Page 21 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Public Trust, Media, and the "War on Terror " 11

reports are generally "accurate" depictions of the stories at hand.17 A Pew Re-
search Center poll released in mid-2005 found high levels of favorability for
news outlets, on the local and national level, as represented in the table below.
Consumer confidence in media ranged between 75 and 80 percent, depending on
the type of news outlet.''

Table 1.1

Consumer Confidence in the News

News Mediums Percent of Respondents
Confident in Each
Medium
Local Television 79%
Daily Newspaper 80%
Network Television 75%
Cable News 79%

Positive perceptions also persist when the public is asked about flagship
network anchors. One study conducted by the Pew Research Center released in
2006 found that news anchors such as Katie Couric (CBS), Brian Williams
(MC) and Charles Gibson (ABC) were held in high esteem amongst respon-
dents, with 57, 65, and 71 percent positive perceptions respectively. Common
descriptions applied to these anchors included "informed," "fair," "knowledge-
able," "interesting" "professional," "competent," and "trustworthy," amongst
others.19
On the other hand, surveys have also surfaced indicating that many Ameri-
cans reserve some or even a strong level of skepticism for American media insti-
tutions. One poll found that 56 percent of those questioned felt that news stories
throughout the mainstream media were "often inac~urate."'~ This pattern of
skepticism has continued over a number of years, as the table below demon-
strates." Along similar lines, 89 percent of respondents of one Pew poll also
said that news media either "often" or "sometimes" "let their own political pref-
erences influence the way they report the news," as opposed to only 9 percent
who said it "seldom" or "never" happened.22 Such a response is hardly surpris-
ing, considering that a certain degree of editorializing in the news is inevitable,
no matter how hard reporters, editors, and anchors try to be objective and bal-
anced. But skepticism goes beyond the limited criticism that individual reporters
have a bias one way or another. Another survey, done by the Zogby polling firm
released in May of 2006 found split feelings directed at media reliability, as 42
percent of those questioned reported high or medium levels of confidence in the
media, whereas 58 percent expressed low levels of c~nfidence.'~