Trust in New Zealand’s news brands has increased over the past year, according to new surveying.
Authors of the Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report say it’s an early sign of stabilisation after five years of sharp decline. The report also found that approximately 60% of New Zealanders are ‘uncomfortable’ with news produced by AI.
The Science Media Centre asked experts to comment.
Associate Professor James Hollings, Journalism Programme Leader, Massey University, comments:
“It’s well established that in times of crisis people look for trusted sources of information, so it’s no surprise that the fall in news trust over the past five years has stabilised. It’s still a concern though, that New Zealanders’ trust in news has fallen so far in the past five years, and is now low internationally.
“It’s interesting that Stuff is the most popular outlet, but not the most trusted, which tends to reinforce another media truism, that what people say they want and what they actually consume are not the same. People might trust RNZ the most, but they don’t always want news they can trust.
“It’s also ironic that local news is what people most want, when the major brands (Stuff and NZ Herald) have so neglected this in recent years, at their cost. They have run down and closed so many local papers.
“Local crime and abuse of power flourish in the dark, out of the spotlight.
“Our political leaders could and should do a lot more to support local journalism in New Zealand. This survey shows that New Zealanders want that.”
Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts
Dr Ethan Plaut, Senior Lecturer in Communication, Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland, comments:
“People in New Zealand are passionate about news, but they’re also fed up with the untrustworthy AI-generated slop and other misinformation choking social media.
“In that chaotic global news environment of eroding trust, it makes sense we’re turning to reputable journalists right here on the ground in Aotearoa. Partly, that’s because people want local stories that affect their own lives.
“But amid the global instability of 2025, it’s also natural that we turn to familiar voices and trusted journalistic institutions to help make sense of that wider world too, and to figure out our places in it.”
Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts