The global 2024 Digital News Report has found that the ABC is no longer Australia’s most trusted news outlet, with SBS taking the mantle.
The annual survey found that 65% of respondents regard SBS as the most trusted news outlet, just ahead of the ABC (64%).
But the ABC Corporate Tracker conducted by Ipsos found that 79% of Australians trusted the ABC in 2023, while 76% of people believe the ABC does a good job of keeping them informed during emergencies and 76% believe that ABC News has a positive impact in the Australian community.
Furthermore, ABC NEWS was Australia’s leading news brand in June 2024, with almost 12.6 million unique visitors compared to news.com.au, which had 12.4 million unique visitors, according to Ipsos iris, the official source for Online Audience Measurement in Australia.*
So which figure is correct?
There may be a host of reasons to account for the difference. Perhaps they asked different questions or surveyed different audiences. We’ll seek answers over coming weeks.
The Digital News Report is a long running international survey coordinated by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, a research centre based at the University of Oxford. The University of Canberra is the Australian partner institute and author of the Digital News Report: Australia. It’s highly credible, as is Ipsos.
The Digital News Report has measured a steady decline in trust for both the ABC and SBS news since 2019, as the following chart shows. However, this is the first time SBS has outstripped the ABC. The ABC’s two percentage point fall from 2023 is consistent with falls in trust for all major news brands in Australia and internationally.
| ABC | SBS | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 74% | 73% |
| 2020 | 72% | 71% |
| 2021 | 70% | 69% |
| 2022 | 66% | 65% |
| 2023 | 66% | 66% |
| 2024 | 64% | 65% |
Source: Digital News Reports: Australia 2019-2024, Canberra: News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra.
Trust in legacy media has eroded steadily over recent years in parallel with the growth of social media, which is littered with misinformation and disinformation, but is also the place where more and more Australians access their news.
It would be no surprise if trust in the ABC had declined along with other media. It is not immune from the forces that are shaping the media landscape. Drastically reduced funding must inevitably take a toll on the quantity and quality of content. And accusations of bias (fair or unfair) may also have played a part.
“We think the ABC should investigate the reasons why the Reuters study has measured a decline in trust of 10 points since 2019 and what steps it can take to restore that trust”
Cassandra Parkinson, ABC President
We’d also like to hear your views, as valued friends of the ABC.
Do you trust the ABC News? Please answer our mini-survey here.
Can’t see the form? Click here
The 2024 Digital News Report showed a 3% increase in Australians seeking to access news (51% more than once a day), with a notable increase in news consumption among women and Gen Z. The ABC could develop a targeted response to these audiences.
The report also found that, while TV remains the most popular news source, its popularity declined by two points to 56%.
49% of Australians now use social media to access news. The use by Gen Z of social media as their main news source increased by 17% in the past year to 60%.
“Short video is now a clear mainstay format for news consumption among younger generations”, the report said.
It went on to say:
“In times burdened by persistent inflation, rising cost of living, international conflicts, and severe climate events, Australians need trustworthy news. But ongoing challenges to the financial viability of news are compounding and news avoidance is rising.”
Support for regional news highlights the risks of a Meta withdrawal from the bargaining code
Potentially the most positive section of the data related to regional news consumers, who show they are increasingly engaged.
Fifty per cent of regional respondents access news more than once each day, up by 4% since last year’s survey. Trust remains very high for regional and local news, with 60% reporting that they trust their local newspaper.
The ABC’s capacity to maintain its regional news coverage will be challenged if it no longer accesses media bargaining code revenue from Meta. We shared ABC Alumni Director, Quentin Dempster’s, concerns in our May e-news.
If you can, please consider making a donation to support our work.
| Donate |