Americans' trust in media sinks to new low, Gallup poll shows - Polidicks

[quote]WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' trust and confidence in the mass media "to report the news fully, accurately and fairly" has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year. [thumb]http://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/dkvnto6zb0kw5c0shdj57q.png[/thumb] Gallup began asking this question in 1972, and on a yearly basis since 1997. Over the history of the entire trend, Americans' trust and confidence hit its highest point in 1976, at 72%, in the wake of widely lauded examples of investigative journalism regarding Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. After staying in the low to mid-50s through the late 1990s and into the early years of the new century, Americans' trust in the media has fallen slowly and steadily. It has consistently been below a majority level since 2007. Republicans Fuel Drop in Media Trust While it is clear Americans' trust in the media has been eroding over time, the election campaign may be the reason that it has fallen so sharply this year. With many Republican leaders and conservative pundits saying Hillary Clinton has received overly positive media attention, while Donald Trump has been receiving unfair or negative attention, this may be the prime reason their relatively low trust in the media has evaporated even more. It is also possible that Republicans think less of the media as a result of Trump's sharp criticisms of the press. Republicans who say they have trust in the media has plummeted to 14% from 32% a year ago. This is easily the lowest confidence among Republicans in 20 years. [thumb]http://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/_fnglfgxdee9m2vdnmh1ma.png[/thumb] [...] Trust in Mass Media Falls Across Age Groups Older Americans are more likely than younger Americans to say they trust the media, but trust has declined among both age groups this year. Currently, 26% of those aged 18 to 49 (down from 36% last year) and 38% of those aged 50 and older (down from 45%) say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. [thumb]http://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/3tq9inhrquecdyh0rjjtua.png[/thumb] [...] Bottom Line The divisive presidential election this year may be corroding Americans' trust and confidence in the media, particularly among Republicans who may believe the "mainstream media" are too hyperfocused on every controversial statement or policy proposal from Trump while devoting far less attention to controversies surrounding the Clinton campaign. However, the slide in media trust has been happening for the past decade. Before 2004, it was common for a majority of Americans to profess at least some trust in the mass media, but since then, less than half of Americans feel that way. Now, only about a third of the U.S. has any trust in the Fourth Estate, a stunning development for an institution designed to inform the public.[/quote] [url]http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx[/url]

Is it me or does it look like in the first graph that there is a dip at every election cycle?

I don't imagine they'd really give a shit if we didn't trust them at all as long as they got to stay in business

and no one was surprised

[QUOTE=FurrehFaux;51052543]and no one was surprised[/QUOTE] I am. The kinds of things you hear a lot of people say, they get it from here. Politicians gain so much traction through media, look at Sanders and especially Trump.

I'd trust them if they didn't fucking lie all the time.

Nobody trusts our candidates or media yet people keep voting the candidates in and watching the media they hate. We're stuck in an endless cycle.

Thanks, CNN.

[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51052671]Elections of misinformation and circlejerk. America 2016 Though this is a trend, wonder how itll be around 2020.[/QUOTE] I did be a little digging about 2016 being the year of information warfare. If I had the time and expertise, there would a wealth of material to draw from and talk about. Very entertaining .

i hope the big 3 tv news corps burn within my lifetime

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51053149]i hope the big 3 tv news corps burn within my lifetime[/QUOTE] They would more then likely buy up politicians and use that influence to squash the internet.

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;51053149]i hope the big 3 tv news corps burn within my lifetime[/QUOTE] and then more would come? if every business in the world disappeared overnight, people would still do the scummy old tactics eventually (shh there are no holes in that argument)

Honestly the only way you could reduce the shittiness of media today would be to create penalties for spreading false information or for bias reporting, sadly both of these things come pretty close to censorship

The DNC email leaks did prove the DNC was telling at least certain networks what to air and when. Especially as it relates to the Hillary vs Sanders primary. And the networks followed through with censoring positive coverage of Hillary. Then you also have CNN censoring shirts if they have pro-Trump statements. But you also had the DNC creating narratives about Trump. Most of the racist and sexist narratives about Trump came from the DNC office. [url]http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/09/01/bias-alert-hln-blurs-out-retired-officers-trump-2016-shirt.html[/url] Fox news isn't any better in the eyes of most people. So what happens, well, we really need an apolitical news network. Which is very hard since its hard for people not to have an opinion about political stuff that will effect their lives. The biggest problem is that they then use their position in the news media to push their political views. I was surprised to see this article on HuffPost when it got revealed Under the Gun edited an interview exchange to make it appears as though the pro-gun side didn't have an answer to universal background checks. [url]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/katie-couric-under-the-gun_us_5747245de4b0dacf7ad42f59[/url] Also, MSNBC's purposeful doctoring of the 911 tapes during the Trayvon Martin shooting to make Zimmerman appear racist. And how Zimmerman became a "white Hispanic." [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin#Deceptive_audio_editing_by_NBC[/url] Media's selective interpretation of Juror B29's statements. [url]http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2013/07/did_george_zimmerman_get_away_with_murder_no_juror_b29_is_being_framed.single.html[/url]

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51053159]They would more then likely buy up politicians and use that influence to squash the internet.[/QUOTE] CNN already donates considerably to the Democratic party. Well, their parent company, Time Warner has... [img]http://i.imgur.com/3fsp3Z2.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=Ridge;51062485]CNN already donates considerably to the Democratic party. Well, their parent company, Time Warner has... [img]http://i.imgur.com/3fsp3Z2.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]If Hillary wins, what would she do with the internet? Considering shes in the pocket of TIme Warner and the main stream media is losing eye balls??

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51062609]If Hillary wins, what would she do with the internet? Considering shes in the pocket of TIme Warner and the main stream media is losing eye balls??[/QUOTE] Obama was around when SOPA PIPA, COSA, whatever bills were around, right? I'd expect more of those, but passing the senate.

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51062609]If Hillary wins, what would she do with the internet? Considering shes in the pocket of TIme Warner and the main stream media is losing eye balls??[/QUOTE] Trump, Johnson, and Clinton are all anti internet freedom. We're not getting out of this one.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;51062748]Trump, Johnson, and Clinton are all anti internet freedom. We're not getting out of this one.[/QUOTE] Johnson should be more freedom due to being a libertarian.

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51062609]If Hillary wins, what would she do with the internet? Considering shes in the pocket of TIme Warner and the main stream media is losing eye balls??[/QUOTE] She supports net neutrality, just as the majority of Democrats do, so I have faith at least that will be protected. She's no Bernie though, but at least she ain't Trump? [editline]17th September 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Guriosity;51062766]Johnson should be more freedom due to being a libertarian.[/QUOTE] Being libertarian often means corporate power over the Internet. Government is good for moderate regulation of ISPs. Gary is probably even worse than Hillary.

[QUOTE] Being libertarian often means corporate power over the Internet. Government is good for moderate regulation of ISPs. Gary is probably even worse than Hillary. [/QUOTE] I guess I have my own view of what libertarian means. Government is supposed to be the referee. It also about ensuring sovereignty of the USA. Its supposed to step in to ensure civil liberties.

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51065149]Government is supposed to be the referee. It's supposed to step in to ensure civil liberties.[/QUOTE] And we clearly do a great job of it too.

Everyone was in favor at the defense of journalism, protest of censorship, and the protection of media from corruption from the late eighteenth to the early twenty first century. Nobody considered what would happen if media itself became corrupt.

Of course there's distrust in the media. Now it's got an interest in pushing its own agendas and ideas onto the people it's supposed to help protect by bringing awareness of issues and problems. But instead, causing outrage on one side or the other of the political scale is where all the money is, and keeping people afraid using yellow journalism and clickbait all the time serves it well. If the media just presented information and let us do what we want with it, and didn't push "liberal" or "conservative" views on people, then I'd trust it a lot more. But it doesn't want to do that, so tough luck.

[QUOTE=Lyonidis;51065211]Everyone was in favor at the defense of journalism, protest of censorship, and the protection of media from corruption from the late eighteenth to the early twenty first century. Nobody considered what would happen if media itself became corrupt.[/QUOTE] Media is run by people, who have their own biases and beliefs, and use their outlets to spread their opinion as gospel.

[QUOTE=adamsz;51065177]And we clearly do a great job of it too.[/QUOTE] Maybe the answer is we the people desire to be oppressed, exploited, abused, conned and find liberty repulsive?

The bigger issue isn't that the trust in the media and our politicians have dramatically fallen, its that there are no good sources of information in the age of the internet. The media tends to splice raw footage to favor one side, and take things out of context to spin a political agenda. Politicians change their stances based on the political climate (Clinton vs Obama in 2008 primaries vs Obama's current endorsement of her), and higher ups often [I]have to[/I] lie with respect to national security issues. You can get raw photos and videos that people upload online, but even those don't always tell the whole story. Especially with videos of police, footage often starts after an incident has already occured, or the camera quality is poor or shaky. This often leads to unsubstantiated theories that add further confusion to whatever you are trying to know more about. The best you can do is think for yourself from the data you are given, but if you don't phrase questions or concerns appropriately you come off as a nutjob or get thrown to one side of a political argument. I will admit I am guilty of this myself. You shouldn't be afraid to ask questions, and if the answer is obvious then it should be stated and then you can move on.

[QUOTE]et thrown to one side of a political argument. [/QUOTE] I am trying to find ways to circumvent this. When I talk to leftists, i get told Im a racist (due to having a different idea to combating it). When I talk to conservatives, I get told I am a commie. I dont fit in either camp.

Trust in the media at an all time low.. While the main focus of nearly all biased fucking media is currently what WHACKY, ZANY, CRAZY OL' TRUMP SAID THIS TIME I'm so fucking appalled I can't even stand it wow guys

[QUOTE=Guriosity;51067308]I am trying to find ways to circumvent this. When I talk to leftists, i get told Im a racist (due to having a different idea to combating it). When I talk to conservatives, I get told I am a commie. I dont fit in either camp.[/QUOTE] My advice is just dont do it to others, if you treat posts with respect ideally yours will be treated with respect as well