How Americans really feel about the mainstream media

A major poll from Gallup and the Knight Foundation confirms that Americans don’t trust the press.

“The news media, like many other major U.S. institutions, has suffered from a decline in public confidence in recent years. A key question for the future of the news media, as well as for U.S. democracy, is whether that trust is lost for good,” advises the poll, released Tuesday.

“Most U.S. adults, including more than 9 in 10 Republicans, say they personally have lost trust in the news media in recent years. At the same time, 69 percent of those who have lost trust say that trust can be restored,” the analysis says, noting that the biggest criticisms were lack of accuracy and bias.

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“Sixty-nine percent of U.S. adults in the current survey say their trust in the news media has decreased in the past decade. Just 4 percent say their trust has increased, while 26 percent indicate their trust has not changed. Republicans (94 percent) and political conservatives (95 percent) are nearly unanimous in saying their trust in the media has decreased in the past decade. However, declining trust is not just confined to the political right — 75 percent of independents and 66 percent of moderates indicate they are less trusting than they were 10 years ago.”

Some findings:

• 69 percent of Americans say their trust in the media has decreased in the last decade; 94 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of independents and 42 percent of Democrats agree.

• 69 percent overall say confidence in the media “can be restored”; 60 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of independents and 86 percent of Democrats agree.

• 1 percent overall ‘trust all news organizations”; 0 percent of Republicans, 0 percent of independents and 2 percent of Democrats agree.

• 17 percent overall ‘trust most news organizations”; 3 percent of Republicans, 13 percent of independents and 33 percent of Democrats agree.

• 67 percent overall say they ‘trust only some news organizations”; 75 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of independents and 64 percent of Democrats agree.

• 16 percent overall “do not trust any news organizations”; 21 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of independents and 2 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Gallup/Knight Foundation survey of 1,218 U.S. adults conducted June 4-25 and released Tuesday.