Earlier this summer, Katz asked Americans across the country about media trust. Cognizant of the current history-making election cycle, Katz followed up the study with another probe - this time into the mindset of voters. Once again, respondents were asked how trustworthy they found the following sources of information: radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and social media. The resounding theme amongst voters during this contentious political cycle is that one media is proving to be a unifying force, trusted across political lines: AM/FM radio.
VOTERS PLACE THEIR TRUST IN RADIO
Katz's study found that radio is the most trusted media among voters, with 8 in 10 considering it to be very trustworthy or trustworthy. Radio surpassed newspapers by +5% and magazines by double digit margins. +23% more voters expressed trust in radio than TV, where the lion's share of political ad budgets are typically spent. Once again, social media earned the undesirable status of the least trusted media, with just over a quarter of voters putting faith in it. Radio was deemed trustworthy by nearly 3x as many voters as social media.
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RADIO TRUST CROSSES THE POLITICAL AISLE WHILE OTHER MEDIA WAVER
As different as parties' political ideologies are, media trust tends to follow suit with sizeable shifts across party lines. Democrats as a whole expressed the highest level of trust in all media types when compared to their political counterparts. Conversely, Republicans displayed the lowest level of trust in every media, with one exception: social media. Independents took an even harsher view of social media than Republicans, with only 20% putting faith in it (10 points below Republicans and 12 points below Democrats).
The most polarized media, experiencing the largest trust spread between parties, was TV. While 80% of Democrats reported having faith in TV, Republicans clocked in 26 points lower. Similar patterns were seen with newspapers and magazines, as Republican trust trailed the Democrats by more than 20 points each. Likewise, Independents saw double-digit spreads between their trust levels for TV, newspapers, magazines, and social media, when compared to party voters.
The one media where Katz found a consensus in trust across parties and Independents was AM/FM radio. Radio earned the top spot as the most trusted media among both Independent and Republican voters, with comparable numbers (80% and 78%, respectively). Democrats reported similar, but even higher trust in radio, at 84%, though it placed 2nd, behind newspapers. While voters wavered in the level of trust they are willing to place in media across parties and Independents, they largely trust what they hear on the radio.
WHEN IT COMES TO TRUST, WHY WAIT?
For many political campaigns, radio tends to be utilized as a "home stretch" media, with candidates hitting the airwaves in the last few weeks before an election. But Nielsen found that "early and often" was key to maximum campaign impact for contentious races in swing states. Campaigns holding out on radio are underutilizing a powerful platform to get their message out at all stages of the election cycle. Radio is a trusted environment with vested local connections to consumers of all political affiliations, including swing voters. Candidates using radio can be sure they're reaching large audiences of voters on a platform where their voice will be heard - and trusted.