Americans' trust in U.S. media is about to reach its historic lowest, as per a new survey from Gallup. The survey revealed that only 36% of American adults have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in mass media, which is described as newspapers, TV, and radio.
In the survey conducted between September 1 to 17 among 1,005 adults, the survey asked respondents, "How much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media...when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly - a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?"
The answer was a resounding disappointment, with only 7% expressing having "a great deal" of trust and 29% saying that they have "a fair amount" of trust, Faithwire reported. The results showed that when combined, the 36% that showed somewhat trust in media was only four points above the all time low of 32%, which was recorded in 2016 amidst the presidential election that pit former President Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton. Up to 29% of the public answered "not very much" and 34% said "none at all" when asked if they trusted the media.
When broken down along party lines, the Gallup survey results showed that a majority of Democrats at 68% trusted the news media, while only 31% of independents and 11% of Republicans said the same.
One critic of the Gallup survey, CNN's network media correspondent Brian Stelter, recently spoke out against the results.
"Whenever anyone asks me about trusting the media, I ask, what do they mean by media? Because everyone is a member of the media now," Stelter argued. "The media now includes the New York Times and also a no-name blogger. So let me propose to you a different way to think about trusted media."
"Reporters versus repeaters," Stelter proposed. "Think about it. Almost everyone trusts some form of media. Everyone trusts something. It's just that many people trust CNN and many others trust Fox, even though we're not really two sides of the same coin. So it's obvious when pollsters ask about 'the media' as a whole, the results are abysmal."
Stelter added that the reason why trust in the media is so low among Americans today is because there are way too many entities that are counted as forms of "media" thanks to the availability of websites and social platforms that enable self-publishing. He even claimed that CNN is not in the same league as Fox because the former is committed to "reporting" and "doing the work," while Fox, which lacks international bureaus and a roster of commentators, are merely "repeating" talking points.
It's worth noting that Stelter himself is one of those media personalities who have been blamed for the people's lack of trust in broadcast media. Earlier this year, author Michael Wolff was a guest in Stelter's show when he slammed him for being "one of the parts of the problem of the media," The Blaze noted.
"I think you yourself... while you're a nice guy... you're full of sanctimony. You've become one of the parts of the problem of the media," Wolff said of Stelter at the time. "You come on here and have a monopoly on truth. You know exactly how things are supposed to be done. You are one of the reasons why people can't stand the media."
Cameron English of the American Council on Science and Health remarked that the issue is not about media bias, but that "journalists often reach conclusions that don't follow from the facts they report, or they simply don't report newsworthy stories. This is readily apparent to most Americans-whatever their political leanings."
