New Zealanders Turning Their Backs on News Outlets: Survey

Trust in news has dropped to an all-time low in New Zealand, as the number of people actively avoiding the news rises.

Prime Minister and National Party leader Christopher Luxon speaks during a media stand-up at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on Nov. 3, 2023. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

More New Zealanders (NZers) than ever are turning their backs on the news, and an increasing number don’t trust it.

Each year, the Auckland University of Technology’s Centre for Journalism Media and Democracy (JMAD) surveys over 1,000 people to gauge their opinion of the country’s news media, and each year, for publishers and broadcasters, the picture looks bleaker than the previous year.