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Media trust reaches new low

There is a very good chance you are not going to believe what you see and hear in the news today.

A new Gallup Poll finds that only 32 percent of Americans have “trust and confidence in the mass media… when it comes to reporting the news fairly and accurately.”  That’s the lowest level since Gallup started asking the question in 1972, and it’s down eight points just in the last year.

Gallup found that Democrats trust the media more than Republicans.  Just 14 percent of Republicans profess trust of newspapers, TV and radio for truthful reporting while 51 percent of Democrats believe they are getting straightforward reporting.

Younger people have rapidly lost faith in the mainstream media.  Just 26 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 express trust and confidence in mass media, down from 55 percent in 2003.

Gallup believes the election is contributing to the decline. “The divisive presidential campaign may be corroding Americans’ trust and confidence in the media, particularly among Republicans who may believe the ‘mainstream media’ are too hyper-focused on every controversial statement or policy proposal from Trump while devoting far less attention to controversies surrounding the Clinton campaign.”

Frank Sesno, the award-winning journalist and former reporter for CNN, says he’s not surprised by the trend. “Media have become more partisan over time, so that has driven more criticism,” said Sesno, who is now a professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs at George Washington University.

“I’m afraid it’s a continuation of something we’ve been seeing for a long period of time,” Sesno told me on MetroNews Talkine recently. “It’s not just confined to the media, sadly; it’s part of the decline in confidence in the institutions we have in this country, with the exception of the military.”

Our tendency is to migrate to news sources that reinforce our belief system, rather than seek out news that challenges us. The fractured audience fills various news media silos that cater to that audience. Viewers/readers may have more trust in their favored outlet, but be highly suspicious of others.

Additionally, the cable channels have moved away from straight news reporting and toward more commentary. A 2013 report by Pew Research found that CNN and Fox now have about half commentary/opinion and half news while MSNBC was 85 percent opinion and just 15 percent news.

“Media are bringing in people that are yelling and screaming and not focusing on what’s accurate or right,” Sesno said, “and that spreads the contagion.”

Not that many years ago a majority of Americans believed the media were contributing to the greater good of the country.  Investigative journalism of the 1970’s during Watergate and the Vietnam War pushed public confidence in the mass media to 72 percent.

Now, unfortunately, Americans see the media as part of the problem.

 

 





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