Cypriots prefer television as their main source for news

Television remains the main source of news in both Cyprus and the EU, with online news platforms and social media following at higher percentages than the EU average, according to the findings of a flash Eurobarometer published by the European Parliament.

Responding to a question on which media they have used more in the past seven days to get informed about the news (and given the option of multiple choice), 63% of respondents in Cyprus chose television (75% in the EU), 59% chose online news platforms (43% in the EU), 57% chose social media and blogs (26% in the EU) and 25% chose radio (39% in the EU).

Only 9% of the respondents in Cyprus said they get their news from print media, compared to 21% on average in the EU.

Those over 55 of age, both in Cyprus (70%) as well as the EU (85%) ranked television in first place. Television was also the first choice on average in the EU in the 40 - 54 (75%) and 25 - 39 (64%) age groups. In Cyprus, online news platforms were the top choice for those aged 40 - 54 (72%) and social media and blogs for those aged 25 - 39 (62%).

However, the first choice of the 15 - 24 age group was television both in Cyprus (60%) as well as the EU (58%).

Responding to a question about which source of news they consider the most trustworthy (and given a maximum of three choices), 45% of respondents in Cyprus selected public television and radio (compared to 49% in the EU), 36% chose private TV and radio (27% in the EU) and 34% chose print media (39% in the EU).

Responding to a question about which subjects interest citizens more, local news ranked first place (66%) followed by European and international stories (47%), crimes and accidents (46%), sports (37%), national politics (35%), science and technology (32%) and economic affairs.

In the EU average, the most popular choice was news on national politics (50%), followed by local news (47%), European and international news (46%), sports (34%) and economic affairs (34%).

The survey was carried out through online surveys conducted by Ipsos European Public Affairs using a sample of 52,347 persons in all 27 member states, 552 of which were in Cyprus.