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Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Press Praised for Coverage of China's Product Problem
News Interest Survey Also Finds Public Mostly Relied on Traditional Media to Deliver the iPhone Message
Americans are often critical of the news media for such malefactions and deficiencies as overreporting some stories and underreporting others. So it is worth noting when the public registers general satisfaction with coverage of a matter of considerable interest to much of the citizenry.
The latest Pew News Interest Index reports such an occurrence relating to the news that, in recent weeks, Chinese products including certain brands of toys, toothpaste and seafood have either been recalled or banned. This comes on the heels of the largest pet food recall in U.S. history earlier this year. The survey from which the weekly index is derived found that news about safety issues involving food and other products from China attracted a moderate audience despite relatively little coverage (1% of the newshole for the week). One-in-four Americans paid very close attention to this unfolding story and 9% said it was the story they followed most closely.
And, for the most part, the public does not believe that news organizations are exaggerating or underplaying problems with products from China. Fewer than a quarter (23%) say news coverage is making the situation sound like a bigger problem than it really is; 11% say the coverage makes it sound like a smaller problem than it really is. Overall, the public believes news coverage of these safety issues has been generally accurate (53%).
Traditional media were also the main conduit through which news about the latest phenomenon in hi-tech communication reached the public, the survey found.
As the much-anticipated Apple iPhone hit the stores on June 29, a large majority of Americans had heard at least something about the new product. Fully 46% of the public had heard a lot about the iPhone, and another 37% had heard a little. Just 16% say they have heard nothing at all about the new phone.
The vast majority of those who have heard something about the iPhone say they have been hearing most about it from traditional news sources like television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Only 13% have heard about it mainly on the internet, and even fewer (5%) have heard about it from people they know.
Young people have heard the most about the iPhone -- fully 59% have heard a lot about it. They are also much more likely than those over age 30 to have heard about the iPhone from internet sources rather than traditional media. Nonetheless, 68% of those ages 18-29 who have heard about the iPhone are hearing most about it from traditional sources, compared with 24% who are hearing most about the iPhone from internet sources.