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Young audiences need trusted news sources, bishops tell Lords

11 September 2007

Government policy towards the news media should aim to promote the flow of information and mass communication, whilst setting standards of truthfulness, accuracy and fairness, Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops have told the House of Lords.

Any policy should seek to ensure the special character of the UK's diverse news media, the Rt Revd Nicholas Baines, the Church of England Bishop of Croydon, and the Rt Revd John Arnold, Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, say in a joint submission to the House of Lords Communications Committee’s inquiry into media ownership and news.

The news media, the submission notes, has traditionally been regarded as trustworthy, inclusive yet diverse, widely consumed by all age groups and all sections of society and reflecting the character and composition of society.

It is currently challenged, according to the bishops, by the growth of digital media, the convergence of formerly distinct media formats on the internet and the bias towards celebrity/personality news. The industry also faces a trend towards fewer journalists, under greater pressure from editors, being employed in individual news outlets and the need for media organisations to compete for audiences.

“The most significant challenge facing the provision of news for society’s health and well-being,” said the Rt Revd Nicholas Baines, “is to engage younger people with trusted news sources on mobile and web-based platforms, whilst avoiding other news being excluded by celebrity- and entertainment-led news, which may enhance consumer markets but does not contribute to creating an informed and educated society.”

“Continuing vigilance is needed,” said Bishop John Arnold, “to prevent monopolies of news and information developing if the common good is to be served rather than simply commercial or market interests.”

Any Government policy, the submission says, should, therefore:

  • Be applied consistently across all media as far as possible
  • Promote the common good as well as the interests of business and commerce
  • Encourage intelligent news, explanation and analysis promoting an educated and informed society in which different communities increase their understanding of each other and the world
  • Discourage arbitrary assumptions about the kind of news different audiences will consume
  • Encourage a diversity of news media fairly portraying different worldviews and beliefs
  • Prevent the formation of news monopolies
  • Neither compromise nor give the appearance of compromising editorial independence.

 

The submission in full.

 

 

House of Lords Communications Committee: media ownership and news

Joint submission from

The Rt Revd Nicholas Baines, Anglican Bishop of Croydon,

and

The Rt Revd John Arnold, Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster

 

 

The Christian understanding of what it is to be human recognises that people will want to communicate and freely share information with each other. There is a strong expectation, in line with the Commandment not to bear false witness, that such communication will be truthful and will build up the community as it is shared. This places a high value on personal responsibility and accountability for what is communicated.

The principle that the media should be free and should hold those in authority to account arises directly out of this view of the impulse to communicate. Therefore, any policy towards the media should aim to permit business activities that promote and facilitate the flow of information and mass communication, whilst setting standards of truthfulness, accuracy and fairness.

Summary

Policy affecting news provision should seek to ensure the special character of the UK's diverse news media, which has traditionally been regarded as:

  • Trustworthy (accurate, fair and impartial),
  • inclusive yet diverse
  • widely consumed by all age groups and all sections of society
  • reflecting the character and composition of society.

The challenges include:

  • The growth of digital media, the convergence of formerly distinct media formats on the internet and the bias towards celebrity/personality news;
  • the trend towards fewer journalists being employed in individual news outlets, both national and local, and often under greater pressure from editors;
  • and the need for media organisations to compete for audiences.

Any policy should, therefore:

  • Be applied consistently across all media as far as possible.
  • Promote the common good as well as the interests of business and commerce.
  • Encourage intelligent news, explanation and analysis promoting an educated and informed society in which different communities increase their understanding of each other and the world.
  • Discourage arbitrary assumptions about the kind of news different audiences will consume
  • Encourage a diversity of news media fairly portraying different worldviews and beliefs.
  • Prevent the formation of news monopolies.
  • Neither compromise nor give the appearance of compromising editorial independence.

 

1. Background and History

The Church of England’s contribution to public debate about Government policy formation and media regulation and content over several decades advocates:

- High standards of truthfulness, accuracy and fairness and a workable means of redress for the public when media fail to meet the standards set and a means of taking proper account of public concern over media standards.

- A strong public service ethos in British broadcasting. Principally, this provides programmes covering news, science, religion and other beliefs, social issues, matters of international significance or interest, children’s programmes, matters of specialist interest and programmes reflecting our community and culture.

The General Synod, the Church's governing body, has passed several motions recognising "the media's contribution to an open and informed society, significantly influencing people's awareness of themselves, each other and the world."

- In February 2007 the Synod expressed concern over the effect of some broadcast content on individuals and society.

- In 1997 the Synod noted "with concern the possibilities for lower standards as new technology and other factors are likely to create greatly increased output and competition;" and sought "assurance from Her Majesty’s Government that such matters are being constantly monitored with a view to possible legislation should self-regulation within the media prove ineffective."

 

2. Submission

Policy affecting news provision should seek to ensure the special character of the UK 's diverse news media, which has traditionally been regarded as:

  • Trustworthy (accurate, fair and impartial),
  • inclusive yet diverse
  • widely consumed by all age groups and all sections of society
  • reflecting the character and composition of society.

When it comes to news provision, we get what we, or the advertisers, pay for. If news is to continue to have a social and not just a commercial value, any policy should seek to secure the dominance of public service values in news.

 

Q1. How and why have the agendas of news providers changed? How has the content of news programmes and newspapers altered over the years?

News agendas have changed in recent years to reflect increasing commercial pressures on news providers of all kinds. The arrival of the internet and multi-channel news media has been accompanied by a fall in newspaper sales and the advance of a celebrity- and entertainment-led agenda as newspapers, news channels and websites compete for audiences. This does not bode well for the maintenance of socially valuable news in a future in which unregulated or minimally regulated digital media are likely to dominate and underlines the need for continuing and adequately funded public service broadcasting.

 

Q2. How is the way that people access the news changing?

Recent surveys and commentary have drawn attention to the extent and importance of trust between media and their audiences. Trustworthiness has been one of the hallmarks of British news media – dominated by public service broadcasting values in broadcast news.

Television remains the main source of news  for 65% of people, unchanged since 2002. Yet surveys suggest that young people are turning away from traditional news sources and patterns of news consumption, with 71% saying they value getting news by internet or wireless technology .

This contrasts with recorded levels of trust in news sources. Recent data collected for the BBC suggests 86% of the population finds television news trustworthy  but only 24% trust blogs and 44% trust internet news sites . A fall-off in the consumption of news is consistent with this low level of trust in these news sources preferred by young people. 

If the UK is to remain a news consuming society, knowledgeable about the realities of the world it lives in, it must encourage the building of trust between target audiences and news sources. News sources are less likely to encourage committed audiences for news if they are not trusted.

 

Q3. How has the process of news gathering changed?

  • Media organisations, both national and local, are employing fewer journalists on individual news sources and often under greater pressure from editors.
  • Owing to the need to compete for audiences, the media are more inclined to cover headline-grabbing celebrity and entertainment news than issues such as faith that are increasingly significant within communities and have a greater bearing on world events.
  • Though there have been significant initiatives to improve levels of religious literacy, such as within the BBC's College of Journalism, the overall picture is patchy.

Q4. What is the impact of the concentration of media ownership on the balance and diversity of opinion seen in the news?

The UK’s media is characterised by diversity and inclusivity. Diversity of ownership within the significant local media presence across the country is in contrast to the concentration of national media ownership. Concentration of ownership risks a constriction of viewpoints, yet the UK media retains a genuine plurality of views, in some measure due to the health of local provision.

The role of national and local print media in relating to the diversity of the news audience has been ignored in recent policy that has concentrated on broadcast and internet media.

Local and regional newspapers are read by 40 million people , significantly in excess of the readership of national newspapers of around 27 million . Local radio has an audience of nearly 35 million, compared to about 43 million for national radio (RAJAR). The increase in internet and mobile news is not an excuse for such sources to withdraw from the provision of trustworthy news to these audiences. Certainly not while trust in these alternative news sources remains low.

UK society is composed of a greater diversity than a generation ago and that should be reflected by the diversity of trustworthy news sources.

UK society is composed of a greater diversity than a generation ago and that should be reflected by the diversity of trustworthy news sources.

 

Q5. How should the public interest be protected and defined in terms of news provision?

In the modern digital world, news provision is characterised by:

  • The same content being available in print, online and on a mobile phone (convergence)
  • Newspapers publishing online editions offering audio, video and podcasts
  • Broadcast output available on radio, TV or the internet live or at a chosen time
  • News including content generated by the public posted straight onto websites like YouTube.

Any policy on media ownership and news provision should therefore:

Apply consistently across all media as far as possible.

Between Ofcom, the Press Complaints Commission and the British Board of Film Classification for film and computer games, there is regulation or classification appropriate to each medium. In an age where the same or similar content appears across many platforms, there is an increased risk of conflicting decisions.

Without advocating a single regulator for all media, it is clear that:

- There is a continuing need for regulation

- There is a role for a clearer common purpose among regulatory bodies.

If a coherent regime is ever to be created around even part of the internet, it will require more co-operation between regulatory bodies and between nations and international agencies.

Promote the common good as well as the interests of business and commerce.

The most significant challenge facing the provision of news for society’s health and well-being is to engage younger people with trusted news sources on mobile and web-based platforms, whilst avoiding other news being excluded by celebrity- and entertainment-led news, which may enhance consumer markets but does not contribute to creating an informed society.

News, like other public service content, should be available on all platforms with commercial interests competing within the market not for the market.

Encourage intelligent news, explanation and analysis promoting an educated and informed society in which different communities increase their understanding of each other and the world and discourage arbitrary assumptions about the kind of news different audiences will consume.

In a multichannel world, targeting news to particular audience tastes and needs can be based on arbitrary assumptions about what kind of news different audiences will consume and aiming for the lowest common denominator. This can create a self-fulfilling prophecy where, for example, young people only want celebrity news because that is what has dominated what they have been fed and a Catch 22 where people never know what it is that they are not being told.

Encourage a diversity of news media fairly portraying different worldviews and beliefs.

The diversity found in British media should be encouraged and enhanced by a self-aware media able to address its own shortcomings.

A recent YouGov Poll found that the proportion professing a faith was 21% amongst journalists, compared with 70% in society generally. Despite best efforts to be impartial or objective, the prevailing view in any group can lead to blindness towards the importance of other worldviews and beliefs.

A BBC Trust report on impartiality in the BBC , gives an example of a poorly informed view of religion, speaking of 'less and less religious education', while, in fact, Religious Studies, is one of the fastest growing subjects at both GSCE and A Level.

One remedy is better training. The BBC journalism college is one example but, amongst all the subjects of growing significance in the world, the module on religion is only optional. With the numbers of young journalists entering the media, there is a role for the provision of continuing professional education.

Prevent the formation of news monopolies.

Continuing vigilance is needed to prevent monopolies of news and information developing if the common good is to be served rather than simply commercial or market interests.

Neither compromise nor appear to compromise editorial independence.

Agendas have changed because the increasing number of outlets has made news a bulk commodity and reduced media profits. Comment and opinion is displacing straight news coverage in a form of competition between news sources. Quality newspapers have been accused of ‘dumbing down’ in order to gain the sort of readership valued by advertisers or, in the case of the BBC, to raise audiences and protect the licence fee.

 

September 3, 2007