In a recent article from MediaPost, it was reasonably noted that "the Pew Research Center has quantified what we already knew: Consumers are 'annoyed' with the media. The average viewer doesn’t trust
their news, and probably doesn’t trust the company and brand being advertised in the middle."
Included here are excerpts from the July Pew Research Center survey of 1,365 adults that show that
the public's grades for news organizations have tumbled since November, on measures ranging from professionalism and patriotism to compassion and morality.
Fewer See Press as Patriotic
"news media stands up for America" (% respondents)
| Early Sep, 2001 | Nov 2001 | Now |
| Men | 39% | 63% | 42% |
| Women | 46 | 74 | 56 |
| Total | 43 | 69 | 49 |
Source: Pew Research Center
A majority believes news organizations do not care about the
people they report on; in November, a 47% plurality viewed the press as compassionate. The trend is similar for the public's assessment of the news media's morality, fairness and accuracy, all of
which have returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels. And, while Americans are once again taking a dim view of the press, they continue to value the watchdog role that news organizations perform. Indeed, there
has been a modest uptick in the number who believe press scrutiny of political leaders keeps them from doing things they should not (from 54% to 59%).
The public continues to rate coverage of
the war on terror more highly than most other news stories. More than seven-in-ten gave the press an excellent or good grade for covering these stories, while more contentious news such as recent
Supreme Court decisions on vouchers and the death penalty were rated less favorably.
The survey also shows that corporate scandals have begun to affect long-term attitudes toward business and
government regulation. A 54% majority believes government regulation is necessary to protect the public interest, up from 50% earlier this year and 41% in 1994. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say
corporations make too much profit, and for the first time a majority (51%) strongly holds that opinion.
Criticisms With Staying Power (% of respondents)
| Feb 1999 | Early Sep 2001 | Nov 2001 | Now |
| News organizations… |
| Are politically biased | 56% | 59% | 47% | 59% |
| Are careful not to be biased | 31 | 26 | 35 | 26 |
| Neither/don't know | 13 | 15 | 18 | 15 |
| Try to cover up mistakes | 66 | 67 | 52 | 67 |
| Willing to admit mistakes | 26 | 24 | 35 | 23 |
| Neither/don't know | 8 | 9 | 13 | 10 |
| News media… |
| Helps society solve its problems | 36 | 31 | 35 | 31 |
| Gets in the way | 54 | 58 | 51 | 58 |
| Don't know | 10 | 11 | 14 | 11 |
Source: Pew Research Center
A majority of Americans also believe news organizations are becoming more powerful. By two-to-one (57%-29%), the public
says the media's influence is growing, not decreasing. That opinion has been one of the few constants regarding the press - last September, 55% said the media's influence was growing. Even in the
mid-1980s, when the public's overall opinion of the media was more favorable, 63% held that view.
You can find out more
here.