New research shows what Americans think about news
The Knight Foundation and Gallup paired up on a report about what American news consumers think about accuracy (and bias) in the media. Even though their polling showed that Americans believe that the news media have a critical role to play in U.S. democracy, there's a great deal of skepticism about how well they are performing that role.
The good news is that Americans believe the majority of reporting (newspapers, TV, radio) is accurate; the bad news is they believe 44% of it is inaccurate. The results are even worse for news on social media – folks think that 64% of news they get online is inaccurate. And almost all of them are VERY unhappy about inaccurate news wherever it's found – more than nine out of 10 report being angry or annoyed by it.
While it's probably no surprise, liberals trust the traditional media more than conservatives, while moderates split the difference. Folks of all political persuasions are skeptical about the news they see online.
So what does this information mean for us – and more importantly, for you and your organization?
Investing time and energy in cultivating reporter and editor relationships continues to be worthwhile because the majority of our target audiences – liberals and moderates – still trust and value what they read in newspapers, see on TV (provided it's not Fox News) and hear on mainstream radio. And since we know many folks are getting their news online, posting news clips from trusted outlets is also a good idea – although we have ideas for a robust mix of engaging online content (just ask us!).