The Most and Least Trusted Names in News, According to New Poll
A new Economist/YouGov poll asked 1,500 Americans about their news consumption habits and how much they trust various news outlets and media personalities – the results offered more than a few surprises.
While most Americans are aware of the credibility crisis facing mainstream media, the poll lays bare just how little consensus there is in the United States regarding trust in the media.
YouGov America’s Linley Sanders explains the poll, conducted from March 26-29, found “there are very few organizations that are trusted by more than a small proportion of Americans on both sides of the political aisle.”
Notably, the only new source trusted by a majority of Americans is the Weather Channel, with 52 percent of respondents saying they trust it.
Cable news networks are all underwater in terms of trust, according to the poll. CNN is trusted by 36 percent of respondents, while Fox News has the trust of 30 percent and MSNBC is trusted by only 28 percent of Americans, according to the poll.
Media personalities are not doing much better. The most-trusted people in media, according to the poll, are CNN’s Anderson Cooper with 44 percent, ABC News’s David Muir with 40 percent, and Fox News’ Bret Baier with 39 percent trust among U.S. adult respondents.
The survey notes that “YouGov analyzed the results by including responses for the name of each news personality only from people who did not say that they ‘don’t know’ the name.” Therefore, the data sets for media outlets and media personalities are significantly different.
The least trusted names in media are Alex Jones with 21 percent trust, Joy Reid with 29 percent, and Don Lemon with only 30 percent trust among Americans polled. Notably, in overall trust cable’s top-rated host Tucker Carlson, with 37 percent trust, ranked above journalistic mainstays like Rachel Maddow (35%), Gayle King (34%), and Jake Tapper (33%).
Among the Americans who are familiar with each name, @andersoncooper, @DavidMuir, & @BretBaier are the most trusted news personalities.https://t.co/uWwz5Pnfa7 pic.twitter.com/1etOa8jdAy
— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) April 5, 2022
When broken down on partisan lines, it’s easy to see how Tucker’s average is so high, as 65 percent of Republicans who are familiar with him have trust in him.
Laura Ingraham comes in second among Republicans with 61 percent trust and Sean Hannity is third with 59 percent trust.
Cooper is the most trusted among Democrats with 75 percent trust, while Maddow is second with 65 percent trust and ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos is third with 63 percent trust.
CNN is the most polarizing media organization in the country as 66 percent of Democrats trust it, while only 11 percent of Republicans do – a 55 point difference in perception.
The New York Times is the second-most polarizing news source in the U.S., with a 49 point gap in trust. Sanders explains why left-leaning organizations are seen as more polarizing, noting that “Democrats, generally, are more trusting of any mainstream news outlet. The exception is Fox News, which 53% of Republicans trust, compared to 19% of Democrats.”
Fox’s 34 point gap is low as trust among Republicans is lower than that of Democrats for their preferred news sources. Republicans are so skeptical of the media, that the only other news source (other than the Weather Channel) that gets more than 30 percent of Republican trust is Newsmax, with 41 percent.
The survey also asked respondents where they are getting their news from and found that the age group most likely to watch cable news is the 65 and older demographic, with 56 percent of that group saying they have watched cable news in the last week. Only 26 percent of people under 30 say they watched cable news in the last week, while an average of 39 percent of U.S. adults say they watched cable news at least once in the last week.
