Good news for creators? Mass media trust hits a new low.
Mainstream media trust hits a new low.
According to pollster Gallup, just 31% of Americans say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in mass media: newspapers, TV and radio.
This record low isn't just a blip. As you can see from the chart above, trust has been trending downwards for years.
Young people are a major factor in these results. Although trust has fallen among all age groups, a sizable gap has grown between the proportion of older and younger people who trust mass media.
Right now, just 26% of people aged 18 to 49 have at least a fair amount of trust in mass media. In 50 to 64 year olds, it's about a third, and in those aged 65+, it's 43%.
This age gap is pretty new. Back in 2001, 55% of people aged 18-29 trusted mass media in comparison to 56% of those aged 65+.
What else does the data show?
The Gallup polls tend to reflect the U.S. election cycle. Trust in mass media tends to fall in election years before rising — at least a little — at the start of a new presidential term.
Something seems to have upset this cycle in 2020 (the pandemic, perhaps?), leaving a steady decline in the proportion of people with at least a fair amount of trust in the mass media.
Zoom out and you'll see a steady downward trend underpinning these cycles. Trust in mass media is undeniably falling and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon.
Back in 1997, more than half of respondents said they had at least a fair amount of trust in the media. Now, more respondents say they have "no trust at all" than a fair amount.
Republicans have always held less trust in mass media than Democrats. But Democrats (who clocked their highest-ever level of trust in 2018) have seen a sharp fall from 76% having at least a "fair" amount of trust to just 54%.
What does this all mean for online content?
The Gallup poll doesn't specifically mention online media, which limits how much creators can really read into it.
Respondents might count certain online-only news outlets as mass media. But where that line is drawn depends on who is being asked — and this survey asked no-one.
Nonetheless, as Axios notes, we know that younger people tend to get their news online and from social media.
Perhaps this is because they trust their preferred online sources more. Or maybe they don't trust newspapers because they've just never bought one.
The online media landscape is diverse, but it's not saturated. Hyper-niche websites and newsletters that would have died in print can thrive online. Social media provides new and evolving formats for creators to share information.
If a growing number of users are indeed eschewing mass media for online media, that's great news for creators. It means more eyeballs on screens and (perhaps) an unquenched appetite for news-related content.
This may reach an even lower point with time due to AI. The more news/images the AI generates the less we can trust what is published particularly in social networks
This may be however an opportunity for small startups/small news sites who value more the quality of the content generated over spamming users with 50 ads at a time just to generate some cents of revenue
Yep, I think the large social media platforms are about to fall off the same cliff of distrust as legacy media orgs. The dividing line between trustworthy and untrustworthy might come down to user verification. If a platform makes it easy for anyonymous users to post content or for people to create fake accounts posing as real accounts, they'll be overrun with AI and eventually people will move to other platforms.
Instant gratification has caused journalism to stray from the need for fact checking and accuracy. It is more important to report first than report correctly. This has been the downfall.
This article highlights a crucial shift in media trust and its implications for creators. With young people increasingly turning away from traditional mass media, it’s clear that the landscape is changing. This trend presents a unique opportunity for creators to engage audiences through niche platforms and authentic storytelling.
As a content creator myself, I’ve found that focusing on specific interests can build trust and loyalty among readers. For instance, I run a website dedicated to fast food, where I aim to provide honest reviews and insights. It’s exciting to see how diverse online content can capture attention in ways that mass media sometimes struggles to do.
It will be interesting to see how this trend evolves and how creators adapt to meet the needs of their audiences!
Instant gratification has caused journalism to stray from the need for fact checking and accuracy. It is more important to report first than report correctly. This has been the downfall.
The Gallup poll highlights a significant decline in trust in mass media, especially among younger people, with more turning to online sources for news. This shift presents an opportunity for content creators, as online platforms and niche outlets continue to grow in popularity, providing new avenues to reach audiences who increasingly prefer digital over traditional media.