The SOM Institute, an independent research organization at the University of Gothenburg, annually measures Swedes' attitudes towards the media. Almost all respondents, 87 percent, say it is important for them to be informed about news and current affairs.
At the same time, 61 percent believe that the majority of news is not important enough and 66 percent do not think that the media focuses on factual issues.
Just over half think that the Swedish media is guided by political agenda (52 percent) and 73 percent believe that too much focus is placed on the political game.
Right more skeptical
Men and older people to a greater extent than women and younger people believe that the Swedish media has a political agenda in their coverage.
42 percent of those who consider themselves to be "clearly on the left" on the political scale believe that there is a political agenda in the news, compared to 74 percent of those who consider themselves "clearly on the right".
Public service highest trust
When it comes to election coverage in 2022, SVT enjoys the greatest confidence with 71 percent, followed by Swedish Radio at 64 percent.
27 percent had confidence in Aftonbladet and 24 percent in Expressen.
The majority of respondents think it is a bad idea to shrink public service so that SVT and Sveriges Radio will only be allowed to broadcast news and narrow programs.
Even among those who have stated that they are politically "clearly on the right", 55 percent think it would be a bad idea.
The questionnaires were sent out in the autumn of 2022, the respondents are between 16 and 90 years old. The survey was sent out to 26,250 people, with a response rate of about 49 percent – 12,344. Not all respondents have answered all questions.
In the clip, Ulrika Andersson, associate professor, says that older people are more likely to think that the media has a political agenda in news coverage.