West News Wire: According to a recent survey, half of Americans feel that national news organizations deliberately mislead, misinform, or try to persuade the public to embrace a certain viewpoint through their reporting.
The survey, conducted by Gallup and the Knight Foundation and released on Wednesday, goes beyond previous studies that have indicated a low level of trust in the media to the stunning conclusion that many people think there is a deliberate attempt to mislead.
When asked if they agreed that national news organizations do not intend to deceive, 50% responded that they did not. Only 25% of respondents to the study agreed.
Similarly, the study found that 52% of respondents disagreed with the claim that those who disseminate national news “care about the best interests of their readers, viewers, and listeners.”
According to the report, 23% of respondents thought journalists were looking out for the interests of the people.
Sarah Fioroni, a consultant with Gallup, stated, “That was really startling for us. According to her, the results revealed a level of mistrust and hostility that transcends the principles and procedures of journalism.
According to the survey, journalists must go beyond emphasizing transparency and accuracy to demonstrate how their reporting affects the public.
According to John Sands, senior director for media and democracy at Knight, “Americans don’t seem to think that the national news organizations care about the overall impact of their reporting on the society.”
One tiny solace is that Americans in both situations trusted local news more.
More Americans than ever before are likely to be up to date on the news because to the capacity of individuals to rapidly learn news from a gadget they can hold in their hands, the quick news cycle, and an increase in news sources.
The opposite outcome appears to have occurred as a result of information overload. According to the survey, 61 percent of Americans think these characteristics make it more difficult to keep informed, compared to 37 percent who think it is easier.
Democrats trust the news more than Republicans, according to a recent study by Knight and Gallup, as have many other studies. Especially among independents, mistrust has increased during the previous five years. A majority of respondents (55%) believed there was significant political prejudice in coverage, compared to 45 percent in 2017.
The survey indicated that 32% of Americans said they paid a great deal of attention to local news, down from 56% in early 2020, which is mirrored in the financial difficulties of some news organizations and the plummeting ratings of television news networks. Both the COVID-19 epidemic and the presidential election year were only getting started at the time.
In a survey asking respondents how they acquire their news, 58 percent indicated they go online, 31 percent watch TV, 7 percent listen to the radio, and 3 percent read printed newspapers or magazines.
The survey indicated that 88 percent of Gen Zers, or people between the ages of 18 and 25, claimed they get their news online.
According to one gesture of goodwill, Americans would be more likely to pay for news coverage if they thought local news organizations lacked the means or opportunities to do so.
The findings are based on research done by Gallup among 5,593 Americans who are 18 years of age or older between May 31 and July 21, 2022.
