Poll: Distrust in media hits new high

CBS/AP

(CBS News) U.S. distrust of the mass media is at an all-time high, according to a new poll from Gallup, which indicates that six in ten Americans have little or no trust in mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 6-9, shows that faith in the media is down in recent years, with 40 percent of Americans saying they have a great deal of or some faith in the media to comprehensively and fairly report the news, and 60 percent expressing the opposite perspective.

According to Gallup, the public has become increasingly negative about the media in election years over time.

So even while they're paying more attention to political news this year than they otherwise might, Americans are less likely percent to be paying very close attention to that news than in previous election years. Currently, 39 percent of Americans say they are very closely following political news, down 4 points from September 2008.

Republicans are the least likely to trust the mass media, with only 26 percent expressing any degree of faith that it is fairly reporting the news. Thirty-one percent of independents expressed similar trust, as did 58 percent of Democrats.

Even so, at 48 percent, Republicans are more likely than independents (33 percent) and Democrats (39 percent) to be following the national political news "very closely."

According to Gallup, the decline in interest about national political news may reflect both the general trend and "the level of interest in the presidential election specifically," as it was conducted immediately following both presidential elections.

[sooner_schooner]

These people are no longer journalists; they're Obama campaign staffers. That's why the media has lost all trust and credibility.

[aintfakin]

listen to all the right wing whining about the media
they have this crazy idea no one else on the planet can make up their own mind.....just like them

[Zeitgeist3]

Journalists have not been able to protect their sources since Thornburg went after Rather/Mapes for the source of their story on Bush's dereliction of duty. Even before that they were putting journalists into jail for contempt; and when they wouldn't reveal sources or back pedaled to save their sources, they fired the journalists. Journalism while alive can't survive on corporate networks such as ViaCom or FOX. It's convenient for people prodded by Karl Rove, a notorious trash can digger, who simply sues until a network has no choice except to pressure the journalist to reveal or retire. That's why journalism is not fair or unbiased any more. The moral majority has won. They couldn't even cover the Afghanistan war like they did Vietnam because of the money involved. So the real question in November is do you sell out to the United Citizen/Koch sponsored/Corporate backed presidential candidate? or the one without all those corporate backers? Check the Super PACS on opensecrets.org and see where the money is really being spent this election.

[washmohickory]

When CBS refuses to carry the story that Obama doesn't 'precisely' know what the federal debt is when his own administration states the debt is a 'major' and 'real' security risk, it shows why the public should distrust the media.

http://www.inquisitr.com/337614/obama-to-letterman-i-dont-remember-how-much-the-national-debt-is-video/

http://crfb.org/blogs/hillary-clinton-says-national-debt-real-national-security-threat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9jWDsX2Fk

[washmohickory]

Rather CBS thinks the big news stories that should have front page coverage is:

Ann Romney to critics: "Stop it. This is hard"

[HM8432]

I miss the days where you could watch the news, and get just that, the straight news without the biased opinion of the talking head.

[john92021]

trust in polls is at an all time low.

[hypnotoad72]

When a poll of 1000 is used to suggest it reflects 150000000...

[RollotheNorman]

Probably because of Rasmussen and Gallup.
Flawed methodology. Go over to Nate Silver's he has an article up. Seems the old line, person to person, telephone interview polls are looking much better than the Republican tacking robocalling Rasmussen and Gallup.

[Corndogbum]

I agree Fox News is the worst.
Fair and Balance??? Pleeze!

I watch CBS or ABC.

[mdnzjazz]

dont forget the obama mslsd along with your other lib networks CNN, CBS and ABC.

[endrepubs]

NPR/PBS and BBC are really the best for intelligently presented and thoroughly vetted and researched news stories by seasoned, knowledgeable reporters. Fox, on the other end of the spectrum, directly appeals to less educated viewers.

[bravesfan65]

Ha ha ha....^^^^^^^What a joke that statement is ^^^^^^^^^^^

The legacy media, mainly PBS and NPR along with CBS, NY Times, ABC, NBC, Washington Post, Newsweek, CNN, Time...and a plethora of other crusty and deteriorating news agencies have turned their bureaus into orchestarted liberal propaganda machines. They are so in the tank to try and get this street hustler re-elected it is not even funny anymore.

Let's ignore the state of our economy, the terrorist attack in Libya killing 4 diplomats on 911, 8% unemployment, $4 gas prices, record levels of poverty and folks on food stamps, 16 TRILLION in national DEBT, the list goes on and on..... But wait it is all Bush's fault. Why not just report what is news and at least blame it on Bush???? Instead it is look how Romney made honest comments in a secret fund-raising videos, where are Romney's tax returns?!?, Ooooh Paul Ryan was booed!!!, etc. The media is the arrogant, corrupt, and distrusing force right now in America. They have made their bed and will sleep in it come Nov 7th. Americans have had enough of it and will rebuke these con artists come election day!!!

[hypnotoad72]

bravesfan65 -

I'm sorry private industry prefers to not put out pay and opportunities to keep up with inflation, while they sit back, get every handout under the sun, while offshoring jobs and everything else. If you're pissed off about poverty and food stamps, stop blaming the figureheads and go to the source of the problem.

And, in your mindset, only FOX tells the unadulterated truth... despite the sheer number of times that outlet has been countered as well... *rolleyes*

[B_Erhart]

media = say anything for $

Lying in the past

Lying now

Lying in the future

[hypnotoad72]

1. The press needs to earn money
2. The press does this by putting out articles for people to read
3. Anything that grabs attention will be used, and not always with any thought put behind it because the ratings mean more to them... -- in short, advertisers pay for space the press offers
4. To maximize the profit potential, the press charges more money for articles more likely to be read/seen by many


To expand point 3:

Advertisers raise up the cost of their products in these ads to help compensate for the costs. If you don't like ads, write the company and demand they stop making the ads and then double-demand the cost-savings trickle down to the consumer (and we know that won't happen because their profit margins are more important than the readers/viewers/target markets...)

The press is not "liberal".

It's "capitalist".

As are the advertisers.

So, why do you hate capitalism?

Simply, but to the point...

[nomorelibs]

Journalists are no different than any other person. We each have our biased views of the world. We like to blame "the other guy, or the other side". So if the story is slanted either way, one side believes it, the other side says it's all lies. Liberals believe anything the Democratic party feeds them and Conservatives believe anything Republicans feed them. Yet, here we are blaming everyone else. "Fox news lies", "MSNBC lies". In fact, neither lies, they just have their own biased views. I think it's safe to say even if Fox news reported the truth, liberals would not believe it, and vice versa with Msnbc. This country is divided on every single issue and it will not change. The days of Dems and Repubs working together are over. Neither side wants to give in and the extreme left and extreme right followers are running and ruining this country. It's a shame there isn't a party for the middle. We would have 40% of the vote.