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Friday, September 21, 2012

Gallup: 60% Distrust Media, 47% See Liberal Bias, 13% See Conservative Bias

By Susan Duclos

The headline is the big news but delving into the little tidbits in the Gallup releases, shows that not only do 60 percent  say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly, but Democrats are the only ones that show a majority (58%) trusting the media. Only 26 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Independents trust the mainstream media.



Further down in the first release shows Republicans, despite trusting the media the least, continue to pay close attention to the news about national politics, to be informed, with Independents and Democrats being less likely than Republicans to be paying close attention, with their levels of attention similar to 2008 and 2004.

The next Gallup release is more indicative of why distrust of the media has hit the highest levels.

60 percent of Americans see media bias, with 47 percent saying they see liberal media bias and only 13 percent seeing conservative media bias.

50 percent of Independents see liberal bias and 75 percent of Republicans, but only 20 percent of Democrats perceive a liberal media bias.

57 percent of Democrats think the media coverage is just about right, with only 32 percent of Independents seeing the same and 20 percent of Republicans think coverage is about right.

20 percent of Democrats see conservative bias in the media, but only 13 percent of Independents and 4 percent of Republicans see conservative media bias.