Nine out of ten members of the general public say they will not be influenced by a single newspaper, website or news broadcaster when it comes to making a decision on who to vote for in the general election – a Press Gazette poll has found.
Out of 1,000 British adults quizzed by polling firm iCD Research – on behalf of Press Gazette – 903 said they were not influenced by the media when it came to deciding how to vote.
The Sun withdrew its support from Labour last year the day after Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s speech to the Labour Party Conference and has since been a supporter of David Cameron’s Conservatives. It famously published a front page story saying it was “THE SUN WOT WON IT” for Mrs Thatcher after supporting the Conservatives in the 1992 general election.
The Press Gazette poll suggests the overall influence of the nation’s biggest selling daily newspaper on the voting habits of the general public may not be as strong as many previosly thought.
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Of the 97 respondents that said they thought they would be influenced by a particular publication when it comes to deciding who to vote for at the next general election, just five people, half a per cent of the overall sample, said they would be swayed by The Sun.
BBC News – across its online, radio and television outlets – was the organisation with the most influence on the public. Five per cent (53 of the 1,000) of the total number of respondents said it was likely to influence their decision.
The Times and the ITV national news were the next highest influencers of opinion on voting with seven respondents saying each outlet would be most likely influence their decision.
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Four survey respondents each said Sky News and the Daily Mail newspaper could influence the way they vote, while Channel Four News, ITV regional news, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and non-newspaper blogs were said by two respondents each to be an influence their voting.
A full breakdown of results can be found in the April edition of Press Gazette: Subscribe to Press Gazette magazine
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