The hype about MySpace, YouTube, and Internet campaigning is turning out to be just that — hype. Social networking, blogs and political parties' websites are affecting voter opinion in the United States far less than the recent buzz would suggest. Few people use them for political information, and even fewer trust them. According to a recent Nucleus survey, traditional print media is far more trusted than any other source.
According to a survey conducted in June 2007 by Nucleus Research and KnowledgeStorm, 72 percent of respondents report that mainstream media (MSM) such as newspapers and magazines are their primary sources for political information. More than 56 per cent of respondents also cite these mediums as the sources that they trust the most when seeking to gain political knowledge.
As the six-month race to the first presidential primaries begins, much attention has focused on some candidates’ presence on the Internet. Obama Girl, Hillary Clinton’s spoof on the Sopranos, and the various sites covering the candidates and campaigns has some traditional media worried about their Internet investment strategy. When Nucleus Research and KnowledgeStorm undertook a survey to better understand the impact and effectiveness of streaming media in political campaigning, it found the buzz about Internet influence ― at least at this point in the campaign ― was much ado about nothing.
When asked about their primary sources of political information, respondents cited print media, network television news, and cable television news as their primary information sources. Only 19 per cent used candidates' websites as a source of information, and even fewer (14 perccent) used political parties' websites.
Interestingly, more people looked to candidates’ self-generated Web campaign sites (19 per cent) for information than to alternative television news programs such as the Jon Stewart show (18 per cent). A large portion of respondents that selected other noted National Public Radio and other national and international radio broadcasts as key sources of information.
People trust traditional print media more than five times as much as most of the information they access on the Internet, the survey found. People still trust print media far more than any other source for political and election-related news, with more than 56 per cent of respondents citing newspapers and magazines as the source they trust most. Least trusted sources included candidates' websites, political party websites, alternative news, and YouTube and MySpace.
"There’s been tremendous publicity surrounding how many 'friends' candidates have on MySpace, the 'Obama Girl' video on YouTube and Bill and Hillary's Soprano’s spoof," said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research for Nucleus Research. "While these stories are entertaining, the fact of the matter is that people trust and rely upon what they learn from MSM more than five times as much as the information they access on the Internet."
The survey also found that only 51 per cent of people feel as though they have a clear understanding of what the candidates stand for. This finding helps to explain why many voters hold MSM in such high esteem. Results suggest that voters are anxious to learn more about their potential leaders, but do not have the time to sift through what’s fact, fiction or propaganda on sponsored Web sites, or less traditional media outlets such as blogs.
"Candidates have rushed to create an 'Internet persona' to keep pace with our tech-savvy society, but at a significant cost," said Jeff Ramminger, executive vice president, KnowledgeStorm. "When it comes to believability, Nucleus’ research has found that MSM still holds the most weight. The results of the Nucleus survey prove that what is perceived as most edited and vetted remains the most trusted."
