Gallup has released its survey of public trust in the media. The findings are confirmation of what we already knew: Democrats still mostly love the media, Republicans despise the media more than ever.
First the top line number. Overall trust in the media is at a historical low and has fallen off a cliff:
By party affiliation, however, a majority of Democrats still trust the media. Among Republicans, however, trust is down to a mere 14%.
An interesting dynamic in the numbers is that in Obama-era election years (2008-2010-2012-2014-2016) Republican numbers drop significantly from the prior year.
That makes sense, it’s in election years that the media’s core bias is on display, particularly during debates:
Gallup also notes a slide is all categories since 2005, but particularly since 2007 as shown in the charts:
The divisive presidential election this year may be corroding Americans’ trust and confidence in the media, particularly among Republicans who may believe the “mainstream media” are too hyperfocused on every controversial statement or policy proposal from Trump while devoting far less attention to controversies surrounding the Clinton campaign. However, the slide in media trust has been happening for the past decade. Before 2004, it was common for a majority of Americans to profess at least some trust in the mass media, but since then, less than half of Americans feel that way. Now, only about a third of the U.S. has any trust in the Fourth Estate, a stunning development for an institution designed to inform the public.
That also makes sense. The era of the media lovefest for Obama started in 2007, collapsing media credibility.
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