Poll: Americans’ trust in the media at its lowest

Americans’ trust in the news media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” has returned to an all-time low this year. We get down to the numbers with Frank Newport, editor in chief at the Gallup Poll.

The big drop occurred about 10 years ago when the percentage of Americas who said they had a good deal or fair amount of trust in the news media fell from 50 percent to 40 percent.

There are major differences in trust in the media by partisanship, underscoring one of the reasons for the drop. Republicans have much less trust in “the media” than Democrats or independents. The drop off in Republican trust a while back is behind the lowering confidence overall. Democrats and Republicans view the news media through entirely different lenses.

Putting it all together, Americans continue to be more likely to say the news media are too liberal, rather than too conservative — although many think it is about right. But the percent saying “too conservative” ticked up this year.

This drop in trust in the media coincides with a drop in trust in other institutions like federal government, though trust in state government, and particularly in local government, remains much higher.

Quick quiz: Which group is least likely to have a personal doctor today — whites, blacks, Hispanics or Asians? And how does that relate to having health insurance? The answer may be surprising.