GMA Network Inc. had the highest trust rating among major news brands in the Philippines for the fourth straight year, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s 2024 Digital News Report (DNR) found.
The Kapuso network scored a 72% brand trust rating, compared to the 74% rating in 2023, based on a survey that asked respondents to scale local news brands from 0 or “not at all trustworthy” to 10 or “completely trustworthy” in terms of trust in the news output of brands.
GMA Network was followed by TV5 with 67%; the Philippine Daily Inquirer with 66%; and Manila Bulletin, Super Radyo dzBB, and The Philippine Star all with a 65% rating.
They were backed by ABS-CBN and DZRH with 64%; local or regional newspapers and TeleRadyo with 60%; Radyo Pilipinas with 59%; state-run PTV with 58%; SunStar with 53%; Abante with 49%; and Rappler with 46%.
However, the Reuters Institute emphasized that only the mentioned brands were included in the survey, and results “should not be treated as a list of the most or least trusted brands as it is not exhaustive.”
The overall trust in news was 37%, which the Reuters Institute described as “stable” with many of the legacy brands having a relatively high level of trust, while some independent outlets have been “distrusted” by supporters of politicians in question, and have been the subject of harassment.
GMA Network’s online platform GMA News Online had the highest weekly use with 45%, followed by ABS-CBN News online with 40%, the Philippine Daily Inquirer online with 30%, Rappler with 23%, and the Philippine Star online, TV5 News online, and Yahoo! News with 21%.
In terms of offline reach, covering television, radio, and print, GMA Network also recorded the highest weekly use with 47%, followed by ABS-CBN with 40%, the Philippine Daily Inquirer with 27%, TV5 with 23%, and Manila Bulletin with 22%.
“Online and social media remain the most popular sources of news in the Philippines, with our more urban sample. TV and radio news is important for those who are not online, but reach has declined over the last five years,” said the Reuters Institute.
The same report showed that 82% of Filipinos got their news from online platforms, 63% from social media, 46% from television, and 13% from print.
The Digital News Report is based on a YouGov survey of individuals from 47 countries, conducted at the end of January or the beginning of February 2024. The Philippines had a sample size of 2,014 for the latest survey period.
GMA News Online is the official news platform of GMA Network Inc. — DVM, GMA Integrated News
