Why 23% of Americans Don't Trust Traditional Media

Why 23% of Americans Don't Trust Traditional Media
Published: 19 Jun, 2013
2 min read

In the battle between online and traditional media, the Internet has repeatedly come out on top, with recent findings further indicating the erosion of Americans' confidence in traditional media.

According to Gallup, Americans' trust in newspapers fell to 23 percent this year, the second lowest percentage recorded by Gallup. Similarly, confidence in TV cable is reportedly low, with just 23 percent of Americans expressing confidence in it.

Increasingly shut out of the partisan rhetoric of the mainstream media, unaffiliated voters have been steadily losing trust in traditional media.

During one of the most negative presidential campaigns in history, just one in three independent voters had a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in the media. Furthermore, as reported in Pew's 2013 State of the News Media Report, independents are 34 percent more likely to have left a news outlet than Republican and Democrats, indicating their discontent in the current state of traditional media.

Given that independent voters are also the fastest growing voter block, the overall trend towards new media makes sense.

The limitations of print media, newspapers especially, have had drastic implications on revenues and staffing, with newspapers experiencing a 47 percent revenue drop between 2005 and 2009, and a 30 percent reduction in newsroom staff since 2000.

What traditional media lacks, digital media makes up for in speed, relevancy, and cost.

"We have reached a tipping point at which we can most efficiently and effectively reach our readers in all-digital format. This was not the case just two years ago. It will increasingly be the case in the years ahead,"  Newsweek founder Tina Brown wrote last year when explaining her decision to -- after 80 years of print -- adopt an all-digital platform.

Technology has undoubtedly changed the way we digest news, allowing us to browse keywords, bookmark valuable content, follow primary sources using social media, and even create the news.

IVP Donate

To illustrate the ways in which technology has transformed the media, World Wide Learn has created the infographic below.

With confidence in traditional media plummeting, what's in store for the future of news?

trust_traditional_media_info

You Might Also Like

Why Neither Side Wants the Truth About Voter ID
Why Neither Side Wants the Truth About Voter ID
Voter ID is treated like a five-alarm fire in American politics. That reaction says more about our dysfunctional political system than it does about voter ID itself. ...
06 Feb, 2026
-
3 min read
Oklahoma Independents Drive Massive Push to Open Primaries With State Question 836
Oklahoma Independents Drive Massive Push to Open Primaries With State Question 836
While much of the U.S. was slammed with severe winter weather over the weekend, volunteers for Oklahoma State Question 836 – which would end the use of taxpayer-funded closed primaries – made a final push to get their campaign to over 200,000 petition signatures....
27 Jan, 2026
-
3 min read
NEW POLL: California Governor’s Race Sees “None of the Above” Beat the Entire Democratic Field
NEW POLL: California Governor’s Race Sees “None of the Above” Beat the Entire Democratic Field
A new statewide poll conducted by the Independent Voter Project finds California’s independent voters overwhelmingly support the state’s nonpartisan primary system and express broad dissatisfaction with the direction of state politics....
12 Jan, 2026
-
4 min read