In case you wonder if people trust the news media, I offer more proof that most do not.
In fact, in most polls regarding the media, they rate lower than Congress. Ipsos reported the following in 2019:
A recent poll conducted by Ipsos, on behalf of Thomson Reuters, found that nearly half of Americans (46%) do not have any confidence in the press as an institution in America. Republicans (66%) and Independents (51%) are more likely to report they have hardly any confidence in the press than Democrats (26%).
Things have hardly improved, but you can’t find much polling on the subject. Likely because the media do most of the polling. Thus, they don’t want to know the truth about how Americans feel about them.
The most recent polling I could find on the media involved its handling of the “coronavirus”. Here’s what WaPo reported:
The news media has the worst approval rating of all major American institutions grappling with the novel coronavirus — but the public’s opinions on the matter are highly polarized and mirror their complex feelings from before the pandemic.
A Gallup survey released this week found 44 percent of Americans approve of the news media’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. It found 61 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters approve of the media, compared to 25 percent of Republicans.
Hospitals, schools and state governments had the highest marks; President Trump’s approval rating on this crisis stands at 60 percent, compared to his overall job rating of 49 percent.
What a bitter pill to swallow when President Trump beats you in opinion polls. One can only imagine what Trump’s real ratings were, given the Leftist slant of even Gallup’s polling.
This same poll mentioned that animus towards the media; particularly given Trump’s tag of “fake news”.
For decades, the public’s trust in news media has split along the political spectrum. The election of Trump — who has dubbed journalists the “enemy of the people” — saw Republican trust in media drop to a historic low and Democratic confidence in media spike. That has since evened out, and in September 2019, Gallup found 25 percent of Republicans trusted the media, compared to 69 percent of Democrats.
And this is why CNN struggles.
As Curtis Houck tweeted, CNN can’t shake the moniker given by Trump. The broadcast gets heckled:
OMG CNN's live shot for reporter Ariane de Vogue from the Supreme Court was CRASHED by people heckling her and shouting, "CNN is fake news! Yes! Fake news, CNN! Fake news! You're fake! CNN is fake news. Fake news! Fake news, CNN! pic.twitter.com/DWXxM1Q5t7
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 26, 2020
Transcript:
Blitzer: “I want to bring in our Supreme Court correspondent Ariane de Vogue. We heard the president say that [Barrett] will decide cases based on the Constitution as written. And then we heard Judge Coney Barrett saying the law must be applied as written.”
“So explain to our viewers what is behind those specific words, where she is coming from and what we would anticipate if she does become a justice on the Supreme Court over the next 30 or 40 years.”
de Vogue: “Absolutely. While we were here . . . ”, {shouting}
Spectators {shouting}: FAKE NEWS!
I doubt CNN or most Americans would have believed Trump’s name for CNN and other media would stick. But this heckling in front of the Supreme Court building is more than meets the eye. This showcases the resonance of Trump’s words.
Further, Trump transcends words. His actions have galvanized many who formerly opposed him, to his agenda. So they push back at the Supreme Court and elsewhere.
I have seen people “photobomb” live TV. But I’ve never personally seen a group shut down a segment. How symbolic, when you consider the damage Trump has done to the media’s credibility. An outcome they actually brought on themselves.
