Newspoll finds ABC Valued by 91% of Australians

Research conducted by Newspoll indicates “that an overwhelming majority of
Australians (91%) valued the ABC.”

Speaking at the Melbourne Press Club ABC MD Russell Balding announced the
findings of a survey undertaken during June 2002. The report follows
similar surveys by Newspoll in 1998 and 1999.

Highlights of the survey include:

· 91% of respondents believed the ABC provides a valuable service to the
community, up from 86% in 1999.

· 78% (up from 75%) rated the quality of ABC programming as good, compared
to 43% for commercial television.

· 65% in country and regional areas rated the quality of ABC radio
programming as good compared to 52% for commercial radio.

· Of the 18% of Australians who use the ABC website, 90% believe it provided
good quality information (up from 83% in 1999).

· 79% of respondents believe the ABC is balanced and even-handed when
reporting news and current affairs, consistent with previous surveys.

· ABC 7pm television news, the 7.30 Report, AM and PM, and the World Today
all rated very highly on the question of balance and even-handedness,
scoring 95, 89, 89, and 86 per cent respectively among viewers/listeners.