What went wrong? Media experts weigh in on NZers' declining trust in news

A political and media commentator calls the alarming increase in New Zealanders' distrust in new media a "very big problem".

AUT's research centre for Jounalism, Media and Democracy's 5th annual Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report found trust in news dropped to 33 per cent this year from 42 per cent last year.

"I'm surprised and not surprised by the results," says media and political commentator Richard Pamatatau.

"If you look at that number, 75 per cent, if you run that number across the New Zealand population of 5.1 million that means 3.8 million people are not taking the news in any form."

He says there are some "slippery nests" around the numbers but regardless it remains a "very big problem for how we as a country understand what's going on in our world since 2020".

Watch the full interview via 531pi's Facebook page below:

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Research NZ's "In news we trust" survey asked New Zealanders if having choices in television channels for news and current affairs was important. It also queried people on the importance of television news compared to online and other digital platforms.

Managing Director Emanuel Kalafatelis says the downward trend in news media trust is decade-long and that an abundance of outlets is needed to gain an uptick. He says an abundance of news outlets means fewer viewers questioning the credibility of monopolistic news sources.

"It's important that people have access to credible sources of news and current affairs," Kalafatelis says.

"And that they have a choice because people want to get the news in different forms from different people.

"When you take away a credible source such as Newshub then it's not surprising that people are concerned about democracy."

Watch the full interview with Kalafatelis via 531pi's Facebook below:

Pamatatau says there are various factors including the significant disruption of Covid during and after that "occurred in many people's lives".

"There was some big disruptions not just in New Zealand but around the world so there's that factor," he says.

"There's the fact that those opposed to lockdowns and vaccinations have been very active on social media.

"They've been pushing 'you can't trust the media because they're not telling you everything'."

He also says "the big news market" of the United States has contributed, particularly with the phenomenon of former US President Donald Trump's narrative of distrusting media.

"Also I think people are disrupted and under pressure at the moment as interest rates are going up.

"Today people are talking about the cost of insuring your house. So there are all of these pressures on people."

He adds that another wrench thrown in New Zealanders' sense of clarity is the current government pushing the public sector towards major redundancies.

"All of these things start to swirl and make people think 'what is going, why and what is my place', so it's not just the factor of Covid.

"All sorts of stuff is going on in people's lives."

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Kalafatelis says their survey revealed "a resounding 75 per cent" wanted local content on television, with 74 per cent wanting it also on digital platforms.

"When you compare those who want local content on television with those who wanted online, it's almost the same people," he says.

"There's an 84 per cent match, pretty close to 100 per cent so people want choices regardless of how and where they get it."

He also says surprisingly that there were no response differences in the age, gender and lived locations of people they surveyed but that they would have liked to cover ethnicity.

"In the case of Pacific peoples you've only got them represented in the population of NZ at around 10 per cent statistically speaking so we can't look at survey results with any confidence."

Pamatatau says it is imperative that organisations tailor information to the needs of and maintain a connection with audiences.

He says Pacific populations generally engage with community-focused stories and so the approaching that will be "different to white people".

He points to 531pi's language shows as an example, saying it is likely that audience trust is high since "our population and communities tend to go where they feel comfortable".

"I'm not saying that the news that 531pi and the language programs are better but I would argue it's probably more accurate in serving the audience in a different kind of way.

"It's really important that you are engaging with your audience to hear what it thinks about what you're doing."

He emphasises that this does not mean organisations simply deliver stories audiences demand but that outlets consider their responsibility to those audiences in serving "information that will let you do the best for your family".

"Whether that's about employment, vaccinations, bowel test screening. Anything that affects people.

"Also I think it's really important to recognise that different markets have different ways of being."