31/05/ :59. The Study of the Mass Media. Part 2

Transcription

1 31/05/ :59 Ref No for Respondent: Ref No for Media: Date (day): Time: The Study of the Mass Media Part 2 May/June am/ pm In this part of the questionnaire we are interested in learning your reaction to what you have seen and read about during the last half hour. 1a. Which news item or story that you have just seen or read about did you find most interesting? 1b. Which news item or story that you have just seen or read about do you think was most important? 2. Overall, which of the following statements applies to the news items or stories that you have just seen or read about? Please circle one number per line... Fair Unfair Interesting Uninteresting Informative Uninformative Accurate Inaccurate Balanced Unbalances 3. On the whole, do you think the news items or stories you saw or read about got the facts right... Just about always Most of the time Only some of the time Or hardly ever/never? Don't Know 4.Overall, would you say that the news item or stories you saw or read about favoured one or more of the political parties, or were they fair to all parties? Favoured Conservatives Favoured Labour Favoured Liberal Democrats Favoured Other Fair to all parties Don't Know 1

2 5. The three main parties have made a number of promises during the election campaign. Which party made each of the following pledges, or don t you know? (Please tick one box per line). Abolish car tax on low polluting vehicles Abolish student fees throughout the UK Cut taxes by 8 billion Raise the minimum wage to 4.20 House all new asylum seekers in secure reception centres Keep the pound for the duration of the next parliament Create a Baby Bond saving fund for every child at birth Introduce paid paternity leave Raise income tax Labour Conserva tive Liberal Democrat Don t Know 6. Using the following scale, please indicate how much trust you have in the following No Trust Great Deal of Trust Politicians Civil servants Police officers Political parties Journalists 7. Talking to people about the general election, we have found that a lot of people are not likely to vote. What mark out of 10 best shows how likely you are to vote in the general election? Definitely Definitely will will not vote vote 8. We have a number of parties in Britain seeking your vote. Using the 0 to 10 scale, how likely is it that you would ever vote for each of the following parties? No chance of voting Would definitely vote Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrat Party 9. In politics, people sometimes talk about left and right. Using the following scale, where 0 means left and 10 means right, where would you place yourself? Left Right 2

3 10. Now we'd like to know what you think about each of the major political parties. What mark out of 10 best shows how much you like or dislike the following Dislike Like Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrat Party 11. We would now like to know what you think about each of the party leaders. Please show how much you like or dislike the following... Dislike Like Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy 12. Now, here is a quick quiz. Could you tell me if each of the following statements is true or false? (Please tick one box per line) A record number of asylum seekers came to Britain last year. Britain has separate elections for the European Parliament and the British parliament. Euro notes and coins are due to be introduced in most EU member states next year. No one may stand for parliament unless they pay a deposit. The basic rate of income tax has risen under Labour. The government has removed the automatic right of asylum seekers to get cash benefits. The longest time allowed between general elections is four years. The number of members of parliament is about 100. The overall rate of crime has gone down since The rate of unemployment in Britain has fallen during the last 12 months. Voting in British General Elections is based on proportional representation True False Don t Know 13. How interested are you in what's happening in politics at present? very interested fairly interested not very interested not at all interested 14a.Some people feel that government should cut taxes a lot and spend much less on health and social services. Other people feel that government should put up taxes a lot and spend much more on health and social services. On a scale from 0 to 10, where would you place Cut taxes/spending Put up taxes/spending Yourself The Conservative party The Labour party The Liberal Democrat party 3

4 14b. Some people feel that Britain should do all it can to unite fully with the European Union. Other people feel that Britain should do all it can to protect its independence from the European Union. On a scale from 0 to 10, where would you place Unite fully Protect independence Yourself The Conservative party The Labour party The Liberal Democrat party 15. Now we'd like to know about political activities you may have taken part in during the last five years. Please indicate if during this period you have.. (Tick if Yes ) Displayed an election poster in a window Signed a petition Written to your local councillor or MP Taken part in a political demonstration Worked for a party during a campaign 16. Can you tell us a few things about the news stories or items you have just seen or read about? a. What can you tell us about Liberal Democrats proposals on income tax? b. What can you recall about Labour s policy on Baby Bonds? c. And can you tell us the Conservative policy on asylum seekers? 17. Using the following scale, would you say you care a good deal which party wins the next general election, or that you don t care very much which party wins? Don t care Care a good very much deal 4

5 18. Some people are well known in the news while others are less well known. Can you tell us what position the following people hold (eg Tony Blair is Prime Minister)? Just leave blank if you don t know. George W. Bush John Prescott Vladimir Putin Michael Portillo Ariel Sharon Charles Kennedy Kofi Annan 19a. Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, or what? Labour Conservative Liberal Democrat Other (Please specify which party ) None 19b. Would you call yourself a very strong, fairly strong, or not very strong party supporter? Very strong Fairly strong Not very strong 20. Would you be prepared to answer a few more questions by telephone on a future occasion? Yes No If YES, what is your first name..last name If YES, could you list your daytime and evening telephone contact numbers? Please write in: Daytime:...Evening:. Thank you! Please hand this form to one of our researchers. 5