Indians trust print media for credible news | Economic Times

Mumbai: Print has emerged as the most credible media vehicle for news over other traditional and digital media platforms, as per a latest survey by media consulting firm Ormax Media. In terms of credibility, print media comes first scoring 62% on the news credibility index, followed by radio with 57% and TV news with 56%. The findings have come at a time when it is getting increasingly difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction across social media platforms and fake news is emerging as a growing menace.Ormax Media’s survey of ‘News Credibility Index’ takes into account responses from 2,400 urban news consumers of over 15 years of age from across 17 states and union territories in India.78158916As per the report, 61% news consumers see fake news as a major concern.“Concerns related to fake news have been a topic of discussion globally, as well as in India, and the problem of fake news seems to be getting bigger with every passing month,” said Shailesh Kapoor, founder & CEO, Ormax Media.“I have no doubt that print will continue to be the most credible media for many more years to come. When you see it in print, it’s the most curated and verified reporting. Which is why people wait for the newspaper to confirm what they have read on digital or social media,” said Sivakumar Sundaram, chairman, executive committee, BCCL. “In India, newspapers are not merely a provider of news, but an integral part of our everyday life,” he added.“Going forward, we plan to conduct this survey every six months to track the perception of news consumers regarding fake news with time,” Kapoor added.He told ET that ideally, TV news should be at par with print news but it isn’t and thats turning out to be “a big problem” for TV.The survey also puts to the rest the assumptions that traditional media is losing its credibility faster and that digital news will hold an edge over traditional media.Especially with the increase in penetration of digital and social media, the credibility of such platforms has plummeted to 32% for social media and 29% for messenger apps like WhatsApp.Within digital apps, respondents find Twitter the most credible social media platform for news by far.With 53% Twitter is close to TV in terms of media credibility, while all other popular platforms score poorly, including Telegram (31%), Facebook (30%), Instagram (29%) and WhatsApp (28%).Kapoor said that while in India the issue has not become large enough, unlike in US and UK, where fake news and propaganda resulted in election manipulation but there is a clear and present danger in India too.“If it is not addressed by the industry, it can become a much bigger issue in the next couple of years,” he concluded.