Americans' trust in news media plummets
Confidence in the US news media is at an all-time low, a Gallup survey revealed Wednesday, with most Americans complaining the media is too conservative or too liberal.
The survey showed just 40 percent of respondents felt confident in the news media's ability to report "fully, accurately, and fairly," matching results of the 2012 questionnaire.
The latest poll shows bias is a key issue for Americans and the news media.
Some 44 percent said the media sector as a whole was "too liberal," a slight decline from the 48 peak in 2010.
Meanwhile, 19 percent described the media as "too conservative," a jump from 13 percent a year earlier.
Only 34 percent said the media are "just about right" in terms of their balance.
"Though a sizable percentage of Americans continue to have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media, Americans' overall trust in the Fourth Estate continues to be significantly lower now than it was 10 to 15 years ago," Gallup said.
Declining trust in the news media comes amid a backdrop of lower confidence in many public institutions. Recent Gallup surveys have shown low levels of confidence in Congress, the presidency and public schools, for example.
Until a decade ago, a majority of Americans said they trusted the news media. The sharpest drop came in 2004, during former president George W Bush's re-election season, when trust fell from 53 percent to 44 percent.
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