The chart above is made from information in a recent Gallup Poll (conducted between June 5th and 8th of a random national sample of 1,027 adults, with a 4 point margin of error).
This should bother the news media. In a democracy they have one of the most important jobs -- keeping the people informed so they can make knowledgeable decisions. But people across the political spectrum think the media is failing in their mission. The conservatives give a slight edge to TV news, while liberals, moderates, and the general population gives a slight edge to newspapers.
But the truth is that most Americans think both the TV news and newspapers are doing a poor job, and only about one out of every five Americans has confidence in the news media. I agree with the 80% or so who have little confidence in the media, because I think that media has to a large extent abandoned investigative journalism in favor of presenting corporate propaganda (which is not surprising since most of the mainstream media is owned by a handful of corporations).
TV news presents an illusion of being fair -- by bringing a Republican and a Democrat on to throw accusations and lies at each other (without doing any fact-checking of what they say). They also ignore the opinions and positions of other parties (such as the Green Party and the Libertarian Party) and Independents -- as though the policies of the Democrats and Republicans are the only ones worth considering. While the media should be informing Americans, they are instead acting as gatekeepers (so only corporate-approved ideas are reported).
It is a shame that there is so much disrespect for the media -- but they have brought it on themselves by refusing to carry out the sacred mission they have been entrusted with.
NOTE -- The public doesn't have much confidence in internet news either (19%).
