"For the record, the question asked by Gallup was: "In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media - such as newspapers, TV and radio - when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly - a great deal, a fair amount, not very much or none at all?" Keep digging and the numbers get even more grim."
"Then again, it hasn't been above 21% since 2015. Hmm, what happened in 2015? Oh yeah, Donald Trump ran for president for the first time. Since then, he has intentionally attempted to sway public opinion about the media. He has done this by repeatedly characterizing coverage he doesn't like as "fake news," and calling journalists the "enemy of the people." And judging by these kinds of polls, his tactics have been effective."
A Gallup poll reports only 28% of Americans now say they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in the mass media, down from 68% in 1972 and 72% in 1976. Seventy percent express "not very much" (36%) or "none at all" (34%) confidence. Republican trust has fallen to 8% and the share of Republicans saying "no trust at all" rose from under 30% in 2015 to 62% now. Democratic trust is 51% and Independent trust is 27%, producing a 43-point gap between Democrats and Republicans. The decline coincides with repeated Republican rhetoric labeling coverage "fake news" and calling journalists the "enemy of the people."
Read at Poynter
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