BT and BA hit by poor press, survey reveals

BT and British Airways had more negative press coverage than any other British companies over the past quarter, according to Presswatch, a survey which assesses the quality of press coverage of 1,320 companies.

BT was the most slated, with a negative rating of -2,545. Also lurking at the bottom of the table was BA with -2,060.

Companies gain or lose points depending on whether coverage is negative or positive.

The company which performed best in the survey was Tesco, which won a Presswatch rating of 1,247.

The survey also showed that NatWest had more negative press coverage than any other financial institution over the last quarter. The bank received a rating of -1,362, placing it fifth from the bottom in the third quarter of this year.

The building societies-turned banks also received a drubbing in the press. Woolwich scored -829, Halifax -667 and Abbey National achieved -267.

Bank of Scotland won most positive coverage among financial institutions, scoring 524. First Direct scored 244 and the Royal Bank of Scotland 208.

Lloyds TSB Group received favourable coverage, scoring 509, but the Lloyds branches had negative coverage, scoring -123.

At the negative end of the scale were United Utilities with -1,802, the BBC with -1,740 and Laura Ashley with -1,726.

Camelot achieved the highest ratings increase in the quarter, rising 1,355 points, from -1,654 in the second quarter to -299 in the most recent.