Opinion balance of news in the time of mistrust in media and democratic institutions

Abstract

The paper deals with the opinion balance of news in television broadcasting. In the context of ever-increasing mistrust in traditional media and democratic systems and the polarization of society, we try to point out the current state of media production in this specific area, considering its possible consequences for the perception of the media by the recipients. They are increasingly turning to alternative or even disinformation media to obtain information other than mainstream. In our research part, we are looking for a current state of the balance of opinions, which should be part of well-functioning and objective reporting and should inspire people’s trust in television broadcasting. The article offers the results of research carried out on a sample of 374 television contents broadcast by the public broadcaster RTVS and the authorized broadcaster TV Markíza in the period from February 12th, 2023, to March 25th, 2023. From the data, it is possible to conclude that there are deficiencies in television news from the point of view of maintaining impartiality in broadcasting