Business Standard among top 10 trusted media brands in India: Reuters Institute Survey

Amid coronavirus pandemic, legacy print brands and government broadcasters, DD News (Doordarshan) and All India Radio, retained high levels of trust among consumers in India, showed a survey. Print brands, in general, are more trusted than television brands, which are far more polarised and sensational in their coverage, according to a survey by The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Business Standard finds spot among the top 10 trusted media brands in India, the survey stated.

The coronavirus pandemic stoked hunger for trusted news in a time of global crisis and a clear majority of people want media organisations to be impartial and objective, Reuters Institute said on Wednesday.  The Times of India topped the list, followed by DD News, AIR, BBC and The Indian Express. Other in the top 10 include Economic Times, Hindustan Times, The Hindu and CNN.

The data for the survey is based on responses mainly from English-speaking, online news users in India. The respondents are generally more affluent, younger, have higher levels of formal education, and are more likely to live in cities than the wider Indian population.

The pandemic has hit print circulation and decreased advertisements, leading companies to slash salaries, cut jobs, and close editions across the country due to the drastic decline in economic activity in one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. The industry has also had to cope with reduced government and commercial advertisement spending, which fell by more than half since the start of the pandemic.

India is one of the strongest mobile-focused markets in the global survey, with 73% accessing news through smartphones and just 37% via computer. India has more than 600 million active internet users, many of whom access the internet only through mobile phones – aided by low data charges and cheap devices.

Trust = % scored 6-10 on 10-point scale. Don’t trust = 0-4, Neither = 5. Those that haven’t heard of each brand were excluded.

"We've been through a very dark time and much of the public recognise that news organisations have often been the ones shining light in that darkness," said Rasmus Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute.

"There has been a greater appreciation of trustworthy news overall," he told Reuters. "It's very clear in our research, in country after country, in age group after age group, that large majorities want journalism to try to be neutral."

With inputs from Reuters