ITC report reveals television news "most important to viewers"

News is the most important programme genre to television viewers, both as a vital component of public service broadcasting and in terms of personal interest, according to new research by the Independent Television Commission and the Broadcasting Standards Commission.
'The Public's View 2002' revealed that 93% of respondents consider it essential (or very important) that BBC1 and ITV1 continue to show news programmes, and the same number said they are interested in watching such programmes.
There has been a significant increase in the number of people who regard television as their main source of world news: 79% in 2002, compared with 66% in 2001. By contrast, 9% of respondents named newspapers, down from 16% in 2001. Tabloid readers were more likely than broadsheet readers to use television as their main source of world news.
Television also remains the dominant medium for national and regional news. When asked which source of news they trusted to be the most fair and unbiased, 70% said television, compared with 14% for radio and 6% for (any) newspaper. Most respondents (89%) thought that television news was accurate all, or most of, the time.
Concerns about television standards in general, however, remain high - on a level with those observed in 2001, with 47% of respondents thinking standards had got worse (compared with 28% in 2000). The number of repeats on television was the major source of complaint (mentioned by 47%), followed by concern about 'not enough quality' (18%, an increase of 6% since 2001). A new cause for concern among respondents was the perception of intrusion into people's lives: 61% thought there was too much, making it a greater concern than too much sexual content (44%), swearing (56%) or violence (58%).
The Public's View 2002 covers a wide range of issues, from the changes in media technology ownership in the home, viewing habits and preferences, attitudes towards regulation and causes of offence to the importance of different programme genres, views on television advertising, and the use of radio and the internet. Despite the demise of ITV Digital, penetration of digital television increased slightly, with 41% of respondents now having digital services (51% have multichannel television). Many of the newer services available are being used by multichannel viewers, with half watching pay-per view content, usually films. Interactive services on digital television are still seeking a wider market - 66% of those with access said they never used them, compared with 62% in 2001.
"The 2002 survey underlines the importance of access to independent, impartial news programmes on popular channels," said ITC Chief Executive, Patricia Hodgson. "The public is telling us that this is the most important public service television can offer them."
(GB)