Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in our survey on news sources.
Our first question related to whether people pay for their news. Here’s what you told us:
- 47% of respondents do not pay for any newspapers
- 39% of respondents have a paid subscription to one or more newspapers
- 14% of respondents have a paid subscription to a print newspaper
- Almost 6% of respondents occasionally pick up a newspaper from a news stand
- Other sources of news from respondents include using the subscriptions of an employer, news available at public libraries, free online news sources, and podcasts
One respondent told us that they no longer paid for newspaper subscriptions because of government bailouts for legacy media which squeeze out new media startups.
We also asked you about the bias of your news consumption.
- 22% of respondents have checked the bias of their news sources and have found all of it is slanted in one direction
- 61% of respondents have checked the bias of their news sources and discovered that they consume some news that is right of center and some that is left
- 11% of respondents have never checked their news sources
We also had two comments. One indicated that they stick with major news outlets and attempt to avoid opinion pieces. The second indicated a concern about the question, which “appears to assume a ‘neutrality’ thesis which is not conducive to truth.”
We had lots of additional comments about this survey.
- One reader provided great honesty in their response: “Most of the news I consume is Centre Left. When I do look at right or Conservative sources, I get really frustrated and angry so I tend to avoid it.”
- Another reader is concerned about the legitimacy of mainstream media: “Our main stream media is totally biased and towing the government line. I get the proper news from independent sources.”
- Another is concerned with journalists themselves: “The cable news providers too often use journalists in place of subject matter experts to interpret current events, which, I think leads to biased reporting.”
Thanks as always for your candid responses. Our surveys are not scientific. We hope that they provide insight into how others think and we like to think that they create better understanding of different opinions. All of our surveys are based on the content of Critical Links.