Gallup: U.S. Distrust in Media Hits New High

[MojoMan]

The thing that surprises me in this poll is how high the trust level still is.

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[Sangre Naranjada]

Now why in the world would Democrats have so much more faith in their house organs, uh, I mean the mainstream media, than Republicans and Independents?

 

[Leftwith]

Agree, Sangre, it is odd that Democrats seem to trust the neutral MSM at a much higher rate than Rs.

Maybe it's because us radical right wingers are a bunch of extremist conspiracy nuts.

 

[Uninformed]

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[Leftwith]

Uninformed, I wasn't being serious. Just mocking what libs would say about it.

 

[charloscarlies]

Wow, I had a feeling Democrats would be slightly more trusting, but that's a really significant difference.

Explains a lot actually.

 

[Uninformed]

Where I have a problem is the causal relationship. Either democrats trust the media because it conforms to their thoughts or the media forms democrat thoughts. Since democrats probably are not less inquisitive than others, the most likely answer is that democrat thoughts coincide with media thoughts. This is not surprising since most media members are democrats. However, it does lend to the argument that the media as a whole leans left. And it adds more credence to the idea that Fox leans right while most other media outlets lean left.

 

[Crockett]

If you watch Fox, mostly ******** most of the time, I guess you'd assume the other networks were also aiming for fact light, mostly spin take on the news. MSNBC follows pretty much the same formula. NPR, oft criticized for its liberal leaning, but it's probably about 90 percent factual and 10 percent spin, all delivered politely. Of course if you like phrases like "the worst president ever" sprinkled thorugh the dialogue, NPR would not be a happy place to listen, even during the Bush administration. They conduct business on a higher plane.

 

[Uninformed]

Nice comments, but how do they relate to the OP?

 

[Michtex]

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[Uninformed]

Interesting only if you are trying to change the subject.

 

[Crockett]

Well, I've known people who cheat on taxes, pirate software and will grab the $5 bill left on the table for the food server if they think nobody's looking. When confronted, they say "Everybody does it." I figure the guys watching FOX bizarrely spinning news to the far right, treating unimportant stories embarassing to the Democrats like the biggest news since the Spartans confronted the Persians at Thermopyale, figure everyone is doing the same thing. Only they are not.

 

[Uninformed]

So Independents are big Fox news junkies? And what about people like me who distrust the media and haven't watched Fox once in the last 8 months? It seems like you are painting with a broad brush but still missing the canvas.

 

[Leftwith]

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[Mr. Deez]

Having a fair media is tough. If you have a government-run media, the public is going to hear what the government wants it to hear. Obviously that has its drawbacks and can be downright dangerous.

However, if you have privately-owned media, the business element enters the equation. A business is going to identify a market and give it what it wants.

Generally, people want to hear things that reinforce their beliefs, and let's be real. Most people who follow political media already have their political philosophy figured out and want to hear stories that reinforce their beliefs. That's why you get the "preach to the choir" phenomenon with so many media sources.

I think most mainstream media outlets try to appeal to an urban market, especially the Northeastern urban markets. We know the political philosophy of most Northeastern urbanites is Left. Accordingly, it's no surprise that Democrats would be more trusting of the mainstream media, while Republicans and Independents would be less trusting.

I don't consider Fox and MSNBC to be mainstream media. They have gone with a different approach, which is to market themselves to ideologues all over the country. However, the result is the same. The preach to their respective choirs.

 

[Crockett]

I'll admit I'm not explaining everything. There are multiple media and multiple reasons for distrust. Certainly the internet and the rush to be first with the story -- often ends up putting a lot of misinformation up front, not exactly good for media credibility as a whole. Plus, not all journalism is conducted by staid old organizations. Drudge, Yahoo and the Burnt Orange Report don't gotta answer to stuffy old editors.

 

[Namewithheld]

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[Crockett]

Namewitheld, I'm so old that for a time I thought the 300 Spartans was the best movie ever made (preceded 300 by about 40 years). I bought a copy on DVD, and was less impressed than I remember. But it was still a thrill to watch it with my son, then six, who wanted to become a Spartan.

 

[Bevo Incognito]

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[AustinBat]

Maybe it is because when politicians outright lie (like blaming the 9-11 terrorist attack on our Embassy on a video) the "media" never reports it if a Democrat such as the President is involved in the lie. Nah, that couldn't be it.

 

[chango]

AustinBat, do you realize there are other emoticons you can use besides the rolling eyes -- or that you don't even have to use one?
Seriously, how old are you? You must use that same emoticon in 90% of your posts.