Americans’ Trust in Media Falls to Record Low

One American newsprint is changing that

The New York Times' masthead is displayed in front of the midtown headquarters on December 7, 2009 in New York City. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Over the past few years, the trust of Americans in the media has fallen to exceptionally low levels.

A confidence survey conducted by Gallup in mid-2022 registered all-time lows, and reaffirms the widespread suspicion and skepticism among the average American when faced with the daily news either online, in paper or on the television.

• 50 percent of Americans believe strongly that most national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public.
• Just 16 percent have “quite a lot” or “a great deal” of confidence in newspapers.
• Of the 16 American institutions measured in the confidence survey, newspapers ranked in the second-to-last spot.

Across all political affiliations, the unfavorable opinion has only accelerated since 2020. But it was not always this dismal.

Back in 1979, newspapers garnered their highest level of confidence, at 51 percent.

Republicans had the lowest confidence in newspapers, at just 5 percent, followed by independents at 12 percent. 35 percent of Democrats expressed confidence in newspaper news. Democrat confidence had hit a peak range of 42–46 percent during the Trump administration, but has fallen since President Joe Biden took office.

Can Media Trust Be Recovered?

According to Joe Concha, contributor and media analyst, there is now a considerable gray area between partisan opinion and actual news. He believes media outlets can improve viewer confidence by resolving this issue.

“They can improve the situation by not injecting so much opinion into what should be straight reporting. And also by not automatically and blatantly taking a side on big issues such as the abortion ruling, or serving at the pleasure of one major political party like we saw by calling Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill,” Concha said to media.

A survey from Pew Research Center revealed that journalists and the general public differ markedly with regard to their views on “both-sides-ism,” which refers to whether journalists must always look to give equal coverage to all sides of an issue.

While 55 percent of journalists in the survey insisted that every side does not always deserve equal coverage in the news, 76 percent of Americans wanted the news to cover all sides equally.

One Independent News Media Is Changing All of This

While six corporations own 90 percent of media outlets in the United States, the fastest-growing independent news media in America, The Epoch Times, is free from the interests of political parties, governments, and corporations.

“Readers are tired of news media with strong political bias in their articles and want unbiased reporting without bias or exaggeration”, according to Ken, a director at The Epoch Times, America’s fastest-growing nonpartisan news outlet.

According to the director, journalists have historically been trusted.

“In the past, journalists were seen as honorable truth-seekers who held those in power accountable. Today, however, some people feel that the media has become a tool for the powerful to control the narrative and mislead the public. This is a serious threat to freedom and democracy.”

The Epoch Times has never endorsed a candidate for office, and receives all funding from readers.

Ken is willing to put his money where his mouth is.

“Instead of just talking, I would like to prove this. Therefore, for a limited time, we are now offering trial subscriptions for only $1 for 1 full month to the first 1,000 people.”

“I think our readers will experience what one of our new subscribers said recently, ‘Reading The Epoch Times feels like reading The New York Times back in the seventies.’”

Click here to get your monthly trial subscription for $1.

NOTE: First come, first served. Limited offer.