While the bias in news reporting and political lineage of media organizations are areas of serious debate in India, a survey conducted by American think tank Pew Research Center says that Indian media performs well in terms of almost all parameters compared to their counterparts in the US.
While 47 percent people of the US agreed that the news media in the country is doing well at reporting, 65 percent of people in India agreed with the media in the country in terms of their reporting.
About 80 percent people in India believe that the news media in the country are accurate, while only 56 percent of Americans believe so.
In the coverage of most important news events, 72 percent Indians are satisfied with the news media. 61 percent of Americans also shared the same view in the survey.
While Indians consider the media to be more or less fair in covering political issues, the people of the US showed distrust in the coverage of political issues by the media. This is evident in the survey whereas 65 percent Indian respondents consider the media to be fair, while only 47 percent of Americans trust their media in political reporting.
In the area of news about government leaders and officials, 72 percent Indians believe media is doing a good job whereas only 58 percent Americans think so.
The survey was conducted among 41,953 respondents in 38 countries from Feb. 16 to May 8, 2017. In addition, the study also focuses on individuals’ use of the internet and social media to get news, as well as the types of news people, follow.
“Digital technology is influencing news habits across the globe, though its use is still far from universal. Overall, a median of 42% among the 38 countries surveyed says they get news on the internet at least once a day. In 14 countries, half or more adults get news online daily,†said the report.
The survey also found that people are much less interested in news about other countries (global median of 57 percent). In only six countries do more than two-thirds say they pay close attention to news about the rest of the world. People outside of the US express a similarly low level of interest in news specifically about the US.
According to the survey, people follow the local news more than national news in just two countries – India and Indonesia.