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Reach or Trust Optimisation? A Citizen Trust Analysis in the Flemish Public Broadcaster VRT

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  • Ike Picone

    (imec-SMIT, Department of Communication Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium)

  • Karen Donders

    (imec-SMIT, Department of Communication Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium)

Abstract

In democracies, one of Public Service Media’s (PSM) main roles is to inform the public. In a digital news ecosystem, where commercial, citizen, and alternative news sources have multiplied, questions about the ability and need for PSM to fulfil this role are increasingly being raised. While the role of PSM can and should be scrutinized, a too-narrow a focus on an informed citizenry may obfuscate aspects, other than audience reach and objectivity, that are key to this information role, such as trust. Against this background, this article studies whether and to what extent citizens still trust the news and information services of their public broadcaster, asking if that trust is still high, whether there is a difference between groups in the population, and if trust is in line with reach. Based on a representative survey of news users in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking community of Belgium, the article studies the reach and trust scores of the brands of VRT, Flanders’ PSM, and compares them to those of its main competitors, with a specific focus on differences in terms of age, education levels, and political orientation. The results suggest that VRT struggles more than the main commercial players to reach young people and the lower-educated, but still leads when it comes to trust. The data show the continued importance of widening our assessment of PSM beyond market-focused indicators of reach.

Suggested Citation

  • Ike Picone & Karen Donders, 2020. "Reach or Trust Optimisation? A Citizen Trust Analysis in the Flemish Public Broadcaster VRT," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 348-358.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:348-358
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Soroka, Stuart & Andrew, Blake & Aalberg, Toril & Iyengar, Shanto & Curran, James & Coen, Sharon & Hayashi, Kaori & Jones, Paul & Mazzoleni, Gianpetro & Woong Rhee, June & Rowe, David & Tiffen, Rod, 2013. "Auntie Knows Best? Public Broadcasters and Current Affairs Knowledge," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(4), pages 719-739, October.
    2. Koen Panis & Steve Paulussen & Alexander Dhoest, 2019. "Managing Super-Diversity on Television: The Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Flemish Non-Fiction Programmes," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 13-21.
    3. Henry Allen & Sara Connolly & Shaun P. Hargreaves Heap, 2017. "Media pluralism: What matters for governance and regulation?," Journal of Media Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 47-64, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Melanie Magin & Birgit Stark, 2020. "More Relevant Today Than Ever: Past, Present and Future of Media Performance Research," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 239-343.
    2. Marína Urbániková & Klára Smejkal, 2023. "Trust and Distrust in Public Service Media: A Case Study From the Czech Republic," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 297-307.

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