2006 | Concord, CA

  • 9."and in the UK, with one in four Internet users writing blogs"

    Where do those numbers come from? I don't believe thenm for a second.

    Derek Hodge | August 2006 | Stirling, Scotland

  • 10.Derek, did you follow the link to the BBC story? Here's the quote: "A study published in July by the internet company MSN suggested one in four users in Britain were writing blogs." That doesn't make it so, but it does cite the source of the report.

    Shel Holtz | August 2006 | Concord, CA

Comment Form

« Back