Views on the News

REPUBLICANS ARE MOST CRITICAL HOW WOULD YOU GENERALLY DESCRIBE THE NEWS MEDIA? GOOD NEWS REPUBLICAN DEMOCRAT INDEPENDENT (PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS) POLITICALLY BIASED IN 76% THEIR REPORTING 54% BAD N EWS 63% TOO CRITICAL OF AMERICA 49% REPUBLICANS ARE THE MOST LIKELY TO FIND. 31% HOW DOES THE AMERICAN PUBLIC THE NEWS MEDIA BIASED AND ANTI-AMERICAN, 42% BUT OTHER CRITICISMS CROSS PARTY LINES. RATE THE NEWS MEDIA? REPORT STORIES THAT ARE OFTEN 69% INACCURATE 64% 66% WE ALL RELY ON THE MAINSTREAM PRESS TO ACT AS CONVEYERS AND CURATORS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND US. A RECENT STUDY SHOWS THAT WHILE AMERICANS HAVE AN 81% OFTEN INFLUENCED BY POWERFUL 77% PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS INCREASINGLY NEGATIVE OPINION OF NEWS ORGANIZATIONS' CREDIBILITY, THE MEDIA ASA WHOLE 83% IS STILL MORE TRUSTED THAN GOVERNMENT OR CORPORATIONS. WHAT NEWS ORGANIZATIONS COME TO MIND? PEOPLE ARE MORE WARY OF THE PRESS ACCORDING TO THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER, THE NUMBER OF CABLE NEWS AND CNN AMERICANS WHO HOLD NEGATIVE OPINIONS ABOUT NEWS (PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS) (PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS) ORGANIZATIONS HAS REACHED RECORD HIGHS SINCE 1985. THE MOST COMMON REASON FOR PEOPLE'S DISSATISFACTION?A BELIEF THAT NEWS SOURCES ARE EXCESSIVELY INFLUENCED BY PEOPLE IN POWER. 63% 18% 16% 36% 12% 12% 10% 43% 39% MEDIA CRITICISMS 1985 vs. 2011 CABLE NEWS NETWORK TV NEWS LOCAL TV NEWS abc OCBS NEWS (PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS WHO BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING) ---------------- --------------- -------------------- NBC NEWS HOW WOULD YOU GENERALLY DESCRIBE THE NEWS MEDIA? 4% 3% 3% • 1% 5% 3% The New York Times THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. OFTEN INFLUENCED BY POWERFUL PEOPLE 53% AND ORGANIZATIONS 80% NEWS NATIONAL NEWSPAPER LOCAL NEWSPAPER WEBSITE TEND TO FAVOR ONE SIDE 53% 77% TRY TỔ COVER UP MISTAKES 55% PERCENT WHO TRUST THE INFORMATION THEY RECEIVE FROM THESE INSTITUTIONS 72% STILL, THE PRESS IS MORE TRUSTED THAN OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES LOCAL NEWS ORGANIZATIONS 69% MOST REPORT STORIES THAT ARE 34% TRUSTED NATIONAL NEWS ORGANIZATIONS 59% OFTEN INACCURATE 66% STATE GOVERNMENT 51% 45% POLITICALLY BIASED IN THEIR REPORTING 63% OBAMA ADMINISTRATION 50% 23% FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES 44% HURT DEMOCRACY 42% LOCAL NEWS ORGANIZATIONS EASILY RANK AS THE MOST TRUSTWORTHY 41% BUSINESS CORPORATIONS TOO CRITICAL OF AMERICA 30% SOURCES OF INFORMATION IN SURVEYS. CONGRESS AND POLITICAL 37% CONGRESS 39% CANDIDATES ARE ROUTINELY RANKED AS THE LEAST TRUSTWORTHY. 29% CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR OFFICE SOURCES: PEW RESEARCH CENTER A COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOOD AND COLUMN FIVE