Professor Steve Schifferes presented a summary of his research into public trust in business journalism at a BBC Trust seminar on impartiality and economic reporting in November 2012. Professor Schifferes' research shows that the public does not trust journalists to give a fair and balanced picture of the economic crisis, and thinks there is not enough information on how the crisis will affect the jobs and incomes of ordinary people. The research was based on a poll conducted by ICM in November 2011 with a sample size of 2,000 adults.

1. Presentation to BBC Trust 6 Nov 2012
Steve Schifferes, Marjorie Deane Professor of
Financial Journalism, City University London

2.  The public is very concerned about the
current crisis and its effect on the UK
 Many people don’t believe they have been
told enough to understand the crisis
 People want economic coverage to relate
more to their personal circumstances
 There is scepticism about the independence
of the media and whether it has produced fair
and balanced coverage

3. HOW CLOSELY ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE NEWS ABOUT
THE STATE OF THE UK ECONOMY?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
VERY CLOSELY QUITE CLOSELY NOT VERY NOT AT ALL
CLOSELY CLOSELY

4. HOW CLOSELY ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE NEWS
ABOUT THE STATE OF THE UK ECONOMY?
80
75
70
65 CLOSELY OR VERY
60 CLOSELY
55
50
2011- NOV 2008-SEPT

5. WHICH TYPES OF NEWS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU?
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
NEWS ABOUT UK INTERNATIONAL LOCAL NEWS ECONOMIC NEWS POLITICAL NEWS CELEBRITY NEWS BUSINESS NEWS
NEWS

6. 50%
WHICH TYPES OF NEWS ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU?
45%
40%
35%
30%
25% Economic
20% Business
15%
10%
5%
0%
AB C1 C2 DE MEN WOMEN

7. WHICH OF THE FOLLLOWING SOURCES DO YOU USE
MONTHLY TO FOLLOW NEWS ABOUT BUSINESS AND THE
ECONOMY?
C4 NEWS
DAILY MAIL
BBC RADIO NEWS
SKY NEWS
BBC N24
ITV NEWS
BBC ONLINE
BBC TV
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

8. WHO WOULD YOU TURN TO FIRST FOR RELIABLE AND
TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION IN AN ECONOMIC CRISIS?
BBC RADIO 4%
SKY NEWS 7%
BBC NEWS24 12%
BBC WEBSITE 15%
BBC TV 24%

9. HOW WELL DO YOU THINK YOU UNDERSTAND
CURRENT ECONOMIC EVENTS IN EUROPE AND THE UK
AND THEIR IMPACT ON YOU?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
VERY WELL REASONABLY WELL NEITHER WELL POORLY OR VERY
NOR POORLY POORLY

10. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WAY THE
MEDIA HAS BEEN COVERING THE NEWS ABOUT
THE ECONOMIC SITUATION?
50
40
30
20
10
0
VERY FAIRLY NEITHER FAIRLY VERY
SATISFIED SATISIFIED DISSATISFIED DISSATISFIED

11. WHICH AREAS DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE COVERED
MORE?
SHAREHOLDERS
OTHER COUNTRIES
COMPANIES
GOVERNMENT SPENDING
JOBS
PERSONAL FINANCES
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

12. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENTS?
JOURNALISTS NOT INDEPENDENT OF
BUSINESSES THEY COVER
JOURNALISTS ARE FORCED TO ACT
UNETHICALLY
THERE IS TOO MUCH ECONOMIC JARGON I
DON'T UNDERSTAND
REPORTING ON THE ECONOMY HAS MADE
THINGS WORSE
JOURNALISTS GIVE A FAIR AND BALANCED
PICTURE
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

13. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENTS?
JOURNALISTS NOT INDEPENDENT OF
BUSINESSES THEY COVER
JOURNALISTS ARE FORCED TO ACT
UNETHICALLY
THERE IS TOO MUCH ECONOMIC
BBC
JARGON I DON'T UNDERSTAND
ALL
REPORTING ON THE ECONOMY HAS
MADE THINGS WORSE
JOURNALISTS GIVE A FAIR AND
BALANCED PICTURE
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

14.  How can economic journalists gain the trust
of the public?
 How can economic coverage of big stories
focus on things which more directly affect the
public, such as jobs and spending cuts?
 Given the strong interest in the crisis from a
very diverse audience, how can economic
journalists do a better job of explaining
complex events in an accessible way?