A media analysis report by Mission Research has shown that reporting done by True North had a direct influence on people’s perceptions of the United Nations global migration compact and the two main party leaders, Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer.
True North advocates for smarter immigration policy by providing accurate and informative information on immigration and integration issues through investigative reporting and analysis.
True North commissioned the Mission Research report, “The Representation of the UN Migration Compact in the Canadian Media: Justin Trudeau vs. Andrew Scheer,” which analyzed over 150 articles to measure the impact of media coverage..
“(The study) focused on coverage of the relative positions and perspectives of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer in news coverage that appeared between November 1st and December 14th, 2018,” said Mission Research Vice President Lucas Marshall.
The report found Trudeau’s support of the UN migration compact, which True North opposed and covered on numerous platforms, received an impact score of -1.7, meaning his views were evaluated negatively by the media.
The research also notes that Trudeau’s favorability would have improved by 55 per cent had it not included coverage by True North. When omitting articles written by True North founder and Toronto Sun columnist, Candice Malcolm, Trudeau’s impact score would be a slightly less negative -1.1.
Scheer’s anti-compact position scored him a “neutral” rating of -0.8 across 97 articles. The report claims that his media impact would have fallen twofold had it not been due to the reporting by True North. Without Malcolm’s coverage of his position on the compact, Scheer would have had a negative score of -1.5.
When taking into account the entire articles surveyed, Trudeau was mentioned 41 per cent more frequently than Scheer in coverage of the migrant compact. However, when taking into account media coverage, Scheer’s position was overall represented more favourably.
The report concludes both party leaders would have benefited from a different media approach. In particular, Scheer would have scored far better had he taken “a more direct and systematic approach to shaping the narrative at an earlier stage in coverage.”
Trudeau would have been seen more favorably had he taken a role as a leading spokesman of the UN migrant compact.
The report is a clear indication that True North’s reporting and independent journalism in Canada is more important than ever.
