Why do Americans distrust the media?
(Read, discuss in groups. Why is this? Is there a danger in this view? If so why? What can be done about it? Is it hopeless?)
Trust in Mass Media Returns to All-Time Low
Six-percentage-point drops in trust among Democrats and Republicans
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After registering slightly higher trust last year,
Americans' confidence in the media's ability to report "the news fully,
accurately, and fairly" has returned to its previous all-time low of
40%. Americans' trust in mass media has generally been edging downward
from higher levels in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
Prior to 2004, Americans placed more trust in mass media than they do
now, with slim majorities saying they had a "great deal" or "fair
amount" of trust. But over the course of former President George W.
Bush's re-election season, the level of trust fell significantly, from
54% in 2003 to 44% in 2004. Although trust levels rebounded to 50% in
2005, they have failed to reach a full majority since.
Americans' trust in the media in recent years has dropped slightly in
election years, including 2008, 2010, 2012, and again this year -- only
to edge its way back up again in the following odd-numbered years.
Although the differences between the drops and the recoveries are not
large, they suggest that something about national elections triggers
skepticism about the accuracy of the news media's reporting.
Among Democrats, Trust in Media at a 14-Year Low
Trust among Democrats, who have traditionally expressed much higher
levels of confidence in the media than Republicans have, dropped to a
14-year low of 54% in 2014. Republicans' trust in the media is at 27%,
one percentage point above their all-time low, while independents held
steady at 38% -- up one point from 37% in 2013.
Sharp Uptick in Americans Who Think News Media Are "Too Conservative"
As has been the case historically, Americans are most likely to feel the
news media are "too liberal" (44%) rather than "too conservative,"
though this perceived liberal bias is now on the lower side of the
trend. One in three (34%) say the media are "just about right" in terms
of their coverage -- down slightly from 37% last year.
Nearly one in five Americans (19%) say the media are too conservative,
which is still relatively low, but the highest such percentage since
2006. This is up six points from 2013 -- the sharpest increase in the
percentage of Americans who feel the news skews too far right since
Gallup began asking the question in 2001.
Conservatives (70%) are far more likely than liberals (15%) to perceive
the media as too liberal. Moderates' views are closer to liberals, with
35% calling the media too liberal. Likewise, relatively few moderates --
similar to conservatives -- think the media are too conservative.
Democrats -- with a small majority of 52% -- are most likely to think
the media are just about right, while a mere 18% of Republicans feel
this way about the news. More than seven in 10 Republicans say the media
are too liberal.
Bottom Line
Though a sizable percentage of Americans continue to have a great deal
or fair amount of trust in the media, Americans' overall trust in the
Fourth Estate continues to be significantly lower now than it was 10 to
15 years ago.
As the media expand into new domains of news reporting via social media
networks and new mobile technology, Americans may be growing
disenchanted with what they consider "mainstream" news as they seek out
their own personal veins of getting information. At the same time, confidence is down across many institutions, and a general lack in trust overall could be at play.
Americans' opinions about the media appear affected in election years,
however. Americans' trust in the media will likely recover slightly in
2015 with the absence of political campaigns. But the overarching
pattern of the past decade has shown few signs of slowing the decline of
faith in mass media as a whole.
Survey Methods
Results for
this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Sept. 4-7,
2014, with a random sample of 1,017 adults, aged 18 and older, living in
all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
For results
based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling
error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Interviews
are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular
phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are
primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a
minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents,
with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and
cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial
methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household
on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.
Samples are
weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse, and
double coverage of landline and cell users in the two sampling frames.
They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender,
age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density,
and phone status (cellphone only/landline only/both, and cellphone
mostly). Demographic weighting targets are based on the most recent
Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older U.S.
population. Phone status targets are based on the most recent National
Health Interview Survey. Population density targets are based on the
most recent U.S. census. All reported margins of sampling error include
the computed design effects for weighting.
In addition
to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in
conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of
public opinion polls.
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