America’s faith in media at all-time low
America’s faith in media at all-time low
Gregg Levine:
Faith in print media is down 29 points since its 1979 peak. TV peaked in 1993 with a 46 percent confidence rating. Oddly, Gallup hadn’t asked the question about the Internet since 1999, but the difference (from 21 percent then to 19 percent now) is statistically negligible.
While the numbers across all three venues are dreary, the trend lines are important. With the decline in faith comes a decline in traditional media’s ability to influence public opinion and political debate. If the trends continue (and it is hard to find a reason why they won’t), the Web would soon be the most influential media component in the national conversation.