No surprise fewer trust the media

For those of us in the industry, the survey is troubling. The latest Gallup Poll finds American’s trust in the news media has sunk to an all time low. Only 32% say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the media. That number is down eight percentage points from last year. Of course, rarely has the media been held in high regard. Journalists often rank just above used car salesmen in trustworthiness. And the so called mainstream media are the subject of frequent bashing from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and others. But we also have to consider how people are choosing to get their news, and where they choose to get it from. A quick scan of your Facebook feed each morning is hardly providing the full story. Especially when we hear that many of the pre-election posts on Facebook were fake news stories, designed not to inform, but to change opinion. Yet the number of people who get their news from mobile devices is now up to 72%, its highest level ever. Even though what they are reading may be just a hoax. Maybe then it is little wonder that Americans don’t think they can trust the media, given the rapidly changing defintion of just what the media is.