GMA Network enjoys highest trust score among major news brands — Reuters study

GMA Network continues to enjoy the highest trust score among major news brands for the third straight year with a 74% brand trust rating according to the 2023 Digital News Report (DNR) by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

GMA Network’s 74% brand trust rating is higher than the Kapuso Network's score last year at 70%.

Super Balita DZBB, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, DZRH, the Philippine Star and TV 5 all tied at second place with a 68% score.

Ranking third among most trusted news brands is Teleradyo with 66%, followed by ABS-CBN which posted a 62% rating.

Regional or local newspapers as well as state-run PTV-4 and Radyo Pilipinas ranked fourth with a 61% brand trust score, followed by 58% of Sunstar.

According to the DNR, the overall trust in news in the Philippines improved to 38% from 27% last year.

“Overall trust in news, boosted to some extent by the COVID-19 pandemic as Filipinos came to rely more on the news media, remains stable at 38%. Many of the longest established media brands such as GMA Network and the Philippine Daily Inquirer have relatively high levels of trust but some independent outlets respected for their reporting on those in positions of power are often actively distrusted by supporters of the politicians in question and subject to coordinated harassment, so scores should not be seen as a measure of the quality or trustworthiness of the content,” the report read.

Widest reach

Aside from being the most trusted news brand, GMA Network also scored the highest reach in the country both online and offline (TV, radio, and print).

The Kapuso Network dominated audience share online, with GMA News Online scoring the highest weekly reach at 48%.

GMA News Online was followed by ABS-CBN News Online at 40%, Philippine Daily Inquirer at 36%, and Yahoo News and Rappler which both scored 26%.

Offline, GMA Network is the highest at 53% weekly reach, finishing comfortably ahead of the ABS-CBN’s 44%.

Daily broadsheet newspapers Philippine Daily Inquirer  and The Philippine Star finished far third and fourth with 28% and 27%, respectively, while CNN Philippines settled for third place with 24% reach.

“Radio and TV brands remain the most popular media overall in the Philippines, with the big GMA Network having a dominant audience share: 53% accessed it offline and 48% online. In February, the network began broadcasting morning news programmes in several regions, further boosting local TV news,” the report added.

The  Reuters study has been commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the  Study of Journalism to understand how news is being consumed in a  range of countries.

The research was conducted by YouGov using an online  questionnaire at the end of January/beginning of February this year. Samples were assembled using nationally representative  quotas for age, gender, and region in every market.

Education quotas were also applied in all markets except Kenya, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, and  Thailand.

Political quotas were also applied based on vote choice  in the most recent national election in around a third of the markets, including the United States, Australia, and much of  Western Europe.

The data in all markets were weighted to targets based on census/industry accepted data. — LA, GMA Integrated News