Voters are putting greater trust in television than in other forms of media in the run-up to the general election on 7 June, according to a poll conducted by NOP for
Voters are putting greater trust in television than in other forms of media in the run-up to the general election on 7 June, according to a poll conducted by NOP for ITN.

The research revealed that broadcasters BBC and ITN have been the most trusted of all media during the first two weeks of the campaign.

The BBC's election news is considered the most trustworthy, with 77 per cent saying they trusted it a great deal or a fair amount with only 19 per cent saying they trusted it a little or not at all. ITN was slightly behind at 74 per cent with 22 per cent considering it biased or only trusting it a fair amount.

By comparison, all newspapers recorded a trustworthiness figure of 41 per cent with 45 per cent considering them biased. Labour and the Conservatives lagged behind with scores of 43 per and 34 per cent.

The survey, which was also conducted by ITN in the two previous general election campaigns in 1992 and 1997, revealed an increase in the perceived trustworthiness of television reports. In 1992 broadcasters were rated as 63 per cent trustworthy, with a score of 66 per cent in 1997.

ITN editor-in-chief Richard Tait explained that while people actively buy a newspaper with a political bias, they're aware of the paper's partisan outlook. 'They go into it with their eyes open,' he said. 'Viewers recognise that TV news is impartial. The research shows that even in a multichannel world people value their fixed points of newsgathering.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'It's good to see that viewers appreciate quality and variety in news coverage.'