Highlights of the
2007 Roper Public Opinion Poll on PBS

The Roper Public Opinion Poll on PBS is a survey of 1,000 adults 25-75 which assesses PBS's value as a national institution. This is the fourth year the survey has been conducted and the fourth consecutive year PBS has been ranked #1 in public trust. In this latest study, PBS was elevated to the #1 value for tax dollars, tying with military defense.

View the full report. (PDF)

Below are the highlights of the survey:

• PBS remains #1 in public trust, with 49% trusting PBS a great deal. Second in trust are “courts of law,” which are trusted a great deal by 27%.



• For the first time, PBS ties with military defense as #1 in tax value among 20 federally funded services and institutions, with 20% stating it as an excellent value for tax dollars.



• Americans are more satisfied with programs on PBS compared to cable and commercial broadcast. Thirty-nine percent stated they were “very satisfied” with PBS programs, while Cable programming received 25% and commercial broadcasting programming, 20%.



• The majority of Americans think it's very important to have public television (59%). Only two out of five Americans think the same about commercial broadcast television (41%) while even less think it's very important that we have cable television (38%).



• PBS remains the network with the most trusted news and public affairs programming, with 41% trusting its programs a great deal. CNN and Fox News trailed as second and third with 28% and 25%, respectively.



• Forty-three percent of Americans rated the news coverage, investigations and discussions of major issues on PBS programs as mostly fair. NBC came in second at 37%.



• Half of Americans believe the federal funding PBS receives is “too little.” When informed that public broadcasting receives 15% of its funding from the government, and that this amount translates to about one dollar per person per year of government support, 49% believe this amount is “too little.”