A recent Knight Foundation/Gallup report on Americans’ perceptions of the media and its role in democracy contains many alarming findings for those who work in the media, and for Americans concerned about the relationship between a free press and the public.
For example, Americans are much more likely to say the media supports our democracy “very poorly” or “poorly” (43%) as to say it supports democracy “very well” or “well” (28%). Less than half of Americans (44%) say they can name an objective news source. And only 27% feel very confident in their ability to distinguish factual news from opinion.
These trends in Americans’ confidence in the media, especially when viewed over time, are troubling, if not downright depressing. But there is some positive news. There are four notable areas of consensus found in the report that could present a path forward for the media. CONT.
Kimberly Fitch, Gallup