TDMG issued a political and communications poll to our general news audience on the 11th February to hear the community’s ideas and feedback. Of this poll around 100 respondents completed it from our outlets Slam! News (on YouTube) and Signal News (broadly accessed). This poll was not distributed through our email list or was promoted in other ways.

This survey was independently initiated and not funded or endorsed by any group. Due to the selective, non-random nature of this survey this cannot credibility be used to make generalizations or represent the mainstream Australian public

Understanding Our Audience

We confirmed that our audience is predominantly comprised of young people, with over 70% of our audience under 25 and 88% of our audience under 34. Despite our attempts at political balance saw an overrepresentation of what would be described as “left wing”, “progressive” or “left leaning” with 43% of respondents being Labor, and 21% aligning with the greens.

Historically TDMG’s news brands had been slightly right leaning from informal polling, and recent polls on social media display a much larger percent of conservative viewers, likely suggesting such viewers to be less engaged to complete formal polls.

91% of respondents came from eastern states, with no respondents from the Northern Territory. This poll saw an overrepresentation of Tasmanians, who made up 27.5% of the survey despite them only making up 2.1% of the national population, This is partly due to Signal News remaining quite established in the local market, despite withdrawal.

The ACT was the most closely represented at 2% followed by Western Australia at 9.8%. Tasmania’s overrepresentation may explain the poll’s left leaning skew among other figures such as concerns for media transparency.

Trust In Established & Alternative Media Is Falling

According to our survey, over 75% of our audience rated their trust in mainstream media at 5 out of 10 or lower, with the average sitting at 4.3.

However, when asked:

“Do political influencers and agenda-driven media pose a risk to informed democratic debate and journalism in Australia?”

Over 55% of respondents selected yes, while 27.5% selected maybe, with the remainder split between unsure/no opinion and no.

This suggests our audience perceives a broader credibility gap across the Australian media landscape — not just within traditional institutions. It indicates a growing sense of institutional distrust among young, politically engaged audiences.

At the same time, when asked:

“Do you think independent or alternative media is becoming more important in Australia?”

An overwhelming 96% voted yes.

Taken together, these results suggest that while audiences see alternative media as increasingly important, many are concerned about how parts of it are operating.

Media Blamed For Some Political Instability

Our audience also responded to questions relating to political instability, in a question where we asked:

“Do you think the mainstream media bears any responsibility for the divisions within the Liberal Party?”

Over 65% of respondents believe they played a significant role, with 51% voting “partly responsible” and 14% “largely responsible”. Interestingly over 65% of “left affiliated” respondents voted in favour, while 75% of conservatives voted even more strongly.

These results suggest that across political lines, a significant majority of our audience believes mainstream media coverage contributed to (and in some cases amplified) divisions within the Liberal Party, amplifying divisions, Incentivized factional conflict and sensationalised leadership tensions.

In A Volatile Media Market, Our Audience Trusts Us.

Our polling shows that audiences not only distrust much of the mainstream and influencer ecosystem, but they also place trust in TDMG’s brands because of our commitment to accuracy, independence, and transparency. In optional comments, respondents praised our focus on policy depth, fact-based reporting, and accountability — core values that distinguish us in a crowded media landscape.

This bridges beyond a cross ideological divide suggesting our business strategy as a truly independent, neutral news outlet is meeting consumer expectations, despite changing our approach to meet a modern Australia.

Our survey shows young Australians engaged with our brands want independent media they can trust. Accuracy, transparency, and depth matter more than clicks or ideology and that is exactly the mission we pursue at TDMG.