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98 pct of Russians turn on TV to learn the news, but many distrust it

He said the polls were conducted in 2008-2011

MOSCOW, November 2 (Itar-Tass) —— An overwhelming majority of Russians - 98 percent - use central television channels as their main source of information, but the credibility of television newscasts has been dwindling over the years, the chief of the national public opinion studies center, Valery Fyodorov, said on Wednesday.

He said the polls were conducted in 2008-2011. The pollsters questioned an audience of 1,600 aged over 18 in 46 regions, territories and republics of Russia.

“According to the statistics that we have received over the past three years it is possible to make only one conclusion. Central television remains the main and most massively-used source of news. It is used by 98 percent of Russians,” Fyodorov said. Next in importance is the regional press (71 percent) and central press (71 percent). The Internet is preferred by 60 percent of the population.

Fyodorov also said that over the past several years the “level of confidence in most sources of information has been dwindling.”

“First and foremost this concerns central and regional television. The sole source of information whose credibility has been growing is the Internet,” Fyodorov said.