According to Pew Research Center, two out of three journalists believe that the media report what society cares about. Only one in three Americans feel the same way. Pew is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to taking the pulse of what American society thinks,
Pew Research Center has conducted a macro-survey of 11,889 journalists in the United States. This is an abnormally high sample size to get a very accurate picture of what the journalism profession thinks. The study shows that journalists have a distorted image in some respect.
Sixty-five percent of journalists believe that, in general, the media report accurately, something that only 35% of the public thinks. 67% of information professionals believe that the media report on the most important issues for the country, but only 41% of citizens think so. In fact, 36% believe that the media do not do a good job of identifying the important issues.
This gap between how journalists view their work and how citizens judge it is repeated in many other respects. Do the media serve as a check on elected politicians? Fifty-two percent of journalists say yes, compared to 29% of citizens. Do they give a voice to the less visible sectors? The difference is 46-24%. Do they know how to manage disinformation to prevent it from reaching the media? 43% vs. 25.
The media bubble
These differences show that the media live in a bubble in the country. They do not connect with the society they work for. In fact, another data of the survey shows that 46% of journalists feel connected to their readers or audience, while only one in four citizens feel connected to any media outlet.
Interestingly, journalists speak highly of their own work, but may become critical of some aspect of the profession. Seventy-five percent of journalists are proud of their work, but 72% use negative words about the media industry, and 71 say fake news is a national problem.
The Washington Post is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its greatest journalistic success: the unraveling of the Watergate spy plot. In those days, 72% had some degree of trust in the media, but that percentage stands at 29% today, according to Pew Research Center; a drop of 43 points.
