New Pew Research survey:
"Public More Critical of Press, But Goodwill Persists".
Here's how Katharine Seelye spins it in the International Herald Tribune
The latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has found overwhelming American dissatisfaction with the news media, with a rising number of people saying that the press is "too critical of America."
Yet, the survey also points out:
...The favorable ratings for most categories of news organizations surpass positive ratings for President Bush...
Interesting survey, a few more tidbits below
Does this mean the "sheeple" are waking up, or is it evidence of mass delusional psychosis in America? I'm not sure, perhaps someone more expert than myself can interpret these results in an intelligent way. I've pulled a few quotes below, but take a look at the actual survey results, the original questionnaire, etc. if this interests you.
Growing numbers of people question the news media's patriotism and fairness. Perceptions of political bias also have risen over the past two years.
This survey makes my head hurt. What conclusions can we really draw from all this? Speaking for myself, I feel it is the essence of patriotism to question and dissent. The press should be independent, not the propaganda arm of our government...
...A third of Americans below age 40 cite the internet as their main source of news
The foundations are crumbling!!!!
The percentage saying they can believe most of what they read in their daily newspaper dropped from 84% in 1985 to 54% in 2004. But the number expressing a favorable opinion of their daily newspaper, based on those familiar enough to give a rating, declined just eight points over the same period (from 88% to 80%).
So we like the media, but we don't trust it... Say, that reminds me of some of my friends! Anyway, I think if you look at the actual survey results you will see that people favor their local media for reasons that mostly have nothing to do with reporting of the news. But I was a bit surprised that people find TV more credible than newspapers by a significant margin.
Just 42% say news organizations generally "stand up for America;" about as many (40%) believe that news organizations are "too critical of America.
Yikes! But being "critical" is exactly how the press should "stand up for America", in my opinion!
...By more than three-to-one (73%-21%), the public feels that news organizations are "often influenced by powerful people and organizations," rather than "pretty independent."
Amen!
...There has been a startling rise in the politicization of opinions on several measures
C'mon, is anyone really startled by this?
...Increasingly, Democrats are showing dissatisfaction with press coverage of the Bush administration. A majority of Democrats (54%) say that press coverage of the Bush administration has not been critical enough; that represents a sizable increase from May 2004 (39%).
Only 54%???? Good lord!
...During the Clinton administration, Republicans were somewhat more likely than Democrats to say that criticism of political leaders was worth it because it could prevent wrongdoing.... Since then, Democrats have become much more supportive of the news media's political watchdog role, and Republicans less so.
More Republican hypocrisy... Not startled, not at all.