Skeptics or cynics? Age determines how Americans view the news media

A new analysis of Gallup/Knight Foundation survey data reveals that age is an important differentiator in understanding the complexities of Americans’ trust in and perceptions of the news media.

• Differences in citizens’ trust in the national media and attitudes about the media’s role in democracy vary not just by political partisanship but age as well.
• Young adults (18-34) today are more distrusting of the media than older adults and report less trust in media than adults their age 20 years ago.
• That said, more than two-thirds of young Americans say the news media is “critical” to democracy, and they are more optimistic than older Americans about the media’s role in healing division in the country. CONTINUED

Sarah Fioroni, Knight Foundation


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