Trust in America: Do Americans trust the news media?
The declining public trust in the news media and polarization of news audiences have profound effects on civic life.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
The declining public trust in the news media and polarization of news audiences have profound effects on civic life.
Similar shares of U.S. adults believe news organizations are giving too much attention (32%) or too little attention (29%) to Biden’s age.
True crime is the most common topic, making up 24% of top-ranked podcasts; 15% of the top podcasts focus on news. The next most common topics are politics and government (10%); entertainment, pop culture and the arts (9%); and self-help and relationships (8%).
The total number of journalists assigned to state capitol buildings is up 11% since 2014, though figures vary widely by state. And as newspapers employ fewer statehouse reporters, nonprofits are filling much of the void.
There are 245 newspaper reporters who cover the statehouse full time in 2022 in the United States, down from 374 in 2014.
Nonprofit news reporters now account for 20% of the nation’s total statehouse press corps, up from 6% eight years ago.
In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms. Free speech ideals and heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans.
The pandemic and its effects on society became a pervasive part of the media narrative about Joe Biden’s first 60 days in office.
In seven Western European countries surveyed, the top main source for news is a public news organization – such as the BBC in the UK, Sveriges Television/Radio (SVT/Radio) in Sweden or ARD in Germany – rather than a private one.
A global median of 75% want their news media to be unbiased when covering political issues, yet many say the news media do a poor job of reporting on political issues fairly.
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