A MAJOR new study World Without News has revealed how the nation’s appreciation and value of journalism has increased significantly since the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Against a backdrop of fake news, disinformation and attacks on free speech, 66% of people surveyed said they “appreciate and value journalism more since the global coronavirus pandemic began”.
Encouragingly, the increase is most stark in the under 35-year-olds, with 77% valuing the work of journalists more now in providing reliable information and news, the study by three leading research firms found. Younger people are increasingly using trusted news brands to check what they see on social media.
Although 42% of under 35-year-olds said they used social media more throughout the height of the pandemic, seven in ten of those said they felt less anxious about a story they had seen on social media once they had then checked it out via a news brand.
PJ correspondent Alan Geere’s verdict on World Without News: “The results are unequivocal. We love news and we want it to stay. Journalists, even when the bearers of sad and well as glad tidings, are doing a great job keeping the country both informed and entertained while shining lights in dark corners.
“Sadly, as an old friend of mine often says: ‘Fine words butter no parsnips’. While the philosophical argument about the value of journalism will be encouraged no end by this report, the struggle for the financial future in this uncertain world will go on.“
You’ll be able to read Alan’s full take on the report in the Novemeber/december issue of printed PJ
