Americans Don’t Trust the Media

As public relations practitioners, we work regularly with members of the media.  From daily newspapers to monthly magazines, online editors to podcast producers, our job is interconnected with the media.

So a headline like this one is troublesome, not just as a PR person, but as a small business owner and an engaged member of my community.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 28% of U.S. adults say they do not have very much confidence in the media, with 38% saying they have none at all. This is the first time that the percentage of Americans with no trust at all in the media is higher than the percentage with a great deal or a fair amount combined.

Not surprising, this same poll found weak confidence ratings for the three branches of government.

Americans trust in the media has been declining for decades.  A possible reason is the number of alleged news outlets that are really just propaganda sites for political groups to espouse their views. Axios posted a story earlier this week that looked at this issue, prevalent on both sides of the political spectrum.

We’ve addressed the topic of news literacy on this blog in past. As a smart consumer, we have to take some responsibility to seek out a variety of sources when gathering news and information.

But the constant and ongoing rhetoric that the media are the “enemy of the state” makes that effort incredibly difficult.  And for some former journalists here in the Valley, it is time for it to end.

It is the responsibility of the journalists, known as the fourth estate, to be a watchdog for democracy.  To be fair, accurate and unbiased. Threatening and attacking the media is unnecessary and uncalled for. More than 60 journalists (Scott being one of them) signed a declaration demanding that the threats and intimidation tactics stop immediately.

It’s a good first step, but we’ve got a long way to go to re-establish trust.