News Literacy in Bangladesh - National Survey

"People today have access to more information than any generation in history, yet many lack the knowledge and critical-thinking skills needed to navigate our challenging information ecosystem."

This report shares the results of a national survey that sought to explore news literacy among the population of Bangladesh. The research is intended partly as a baseline study against which future initiatives or interventions to develop news literacy can be measured, but also to provide suggestions towards formulating a national policy to promote news literacy in the country. The report forms part of the "Promoting News Literacy and Ethical Journalism" project being implemented by the Media Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) with the support of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Bangladesh.

As explained in the report, as a part of media literacy, news media literacy has the potential to foster increased news consumption, civic engagement, and democratic participation. The focus is on news literacy because "it addresses the knowledge and skills necessary to become a more mindful and skeptical news consumer who understands the relationship between journalists, news production, citizens, and democracy in changing media environments. The broad aims of news media literacy are to empower news consumers to seek useful and accurate information so that they may make informed decisions related to the political and social structures of society."

The study used two methods to collect data on the state of news literacy in Bangladesh: (i) face-to-face surveys with 1,209 respondents, 605 of whom were men and 604 of whom were women, all aged over 18. Among the respondents, 799 were from metropolitan cities, 250 from urban and 160 from rural areas; and (ii) ten focus group discussions (FGDs) were held to better understand how people respond to the types of questions and to authenticate the survey findings.

Potter's (2004) cognitive model of media literacy offers a theoretical framework for the study. According to this model, news media literacy varies according to: (i) the degree to which one engages in mindful versus automatic thought processing of news; (ii) the degree to which one engages in motivation for news consumption; (iii) the degree to which one perceives oneself as being in control versus the news media being in control of the influence of news media; and (iv) the knowledge one has of the institutions that produce news, the way in which the content of the news is produced, and the effects of that content on people. The research looked at these four components of media literacy and added on some components that looked specifically at news and in particular at news related to children's issues. The research, therefore, also investigated: (v) news media skepticism; (vi) news literacy and accuracy of information; and (vii) news literacy on child issues.

The following include some of the findings:

• About 18% of people living in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas of Bangladesh do not follow any news media. When asked what their reasons were for not following news media, 43% said they did not have the time, and 12.6% said they think following news media is a waste of time or they do not trust news media. Only 9.6% said they could not afford it.
• Television emerged as the most frequently used news media, with 84.4% of women and 65.3% of men identifying it as their main source of news. Facebook is the most popular source of news for 9.4% of respondents, while only 8.4% said newspapers were their main source of news, and 5% said they follow online news portals. Radio is the only type of media that is not used by most of the respondents on a typical weekday.
• About 27% of respondents said they use news media for more than one hour a day. The response rates do not vary notably on the basis of metropolitan, urban, or rural residence.

The method of the research divided the respondents into four broad categories based on their level of news literacy: Low, Very Low, High, and Very High. The news literacy of respondents was gauged by giving them a knowledge structure index score based on their knowledge of media industries, systems, and effects. The results show that:

• News literacy in Bangladesh is low: 76% of people in Bangladesh have a low news literacy rate, and 24% of people have high news literacy.
• The high news literacy group has sound and compound knowledge on news media systems, content, and media effects. The study found that younger people tend to be more news-literate than older people.
• Only journalists have a specific idea about the ownership of the media.
• About half of the people are not aware of the importance of checking the accuracy of information. Almost 17% of respondents never feel it is important to check the source of the news, and 15% never check what evidence the news story contains.
• The high news literacy group is more skeptical of the news media relative to those who are less literate.

Based on the findings, this study makes a number of recommendations to support policymakers to take action to increase the level of news literacy in Bangladesh. The recommendations include:

• A combined effort - Bangladesh needs a comprehensive, long-term effort to improve people's level of news literacy. Government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and media organisations can work together to make it easier for people to navigate the changing news media landscape and build skills that will last a lifetime. In this context, news literacy should be the goal of teachers, parents, researchers, administrators, and policymakers in Bangladesh.
• Greater access to information and media - Government should take steps to narrow the social gap that still separates people by their different socio-economic groups. Greater access to information, media, and technology - meaningful access - is needed, especially among less privileged people.
• A framework to enhance news literacy - Bangladesh needs an urgent effort to formulate a policy that would have as its main objective to provide comprehensive, high-quality, and systematic news and media education.

Other recommendations, which are supported by global examples, provide some detail about what could be included in a framework or policy on news literacy. These include: the need to introduce news literacy into formal education at an early age; the need for training to be provided for educators and adults; the need for civil society organisations to play a role in creating awareness around fake news and the importance of news literacy; and the need for the news industry itself to play an effective role in the promotion of news literacy projects.