Poll reveals public distrust of media

  Sacred Heart University (SHU) recently conducted a poll to see if the average person trusts the mainstream media. The results showed “the public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades.” In fact, 67.9% agreed that “old-style, traditionally objective and fair journalism is dead.”
  The poll consisted of 800 Americans. Some of the key findings were that nearly 70% of Americans say the national news media are intent on promoting the Obama presidency. More than half said the news media are uncritically promoting Obama’s health care plan. Six out of seven Americans believe, strongly or somewhat, that the news media have their own political and public policy positions and attempt to influence public opinions.
  Dr. James Castonguay said, “The results suggest that we are witnessing a new era of partisan media with the important difference that current news outlets claim to be offering objective coverage when they often aren’t.” Castonguay is associate professor of media studies and digital culture at the Fairfield, Connecticut, campus.
  www.sacredheart.edu