Media Use and Effects on Trust inMedia Use and Effects on Trust in

Politicians, Parties and DemocracyPoliticians, Parties and Democracy

Dr Juliet PietschDr Juliet Pietsch

Australian National UniversityAustralian National University

TodayToday

•The Australian Election StudiesThe Australian Election Studies

•Trends in media Use During Political Trends in media Use During Political CampaignsCampaigns

•Media Use and Political TrustMedia Use and Political Trust

1. The Australian Election Studies1. The Australian Election Studies

2010 Australian Election Study2010 Australian Election Study

• Investigators: Prof. Ian McAllister, Prof. Clive Investigators: Prof. Ian McAllister, Prof. Clive Bean, Prof. Rachel Gibson, Dr Juliet PietschBean, Prof. Rachel Gibson, Dr Juliet Pietsch

• 2010 AES qnr. will be posted out after the election2010 AES qnr. will be posted out after the election

2010 AES questionnaire2010 AES questionnaire

Australian Election Studies, 1987-2007Australian Election Studies, 1987-2007

Web Addresses

• Australian Election Study

http://aes.anu.edu.au/

http://assda.anu.edu.au/aestrends.pdf

• ANU Poll

http://www.anu.edu.au/anupoll/

2. Trends in Media Use2. Trends in Media Use

Media Use During Political CampaignsMedia Use During Political Campaigns

34

6359

52

42 42

31 3226

28

37

17 18

3230

23 21

15 18 16 1419

40

5548

33

2729

18 2116 15

21

1 2 37

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1967 1969 1979 1987 1990 1993 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007

Perc

ent

TelevisionRadioNewspapersInternet

Media Use by Social Background, 2007Media Use by Social Background, 2007

‘A good deal’ Newspapers (%)

Television (%)

Radio (%)

Internet (%)

Gender Male 26 40 22 8 Female 17 34 17 6 Age 18-34 16 32 10 12 35-49 18 32 18 5 50-64 23 38 21 6 65 and over 27 43 24 5 Urban/Rural Urban 25 38 20 6 Rural 17 34 18 7 Education University Education 26 39 24 12 No university education

19 35 17 4

Party ID Labor 25 42 21 8 Coalition 19 36 18 5 Minor 19 34 20 8 No party 17 25 17 7 Strength of Partisanship

Strong partisanship 26 44 22 8 Weak partisanship 10 21 10 3 Total (n) (382) (651) (312) (99) Source: Australian Election Study, 2007. Note: Estimates include ‘a good deal’ only.

Internet Use ‘A Good Deal’ and ‘Sometimes’Internet Use ‘A Good Deal’ and ‘Sometimes’

Internet use during campaign ‘good deal’ or ‘sometimes’

(%) (n)

Gender Male 17 (115) Female 15 (117) Age 18-34 28 (79) 35-49 15 (63) 50-64 14 (63) 65 and over 8 (20) Urban/Rural Urban 19 (156) Rural 12 (74) Education University Education 27 (113) No university education 12 (118) Party ID Labor 17 (91) Coalition 12 (69) Minor party 26 (32) No party 16 (39) Strength of Partisanship Strong partisanship 17 (155) Weak partisanship 12 (39)

3. Media Use and Political Trust3. Media Use and Political Trust

Media Use and Political TrustMedia Use and Political Trust

Trust in Government Trust in Political Parties Satisfaction with Democracy

(b) (beta) (b) (beta) (b) (beta)

(Constant) 2.891 -2.378 3.422

Media Usage -0.040 - 0.097*** -0.069 -0.165*** -0.036 -0.098***

Gender (male) -0.001 -0.004 - 0.064 0.030 0.024 0.018

Location (urban)

0.135 0.064* 0.117 0.055* 0.061 0.046

Age (in years) -0.005 -0.074* 0.001 0.009 -0.001 -0.021

University Educated

0.076 0.032 0.232 0.096** 0.010 0.006

Party Id (Labor) -0.213 -0.099** -0.105 -0.048 -0.129 -0.093**

Minor Party -0.333 -0.084** -0.413 -0.102*** -0.388 -0.152**

No party -0.270 -0.094** -0.450 -0.154*** -0.337 -0.183**

Partisanship (strong)

0.181 0.077** 0.165 0.069* 0.047 0.031

Adjusted R² .04 .08 .05

Important ConclusionsImportant Conclusions

•With the exception of the Internet, media use has been declining

•Internet is self-selecting- easier to bypass political news

•Increased media use during the political campaign is associated with lower levels of trust in politicians, parties and satisfaction with democracy.

Possible ExplanationsPossible Explanations

• Media reporting has become more negative

• Media often reports politics in a very polarised way which depletes trust in those exposed to it.

• Rising and diverging expectations