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Erosion in Public Trust of Media Should be a Wake-Up Call, Opines Prof. Jeff McCall '76

Erosion in Public Trust of Media Should be a Wake-Up Call, Opines Prof. Jeff McCall '76

November 1, 2015

The latest Gallup Poll on the public's trust in media is "yet another dismal report on public perception of the journalism industry," says Jeff McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University. He writes that the findings make it clear, "The media face a stiff climb in order to get back in the citizenry’s good graces."

In a column published in several newspapers, Dr. McCall details the survey's finding that confidence in professional news outlets is at historic lows.

"Only 33 percent of such citizens trust the journalism industry to be fair, down a staggering 22 points in just 16 years," he notes. "Independents now view the media at about the same low level as Republicans, long considered the most distrustful of media ... Almost a fourth of all Americans now say they have no trust in media reporting at all."

The professor continues, "The most disturbing component of the study is that younger adults, ages 18-49, have less media trust than adults over 50. Only 36 percent of younger adults have confidence in the media, down 17 points in the last 12 years. Young adults who already have a dim view of media fairness won’t be easily won back."

Fewer young people are studying journalism and seeking careers in the profession, McCall adds. "The public thinks the journalism industry is weak now, and things will only get worse given that the best and brightest in colleges aren’t seeking news careers."

McCall opines, "The American people no longer view reporters as the public surrogates they should be. Trust can’t be restored until news audiences look at reporters and sense that the journalists represent the public’s interests. Trust can’t be restored as long as the nation’s news agenda is saturated with sensational, yet low-impact, stories about pop culture figures, such as Cecil the lion and a county clerk in Kentucky.

"Trust can’t be restored as long as the public senses that the news media is driven more by bottom-line profit and ratings motivations than by a sense of public service, even though those two objectives are not mutually exclusive."

The essay concludes, "The trust gap between the public and media industry can only be closed when news organizations get the courage to change the vision and prevailing culture of their newsrooms. The news industry, and the nation, can’t afford another 10-point trust decline in the next 10 years. If that happens, there will no longer be a 'news' industry. Whatever is left over will be merely part of the creative writing industry."DSC8707c

You'll find the column at the website of Indiana's South Bend Tribune.

The author of Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences, Jeffrey M. McCall is a 1976 graduate of DePauw and a former journalist. He serves as faculty adviser to student radio station WGRE, where he worked as an undergraduate.

The professor is frequently called upon for comment on media matters and has been cited in more than 100 newspapers.  McCall's recent column on presidential debates was carried by Fortune and he was cited in a September 18 Los Angeles Times article previewing the Emmy Awards.

Source: South Bend (Ind.) Tribune

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