1 – Television News (Domestic and Global)

 

Are Americans Losing Hope for Television News and Mass Media?

According to a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center, the majority Americans don't fully trust mainstream media, newspapers and television news. 

"Overall, roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults (83%) have at least some trust in the accuracy of the political news they get from their main news source, with 38% expressing a “great deal” of trust in it, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 8-14, 2021."

38% with a "great deal" of trust is not much, and I have a feeling that this number is even lower today in 2024. 

Here are some of the factors that could be contributing to the decrease in trust of mainstream media and television news:

Fake News- Some viewers may feel that cable news stations may be spreading misinformation, especially when it comes to politics and corporate agendas. The term "fake news" became especially popular during the Trump presidency, but has been a concern for much longer. 

To combat fake news fears, remember these tips...

Another factor that could be contributing to distrust in television news is the Influence of Alternative News Sources: Social media has definitely made it easier to access and share news stories. In previous decades the TV news stations and newspapers were the only options, today we have blogs, independent journalist, and news websites that are competing with TV news. Younger people are mostly on social media anyways so they are most likely to consume snippets of news via facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram, TikTok and Youtube. 

One would think with a plethora of news sources that it would give us more trust in the news, however...

This paradox of choice has actually made it harder, not easier, for Americans to feel well-informed, according to the institute’s Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy, a partnership with John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which studied the topic for two years. [Dallas News]

Echo Chambers:  This factor is a direct result of the social media influence on news. An echo chamber is something that I've learned in Social Media in Society class, the idea is that we filter out information that does not directly align with our already existing beliefs, therefore becoming skeptical of other perspectives such as TV news or mainstream media. 

I did notice in my research of this topic that there is a different trust level in TV news with different political standings. Democrats seem to have more trust in national news than Independents and Republicans. 

Political party affiliation has become the primary driver of opinions about the media's trustworthiness.

Just 5% of Republicans said they had "a great deal or quite a lot of confidence" in newspapers, compared to 35% of Democrats.

Only 8% of Republicans said they had "a great deal or quite a lot of confidence" in TV news, compared to 20% of Democrats.

Independents' views are generally closer to Republicans'.

[Axios] 

This may be due to TV news being more aligned with Democratic beliefs and values, Republicans are seeking out more conservative leaning media outlets, such as The American Conservative, American Magazine, Townhall, National Review, Wall Street Journal and others. 

TV news stations are fully aware of the decrease in viewership and overall trust and are hopefully doing their best to offer quality in depth investigative journalism but...

Public trust in the news media has broken down over many decades, so building it back up may well take as long. But we believe that despite the tendency to be drawn to echo chambers, most Americans don’t want polarized news organizations. They want to once again to trust the nation’s free press.

                     [Axios]