Over Half of Americans Say They Tend Not to Trust the Press

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During this political primary season, the media, especially cable news networks, have seen a large increase in viewers, listeners and/or readers. But, with all this do people actually trust the media? The answer is not really. Looking at the press in general, over half (54%) of Americans say they tend not to trust them, with only 30 percent tending to trust the press. Just under half (46%) of Americans say they do not trust television, while one-third (36%) do trust them. Somewhat surprisingly, Internet news and information sites do slightly better as a plurality of Americans (41%) trust them while just one-third (34%) tend not to trust them. And, radio tends to do best among Americans as 44 percent say they tend to trust it and one-third (32%) tend not to trust radio.

“Thinking now of when you are looking for news on politics, whether about candidates or issues, how often do you go to each of these news sources?”

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,302 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 15 and 22, 2008 by Harris Interactive^®.

Partisan Attitudes towards the Media

Overall, Democrats are more likely to trust the media than Republicans, even with regard to radio. Just over half of Democrats (51%) trust radio compared to 45 percent of Republicans, and 45 percent of Democrats tend to trust Internet news and information sites compared to 40 percent of Republicans. The largest differences are for television and the press. Half of Democrats (50%) say they tend to trust television compared to three in ten (31%) Republicans. When it comes to the press in general, a plurality of Democrats (43%) say they tend to trust them, but only one in five (19%) of Republicans say the same.

Political News Sources

In this election year, people are turning to various sources to get their news on politics – whether on candidates or on issues. When Americans are looking for political news, seven in ten (70%) of them turn to their local television news all the time or occasionally, followed by two-thirds (66%) who turn to cable television news stations like CNN, MSNBC or FOX all the time or occasionally. Two-thirds (65%) also go to their local newspapers for news on politics all the time or occasionally, while 64 percent turn to the network television news.

While the media has spent a great deal of effort enhancing their various websites, these are not where people are turning. One-third (32%) of Americans say they never go to the websites for national newspapers for political news while three in ten (30%) say they never go to the websites for the cable news stations when looking for political news. Looking at some other media, just over one-quarter (28%) say they turn to national newspapers such as The New York Times or USA Today for political news all the time or occasionally while the same number say they turn to weekly news magazines such as Newsweek or Time.

One’s generation does impact where one goes for political news. The oldest generations, Matures (those aged 63 and older) are much more likely to turn to their local television news all the time or occasionally (83%) while Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62) are more likely to turn to cable television news (74%), local newspapers (74%) and network television news (73%). While one may expect the younger generations to be more likely to go to the websites of the various media, this is not the case. Baby Boomers are actually the generation most likely to use websites for national newspapers (40%) and the cable television networks (40%) all the time or occasionally.

There are also some partisan differences in where people go for political news, although not as many as one might think. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to turn to Cable television networks (76% versus 66%). Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to turn to national newspapers (33% versus 22%) and weekly news magazines (37% versus 19%).

So What?

This political year is one of firsts – first female candidate and first African American candidate to have a chance at the White House. Both of these have definitely increased interest in political news. While the Internet is the source of many a political story, it is not where Americans are going for their political news…at least not yet. When we get to the 2012 presidential race, the shape of the media will most likely be very, very different and the Internet may have become the top source for political news.

TABLE 1 TRUST IN MEDIA “For each of the following institutions, please tell us if you tend to trust or not to trust it.”
Base: All adults
		Tend to trust	Tend not to trust	Not sure
Radio	%	44	32	24
Internet news and information sites	%	41	34	24
Television	%	36	46	18
Press	%	30	54	16
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding


TABLE 2 TRUST IN MEDIA – BY PARTY “For each of the following institutions, please tell us if you tend to trust or not to trust it.” Those saying tend to trust
Base: All adults
	Total	Political Party
	Total	Republican	Democrat	Independent
	%	%	%	%
Radio	44	45	51	39
Internet news and information sites	41	40	45	41
Television	36	31	50	28
Press	30	19	43	28


TABLE 3 POLITICAL NEWS SOURCES “Thinking now of when you are looking for news on politics, whether about candidates or issues, how often do you go to each of these news sources?”
Base: All adults
	All the time/ Occasionally (NET)	All the time	Occasionally	Rarely/ Never (NET)	Rarely	Never	Not sure
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Local television news	70	38	33	27	17	10	3
Cable TV news stations like CNN, MSNBC or FOX	66	28	38	31	18	13	3
Local newspapers	65	32	33	32	20	13	3
Network television news	64	27	37	33	21	13	3
Websites for national newspapers	36	10	26	60	28	32	4
Websites for the cable news stations	35	9	27	60	30	30	4
National newspapers like the NY Times or USA Today	28	7	21	68	32	36	4
Weekly news magazines, such as Newsweek or Time	28	6	22	68	32	36	4
Specific publications geared towards politics	22	4	18	73	31	42	6


TABLE 4 POLITICAL NEWS SOURCES – BY GENERATION AND PARTY “Thinking now of when you are looking for news on politics, whether about candidates or issues, how often do you go to each of these news sources?” Those saying “All the time/Occasionally”
Base: All adults
	Total	Generation				Political Party
	Total	Echo Boomers (18-31)	Gen X (32-43)	Baby Boomers (44-62)	Matures (63+)	Rep.	Dem.	Ind.
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Local television news	70	50	69	79	83	74	74	70
Cable TV news stations like CNN, MSNBC or FOX	66	53	64	74	71	76	66	67
Local newspapers	65	49	60	74	78	68	69	67
Network television news	64	46	58	73	75	65	67	67
Websites for national newspapers	36	36	36	40	30	32	44	38
Websites for the cable news stations	35	30	38	40	32	38	38	38
National newspapers like the NY Times or USA Today	28	29	28	29	26	22	33	33
Weekly news magazines, such as Newsweek or Time	28	26	24	32	27	19	37	30
Specific publications geared towards politics	22	20	23	21	24	23	26	21

Methodology

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States January 15 and 22, 2008, among 2,302 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com. Harris Interactive is an independent, non-partisan research company and does not take part in political campaigning or primary predictions.

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Harris Interactive Inc. 3/08