American confidence in media now lower than ever: poll

Americans are less confident than ever before in newspapers and television news, according to a survey released Monday by Gallup.

Only 11% of U.S. adults polled stated that they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in television news, while 16% said the same about newspapers. 

Americans' faith in both media institutions has fallen 5 points from last year.

At its height, 51% of Americans expressed a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers in 1971. 

When Gallup first started asking about television news in 1993, faith was at a record high, with 46% of U.S. adults saying they had a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence.

Just 5% of Americans now say they have a "great deal" of confidence in newspapers, compared to 46% who said they have "very little" confidence or "none."

More than half of all Americans, 53%, expressed "very little" confidence or "none" in television news and only 4% reported having a "great deal" of confidence in the platform.

Democrats have consistently expressed the most confidence in newspapers since the survey began in 1973. 

More than a third of Democrats (35%) stated they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers in 2022, compared to just 5% of Republicans who responded similarly. 

Democrats have also consistently expressed more confidence in television news, albeit less frequently than in newspapers. In 2022, 20% of Democrats said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in TV news while 8% of Republicans responded similarly. 

"The media has a long way to go to win back the public's confidence," Gallup said.