A Survey of Public Trust in Mass Media as Democratic Building Institution in Nigeria

Abstract

 Institutional trust in the mass media as a source of information about government is one of the key indicators of the quality of democracy. Conceptually, it recognizes and positions the mass media as a major structure that shapes democracy by its operating system and content, therefore requiring an acceptable measure of public confidence. To determine the quality of democracy in a given country, a systematic knowledge of the degree of trust members of the public have in the media institutions that provide them information about their government is essential. The paper reports the outcome of a survey conducted on the situation of public trust in mass media institutions in Nigeria. The study specifically answers a set of questions on the measure of public trust in mass media as a source of information about government activities in Nigeria; the variation in the levels of trust between public and private media and the major reasons for the direction of trust in media institutions in the country. A cross-tabulation analysis was carried out to determine how age demography may relate to trust in the mass media. Results show a significant level of public trust in mass media as information source about government activities in Nigeria. However, private media enjoys higher, though not statistically significant, level of public trust than public media institutions. The major reasons for the direction of trust range between ownership nature and perceived degrees of editorial independence in servicing the public with information about the government. The study also suggests a higher level of trust in the media among lower age members of the public in inverse progression, thus raising a concluding assumption that traditional mass media institutions hold greater potentials for shaping the future of democratic developments in the country.