Some good news for TV, according to the new Poynter Media Trust Survey: Trust in news is up — especially for local media. This bucks a decades-long trend, as well as President Trump’s refrain of “fake news.” The survey found 76% of Americans — regardless of political persuasion — have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in their local TV news, while 73% have confidence in local newspapers. On the other hand, the figures are 55% trust in national network news, 59% in national newspapers, and 46% in online-only news outlets.
The divide is most pronounced among Republican voters: 71% said they trust local TV news while only 28% trust the national networks. Sixty-two percent of Republicans said they trust local papers, and only 29% said they trust national papers. Democrats had a higher level of trust across the board.
“Anyone who says that people don’t trust the news media isn’t looking hard enough,” said David Chavern, president and CEO of the News Media Alliance, a national association representing the newspaper industry, in an email. “Trust is based in experience, and people have had long and deep experience with local news publishers.”
Gallup previously recorded an all-time low of 32 percent trust in media in September 2016, at the height of an ugly presidential campaign, but measured an uptick to 41 percent trust last September.
