Television continues to be the main source of information which is also the most reliable. However, Russians are less interested in the news programs in recent years.

MOSCOW, May 4, 2016.  Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the data of the survey devoted to the most popular and trustworthy media sources mentioned by Russians.

Most of Russians keep the track of political and economic events nationally and abroad (66%); however, the percentage of those who keep a close watch on the everyday agenda is 21%. They are mainly retired persons: 38% versus 10-13%; 45% follow news from time to time.

The basic source of national news is still television; however it is getting less popular (62% in 2015; 57% in 2016). Simultaneously, the Internet (information websites, social media and blogs) is used by 27% of respondents (22% in 2015).  This average figure is likely to grow in the future because for the time being the World Wide Web is the main source of news for 62% of the 18-24-year-olds and 47% of those aged 25-34. Radio, newspapers and magazines are mentioned rarer (3%, 3% and 1%, respectively).

Every fifth Russian (21%) says that modern news programs are not as interesting as they were several years ago; this figure has doubled compared to 2011 (8% in 2011). At the same time, the percentage of those who oppose them has considerably decreased: 34% today versus 55% in 2011.

But it does not prevent the central television programs from being an unconditional leader in the media trust rating. Today the trust index* regarding central television is 52 p., in a range between -100 and 100 p., (to compare, in 2007 it was 53 p.): three-quarters of Russians (75%) trust this media. The level of trust in regional television is lower (37 p.); however, the general percentage of respondents who favor this type of media is 65%. As to other media, less than half of Russians trust them; an absolute outsider is foreign programs, newspapers, magazines, etc. The trust index is negative (-42 p.); although this indicator has strengthened (from -56 p. in 2015), it is far from the 2007 level (21 p.).

In case there is a controversy in information provided by different media sources, the one that most of Russians (53%) choose is television; however there has been a decrease in the share of those who opt for television (60% in 2013). Twenty-two percent prefer websites and blogs. Russians also trust more in the “word of mouth” (7%) than the traditional mass media such as radio (3%), newspapers (2%) and magazines (less than 1%).

*Mass Media Confidence Index describes the level of trust in mass media. The higher the value of index is, the higher more reliable the media is. The Index is based on the question “Do you trust in the following mass media?”; the index is a difference of positive and negative answers, and can vary between -100 and 100 points.

The VCIOM survey is conducted on January 16-17, 2016, in 130 settlements, 46 regions and republics and 9 federal districts of Russia. The survey is based on community-based formalized face-to-face interviews and involved 1600 respondents, aged 18 and over. The margin of error is 3.5% at the 95% confidence level. The survey is conducted with multi-stage stratified sample based on general rule of walking and quotas at the final selection stage (representative Russian sample include sex, age, education and type of settlement). Apart from the margin of error, minor changes in question wording and different circumstances arising during the field work should be taken into account.

* In 2014, this answer option was not offered

* In 2007, 2012, this answer option was not offered

* In 201, this answer option was not offered

Note: Using materials from the website www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory.