The Fairness in News study, released today, reveals that while MPs and reporters agree on many elements of fairness in journalism, they disagree over reporting on public figures’ private lives, quoting unnamed sources, reporting off-the-record conversations, and the use of hidden cameras and tape recorders.

“In these areas, we see very clearly that MPs are closer to public perceptions than are the journalists,” says York University professor Fred Fletcher, study co-author and Past Chair of the Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC), which commissioned the research.

The study found that 86% of journalists believe it’s very important to protect the confidentiality of unnamed sources, but only 56% of MPs share this opinion. Nearly half (49%) of the public disapprove of the use of unnamed sources altogether.

MPs were similarly in line with public opinion regarding the privacy of public figures; 43% of MPs and 52% of the public believe that scrutiny of political leaders’ personal and ethical behaviour is excessive, compared with 11% of journalists.

The findings are based on interviews with 61 MPs and 64 journalists in the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery, conducted by Pollara earlier this year. Data on public opinion was provided by the CMRC’s 2003 “Views of the Public” survey.

“We’re hoping this study will fuel debate among journalists and news executives, as well as suggest potential courses of action,” Fletcher says.

Other significant findings include:

• Only half of the journalists surveyed and fewer than one-in-four MPs were aware of the existence of journalistic codes; fewer than 20% of journalists reported referring to such codes.

• MPs and journalists agree that knowledge of a subject is an important basis for fair journalism and most journalists agree they are not as knowledgeable as they should be.

• Nearly half of the journalists and just under two-thirds of the MPs reported dissatisfaction with the variety of regional viewpoints in the news.

• One-in-four journalists indicate that their news stories are sometimes influenced by their own ideological or political views. The vast majority of MPs believe that reporters let their own political preferences influence the way they report the news.

• The main reason journalists say their stories are influenced by their own political views is their inability to remain completely impartial when reporting on issues on which they have opinions and views. 

• Journalists’ biggest challenge in making their coverage fair is access to information and sources, which ranked even higher than time constraints and deadlines.

About the study:

The Fairness in News Study arose from concerns about defining fairness and journalistic accountability expressed in recent court cases and in various journalistic forums. It is based on the findings of a Pollara research survey commissioned earlier this year by the CMRC and analyzes the perceptions of fairness in the news held by 61 Members of Parliament and 64 journalists in the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery. Detailed findings and methodology are available on the CMRC website.

The study was co-authored by Fred Fletcher, professor emeritus of communication studies and political science at York University, and André Turcotte, professor of communication at Carleton University and Research Director of the Fairness in the News Project.

About the consortium:

The Canadian Media Research Consortium is a partnership of the University of British Columbia School of Journalism, the York Ryerson Graduate Program in Communication and Culture and the Centre d'études sur les médias at Université Laval. The consortium is committed to conducting applied research on issues of importance to Canadians with particular emphasis on important economic, social and cultural issues related to technological change in the media and sharing those findings with scholars, media and the public.

Media contact:

Melissa Hughes, Media Relations, York University: 416 736 2100 x22097 / mehughes@yorku.ca .

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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