From November 9th- 25th, 2024, the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center (OVBC) conducted a statewide survey of Oregonians’ values and beliefs regarding consumer justice. The research was conducted to assist Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) in their commitment to advance consumer justice, shape an equitable and inclusive marketplace, and improve Oregonians’ rights as consumers through advocacy, legal support, community engagement, and consumer outreach.
The question numbers in this document correspond with the accompanying annotated questionnaire and tabs. Due to rounding, the percentages reported below may not add up to 100% or compare exactly to the percentages for the same question in the annotated questionnaire or tabs.
Included below for selected questions are noteworthy subgroup variations for age, gender, area of the state, BIPOC/white, etc. The accompanying set of tabs notes subgroup variations for all the questions.
Unless otherwise noted, each statement that summarizes noticeable differences captures a comparison within an identification category. For example, if reported that those 75 and older show a higher support of a particular statement, this captures a comparison to other age groups.
For survey full question wording, all statistically significant subgroup findings, and respondent quotes, readers are encouraged to refer to the accompanying documents located at the bottom of this post under “For More Information”: (1) annotated questionnaire, (2) crosstabulations, and (3) verbatim written responses spreadsheet (upon request).
KEY TAKEAWAY
- While most Oregonians express a level of trust in local news, and over half are satisfied with the organizations in their area, strong positive sentiment is limited. Dissatisfaction is often rooted in the quality, perceptions of bias, or availability of local news.
LOCAL NEWS – TRUST AND SATISFACTION
65% of Oregonians trust (either “a lot” or “somewhat”) information coming from local news organizations (Q8). 32% indicate lower levels of trust in local news, and 3% are unsure.
- Those earning $150,000 or more annually (41%) and Oregonians aged 75 and older (31%) are more likely to have “a lot” of trust in their local news organizations.
- Individuals with a four-year degree or higher (80%) are more likely to trust (either “a lot” or “somewhat”) local news.
- Oregonians earning $25,000 or less annually (44%), and those living in rural areas (41%) show less trust (“not too much” or “not at all”) in local news sources.
Most Oregonians are satisfied with their local news organizations (57%), although only 13% say they are “very satisfied” (Q9). In contrast, one in three respondents say they are somewhat (19%) or very (13%) dissatisfied with their local news coverage. 11% had no opinion about the local news quality in their area of Oregon.
- Willamette Valley is less satisfied than other areas of the state with its local news ecosystem. Only 46% of the region is satisfied with the current local news coverage.
- Rural areas (19%) are more likely to be “very dissatisfied” in the service of local news outlets
- Adults aged 18-29 (24%), individuals with a high school degree (20%), and those who earn $25,000 or less annually (19%) are more likely to say they have no opinion about local news.
Respondents were also asked to describe their satisfaction rating (Q10).
- Those who are satisfied mention their local news involvement in the community, consistency, and a feeling of authenticity to the reporting.
- Dissatisfied respondents often mention a lack of coverage or local news in their area, express concerns about bias or quality, or share negative perceptions of the organizations
The following are representative quotes from respondents who express either satisfaction or dissatisfaction with how local news serves their communities (Q10):
Satisfied:
“They seem to be authentic and want to deliver a message that is pure. Never had a reason to distrust.”
Man, age 30-44, Multnomah County, Asian
“I feel our local news does a great job covering all news stories. They are fair and honest.”
Woman, age 65-74, Marion County, White
“…they provide important, timely coverage on issues that directly impact my community, such as local politics, schools, and events. I appreciate their ability to focus on stories that might not get attention from larger, national outlets.”
Man, age 30-44, Benton County, White
“I’ve always depended on local news first to get the news about my community that I live in and then about Oregon in general news.”
Woman, age 75+, Deschutes County, Another race or ethnicity
Dissatisfied:
“Can’t get the local news all that easily in our rural community.”
Woman, age 45-54, Gilliam County, White
“Poor quality and biased.”
Man, age 45-54, Coos County, Hispanic or Latino
“We don’t have a real, reliable news source in Eugene. There are a couple of ‘weekly rags’ and a very small daily newspaper, but everytime there’s real news in the area we find out about it on Reddit then look for it in the daily paper in the following days and it’s almost never reported!”
Non-binary or gender non-conforming, age 30-44, Lane County, White
“Dislike the organizations.”
Man, age 18-29, Wallowa County, Asian, Black or African American, and White
“There is no investigative or even adequate reporting on issues in our area.”
Woman, age 55-64, Klamath County, White
METHODOLOGY
The online survey consisted of 1,763 Oregon residents ages 18+ and took approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. This is a sufficient sample size to assess Oregonians’ opinions and review findings by multiple subgroups. Respondents were contacted by using professionally maintained online panels. A variety of quality control measures were employed to gather responses, including questionnaire pre-testing, validation, and real-time monitoring of responses. To ensure a representative sample, demographic quotas were set, and data was weighted by area of the state, gender, age, and education.
OVBC surveys currently use aggregated data to analyze the opinions of BIPOC residents in comparison to the opinions of residents who identify as white and not another race. BIPOC residents are not a homogeneous population, instead, they represent a wide diversity of races and ethnicities. The findings included in this memo should not be construed such that all people of color are believed to share the same opinions. Disaggregated race data will be provided when sample sizes permit reliability.
Statement of Limitations:: Any sampling of opinions or attitudes is subject to a margin of error. The margin of error is a standard statistical calculation that represents differences between the sample and total population at a confidence interval, or probability, calculated to be 95%. This means that there is a 95% probability that the sample taken for this study would fall within the stated margin of error if compared with the results achieved from surveying the entire population. This survey’s margin of error for the full sample is ±2.33%
For More Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Oregon Values and Beliefs Center (OVBC): This research was completed by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center as a community service. OVBC is an independent and non-partisan organization and an Oregon charitable nonprofit corporation. Representative OVBC projects include a series of in-depth business interviews for the Columbia County Economic Team, as well as an extensive opinion research study about Oregonian’s values and beliefs, in partnership with over 20 organizations (Learn more about the 2023 Typology Study).
The Agora Journalism Center is focused on strengthening the local information landscape through fostering and nurturing community-centered journalism. The center released an assessment on Oregon’s local news ecosystem in 2022 and continues to be a resource for local journalists and editors.