Americans have lost confidence in key institutions, with television news suffering significant losses–dropping 10 percent over the last decade to just 21 percent saying they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the institution.
The only institutions Americans have less confidence in than TV news were newspapers, big business and Congress. Only two institutions gained confidence over the same period, with the presidency gaining the most–up 3 percent.
The research was done by Gallup, which surveyed 1,027 adults in all 50 states between June 1 and June 5. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points.
“Americans clearly lack confidence in the institutions that affect their daily lives: the schools responsible for educating the nation’s children; the houses of worship that are expected to provide spiritual guidance; the banks that are supposed to protect Americans’ earnings; the U.S. Congress elected to represent the nation’s interests; and the news media that claims it exists to keep them informed,” the report’s summary says.