Poll: Americans’ trust in media rises slightly

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America’s trust in the accuracy of the news media rose slightly this year, up from an all-time low last year, according to a new poll released Thursday.

Gallup’s annual Governance survey reveals 44 percent of Americans say they have “a great deal or fair amount of trust and confidence in the mass media.” That figure is identical to 2011, but up from 40 percent in 2012, the lowest it’s been since Gallup started tracking it in 1997.
“This year’s bump in confidence comes mainly from independents and Republicans, after these groups’ trust in the media dropped last year amid a heated presidential election race in which Mitt Romney supporters may have felt their candidate was being treated unfairly,” Gallup’s Elizabeth Mendes said in a release.

The survey also showed that a plurality of Americans continue to see the media as too liberal rather than too conservative.

H/T Sam Lane