The public’s confidence in newspaper and television news has reached an all-time low, according to a June Gallup poll.
This is just the latest in a concerning trend. Last fall, Gallup found near-record-low trust in the media to “report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.” In December, Gallup’s annual poll of honesty and ethics of professions found that few Americans rated newspaper and television reporters as highly ethical.
The most recent data shows that:
Only 16% of Americans have a “great deal/quite a lot of confidence” in newspapers and only 11% have “some degree of confidence” in television news.
The percentage of Americans who say they have "very little" or “no confidence” is currently the highest on record at 46%.
Television news and newspapers rank near the bottom of the list of the most trusted institutions. Only Congress earned less confidence from the public than TV news.
As communication strategists, it’s disturbing to see such distrust in our counterparts. Let’s help bolster journalism by opportunistically advocating and affirming the quality of their work and highlighting their vital function in society.