Commentary

U.S. Lacks Single News Source That People Trust

  • by January 27, 2020
Corrections & Amplifications: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that BuzzFeed was the only media outlet more distrusted than trusted among Democrats and Republicans, neglecting to mention the New York Post and the Washington Examiner. The earlier version also incorrectly said the New York Post and Washington Examiner were more polarized than other media outlets along partisan lines. The text below was revised to reflect the corrections.

The United States lacks a single news source that's trusted by most adults, according to Pew Research Center study that looked at how people's political views affect their trust in election coverage.

No surprise, liberals and conservatives have vastly different opinions about the news, and only handful of outlets are considered somewhat trustworthy by both groups. The Wall Street Journal, BBC and PBS are the only news sources that are more trusted than distrusted by Democrats and Republicans, the survey found.

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Conversely, BuzzFeed, New York Post and The Washington Examiner are the only media outlets that are more distrusted than trusted among Democrats and Republicans. Every other news source is more polarized along partisan lines, including newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The biggest extremes in opinions are about news broadcasters, where most people get their news about the election and politics.

Republicans trust Fox News more than any other news outlet, while CNN is considered the most trustworthy source among Democrats. Sixty-five percent of Republicans said they trust Fox News, while 67% of Democrats trust CNN, according to Pew.
Its research found that Republican distrust of CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times has become more pronounced in the past five years. Coincidentally, President Trump tends to single out those news outlets for criticism, although he also has occasionally bashed Fox News for not being sufficiently favorable in its coverage.
2 comments about "U.S. Lacks Single News Source That People Trust".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, January 27, 2020 at 3:43 p.m.

    In our increasingly polarized society, it's no longer about telling the truth, it's about supporting the individual's political orientation no matter what the truth happens to be. So, naturally, we are wthout any "news" source that will be deemed trustworthy by almost everybody and this is unlikely to change in the near or distant future. Get used to it, folks.

  2. Craig Mcdaniel from Sweepstakes Today LLC, January 27, 2020 at 7:07 p.m.

    In many occupations, states require continual education classes as a continue to practice in their profession. Insurance and real estate are the two most known example. I believe the public has beeen well served as a result. 

     The question should be whether the press and other professions be under the same rules? Should politicans and attornies be included also?  The mere fact that the standards for honesty and creditability has been lowered should be reason of concern.

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