Americans’ confidence in the mass media continues to wane: Poll

[Craig Nigrelli]

AS THE 2024 ELECTION DRAWS CLOSER, A NEW SURVEY INDICATES AMERICANS TRUST THE MASS MEDIA, LESS AND LESS. A POLL, RELEASED BY GALLUP, SHOWS 36% OF RESPONDENTS HAVE “NONE AT ALL” WHEN IT COMES TO TRUST IN THE MEDIA. 33% SAID “NOT VERY MUCH” TRUST AND 31% RESPONDED THEY HAVE A “GREAT DEAL OR FAIR AMOUNT.”
GALLUP SAYS ITS THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR THAT “NO TRUST AT ALL” IS GREATER THAN, “ A GREAT DEAL OR FAIR AMOUNT” TRUST.
COMPARE THAT TO THE 1970’S WHEN A POSITIVE RESPONSE ON TRUST RANGED FROM 68% TO 72%.
THE TRUST FACTOR ALSO DEPENDS ON A PERSON’S POLITICAL AFFILIATION.
THE GALLUP QUESTION ASKED : IN GENERAL “HOW MUCH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE DO YOU HAVE IN THE MASS MEDIA, SUCH AS NEWSPAPERS, TV AND RADIO, WHEN IT COMES TO REPORTING THE NEWS FULLY, ACCURATELY AND FAIRLY ?”
54% OF DEMOCRATS SAID THEY HAVE A GREAT DEAL OR FAIR AMOUNT, REPUBLICANS : JUST 12% AND INDEPENDENTS 27%.
IT’S A SIGNIFICANT DROP FOR DEMOCRATS. FOUR YEARS AGO IN 2020, 73% RESPONDED THAT THEY HAVE A GREAT DEAL OR FAIR AMOUNT OF CONFIDENCE IN THE PRESS. IN ADDITION, GALLUP FOUND THAT YOUNG DEMOCRATS, AGES 18 TO 29, TRUST THE MEDIA FAR LESS THAN OLDER AMERICANS, WHO ARE AT LEAST 65.
REPUBLICANS TRUST IN THE MEDIA, TICKED UP SLIGHTLY FROM 10 % IN 2020 TO JUST 12%. BUT IT HAS REMAINED IN THE TEENS SINCE 2019.
THE GALLUP POLL ALSO COMPARED THE MEDIA TO GOVERNMENT ENTITIES AND FOUND QUOTE “THE NEWS MEDIA IS THE LEAST TRUSTED GROUP AMONG TEN U.S. CIVIL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS”. BY COMPARISON, CONGRESS WAS NUMBER NINE.