A Public's Environmental Information Sources and Evaluations of Mass Media

Abstract

Which mass media sources of environmental information are used most frequently by a public? What is a public's perception of the quality of environmental content provided by journalists and newscasters? Partial answers to these questions are based on telephone surveys among 336 Ithaca, New York, residents in April 1984. Newspapers and television emerged as most frequently used media, but other media were preferred for believable information. Educated segments of the sample used television less for environmental news than did less educated segments and tended to reject television as a believable source, preferring print media other than newspapers as believable sources of scientific information on the environment. The sample generally held a negative evaluation of media personnel performance on four criteria—lack of balance, biased political orientation, sensationalism, and tendency to select so as to maximize audience. A slim majority thought environmental media messengers told the truth.