Gallup recently (Sept 2016) conducted a poll regarding Americans trust in the media. Their question was simple, do you trust the media to report the news “fully, accurately, and fairly” truth. The results, as you might expect, are nowhere near the days of Cronkite. In fact, the number is at the lowest point since Gallup started asking the question in 1972. That number? 32% of Americans trust the media. If I lined up three people in front of you, technically less than one of them trusts the media. A better analogy would be if you lined up 25 people, 8 would trust the media, but you get the point. It peaked in 1976 at a number that now looks ludicrous, 72%. This shouldn’t come as the biggest surprise, with the press having the Pentagon Papers and Watergate to hang in their rafters. More interestingly not because of the action itself but how drastic the number, Republicans’ trust in the media has dropped to an astonishing 14%, the lowest it’s been in 20 years, down from 32% in 2015. While the study is past its 3rd birthday, the situation hasn’t gotten much better if not worse with all this impeachment stuff. Republicans are more and more fighting the war against the “fake news” they see.
A simple video and report of Harvey Weinstein as he’s entering the courthouse is being accused of fake news? At first I was going to give D’Souza the benefit of the doubt and just accusing the media of bias, which may be fair. However he drops the #FakeNews hashtag at the end and claims it is “at work.” This is the same guy who mocked survivors of the Parkland shooting though so what can we expect!
It seems a big criticism of the media is they now report seemingly around the facts at times. Whether that’s not reporting certain things that make certain people look good, doing the reverse and over reporting on things that make said person look bad, or leaving out certain facts and only using the ones that fit your agenda, they are practices that have led to mass distrust across the entire country and the epidemic of #FakeNews people. Like I said, less than 1 in 3 Americans trust the media, and if you look to the left, that drops to 1 in 7. The media has put themselves in this position whether certain organizations played bigger parts than others, therefore only they can rebuild the trust in the media. Watch very closely as to how the media, especially left-leaning organizations, covers the debates, impeachment fallout, and the election race. The trust in the media fell during the 2016 election cycle, the 2020 one will be pivotal for the future of the trust in american media.
Zach's Blog for Journalism 