Lack of interest in news ‘has impact on democracy’
More than a third (38%) of Swiss don’t follow the news. Young adults in particular are no longer interested in current affairs, according to an annual survey of the Swiss media landscape.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ts
Português
pt
Falta de interesse em notícias “tem impacto na democracia”.
This is a problem for democracy, as people who don’t follow the news are less likely to take part in the political process and less likely to trust political institutions, concluded the fög research institute at the University of Zurich in its Yearbook Quality of the Media 2022External link, published on Monday.
Young adults were found to consume only seven minutes of news a day on their smartphones, an important source of various information for this age group. Little was known about their use of the smartphone as a news source until now. Therefore this year the fög monitored the mobile media use of 300 people aged 19-24.
The finding of seven minutes of daily news consumption confirmed the news abstinence of younger people that has been observed for several years. While men consumed 11 minutes of news a day, women consumed five minutes.
This has an impact on democracy, Fög said. Voter turnout is particularly high (70%) among people who inform themselves with traditional media such as newspapers, radio or television – not intensively, but regularly.
By contrast, the voter turnout of people who don’t follow the news is drastically lower at 30%. Typical for this group of 38% of the population is also the lower interest in politics and the higher distrust of the government.
More
More
Broad support for direct funding of Swiss media
This content was published on
The idea of giving direct funding to the media has broad support, but voters may get to decide on the issue next year.
The fög notes that the overall quality of the Swiss media has increased despite dwindling resources.
The top places in the four quality dimensions of relevance, diversity, classification performance and professionalism are occupied, as in previous years, by the information broadcasts of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company.
SWI swissinfo.ch was also explicitly praised by fög for its high score, especially for its relevant reporting and the increase in background information.
More
More
Media consumers alive to threat of fake news
This content was published on
The Covid-19 pandemic has made consumers of media more sensitive to the dangers of false or misleading information.
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Switzerland ticks differently with social media laws
This content was published on
Fake news, conspiracy theories, censorship: the reputation of social media seems at an all-time low. Can it ever be a boon for democracy again?
Attack on public broadcasting licence fee clearly fails
This content was published on
A large majority of voters reject a proposal to do away with the mandatory licence fee for Switzerland’s public broadcasters.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.