Most Pinoys think PHL media doing job well —global poll

Eighty-six percent of Filipinos believe that the media in the country are doing either somewhat well or very well in reporting the news accurately, Washington-based think tank Pew Research Center has found.

In a recent survey on how the people in 38 countries view their respective news media, the research group also found that 87 percent of its Filipino respondents believe that the media are doing well in reporting the most important news events.

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents in the Philippines said that the media are doing somewhat well or very well in reporting political issues while 83 percent believe that the media were doing well in reporting news about government leaders and officials.

Pew's findings come in the wake of the proliferation of fake news and a campaign against such false reports both in mainstream and in the social media.

The research group's survey found that publics in the 38 countries surveyed "overwhelmingly agree that the news media should be unbiased in their coverage of political issues."

"Yet, when asked how their news media are doing on reporting different political issues fairly, people are far more mixed in their sentiments, with many saying their media do not deliver," the group said on its website.

"And, in many countries, there are sharp political differences in views of the media – with the largest gap among Americans," it added.

Pew said that it is a nonpartisan "fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world."

It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. —NB/JST, GMA News