Pulse Asia: Television is still leading source of information on politics for Filipinos

Television remains the Filipinos' leading source of information on the country's government and politics, according to a September Pulse Asia poll.

The nationwide survey, conducted via face-to-face interviews of 2,400 Filipino adults from September 6 to 11, showed that 91% of respondents get their political news from the television, with 82% citing national television and 25% citing local television.

Meanwhile, 49% also get their information from radio, with 32% citing local radio and 18% citing national radio. About 48% said they obtain political news from the internet, particularly Facebook (44%) and only 3% of Filipino adults cite newspapers as their source of political information.

Aside from the media, Filipinos get their information on government and politics through other means as well: 37% cite family and relatives as their news source and 25% cite friends and acquaintances.

Regions

Television is also the top source of political news across regional lines. The National Capital Region and Balance Luzon lead with 93%, while Visayas (90%) and Mindanao (87%) are not that far off.

However, regions have noticeable differences when it comes to the other sources.

The internet is cited more in NCR (72%) and Luzon (55%) compared to Visayas (39%) and Mindanao (30%).

For radio, the opposite was found: it is cited less in NCR (29%) and Luzon (40%) compared to Visayas (67%) and Mindanao (64%).

Tapping family and relatives as news sources is also interesting: 49% of Mindanawons cited them as a source, far higher than in NCR (35%) Luzon (37%), and Visayas (27%).

Socio-economic classes

Across socio-economic classes, television is also the main source of political news with small differences among Class ABC (94%), Class D (92%) and Class E (86%).

Wider differences emerge in radio and internet use. For radio, 34% of Class ABC cite it as a source, a smaller percentage compared to Class D (50%) and Class E (55%).

Internet, meanwhile, is cited more by Class ABC (60%) compared to Class D (48%) and Class E (43%). Facebook was the main internet source cited, with 51% from Class ABC, 43% from Class D, and 39% from Class E. Twitter is barely used, with only 1% from each class citing it as a news source.

For non-media sources, 33% of Class E cited friends and acquaintances as sources, higher than Class ABC (23%) and Class D (24%). Class D (38%) and Class E (37%) also rely slightly more on family and relatives compared to Class ABC (33%).

The Pulse Asia survey was taken among adults aged 18 years old and above. It has a ± 2% error margin at a 95% confidence level.

Subnational estimates for each of the geographic areas covered in the survey (i.e., Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao) have a ± 4% error margin, also at a 95% confidence level.

—LA/MGP, GMA News