Media Use and Evaluation

How Much Trust and Confidence Do You Have in the Mass Media?

In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media ‑‑ such as newspapers, TV, and radio -- when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly -- a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?

	Great deal	Fair amount	Not very much	None at all	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2009 Aug 31-Sep 2	10	35	37	18	1
2008 Sep 8-11	9	34	35	21	1
2007 Sep 14-16	9	38	35	17	*
2005 Sep 12-15	13	37	37	12	1
2004 Sep 13-15	9	35	39	16	1
2003 Sep 8-10	14	40	35	11	*
2002 Sep 5-8	10	44	35	11	*
2001 Sep 7-10	12	41	33	14	*
2000 Jul 6-9	12	39	37	12	*
1999 Feb 4-8	11	44	34	11	*
1998 Dec 28-29	11	44	35	9	1
1997 May 30-Jun 1	10	43	31	15	1
1976 Jun	18	54	22	4	2
1974 Apr	21	48	21	8	2
1972 May	18	50	24	6	2
* Less than 0.5%

In general, do you think the news media are -- [ROTATED: too liberal, just about right, or too conservative]?

	Too liberal	Just about right	Too conservative	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2009 Aug 31-Sep 2	45	35	15	5
2008 Sep 8-11	47	36	13	5
2007 Sep 14-16 ^	45	35	18	2
2006 Sep 7-10	44	33	19	4
2005 Sep 12-15	46	37	16	1
2004 Sep 13-15	48	33	15	4
2003 Sep 8-10	45	39	14	2
2003 Feb 17-19	45	36	15	4
2002 Sep 5-8	47	37	13	3
2001 Sep 7-10	45	40	11	4
^ Asked of a half sample

In its coverage of Barack Obama and his administration so far, do you think the news media has been too tough, about right, or not tough enough?

	Too tough	About right	Not tough enough	No opinion
2009 Jan 30-Feb 1	11%	48	38	3

(Asked of those who think news media is not being tough enough) How concerned are you that the news media will not fulfill its duties of providing oversight to the public about what the administration is doing -- very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned, or not concerned at all]?

BASED ON THOSE WHO THINK THE NEWS MEDIA ARE NOT BEING TOUGH ENOUGH ON THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

	Very concerned	Somewhat concerned	Not too concerned	Not at all	No opinion
2009 Jan 30-Feb 1	61%	24	9	5	*
* Less than 0.5%

Please indicate how often you get your news from each of the following sources -- every day, several times a week, occasionally, or never. How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

Local newspapers in your area

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2008 Dec 4-7	40	13	27	20	*
2006 Dec 11-14	44	13	28	14	*
2004 Dec 5-8	44	14	27	15	*
2002 Dec 5-8	47	13	26	14	*
1999 Jul 22-25	54	14	21	10	1
1998 Jul 13-14	53	15	22	10	--
1998 Mar 6-9 ^	50	12	26	11	1

^ Asked of a half sample

National newspapers such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	9	6	24	60	*
2006 Dec 11-14	7	6	23	62	*
2004 Dec 5-8	7	4	27	62	*
2002 Dec 5-8	11	5	26	58	--
1999 Jul 22-25	9	7	30	54	*
1998 Jul 13-14	4	11	26	59	--
1998 Mar 6-9 ^	8	6	28	57	1

* Less than 0.5%
^ Asked of a half sample

Nightly network news programs on ABC, CBS or NBC

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	34	14	28	23	*
2006 Dec 11-14	35	16	30	19	--
2006 Apr 7-9	45	19	21	15	*
2004 Dec 5-8	36	16	26	22	*
2002 Dec 5-8	43	16	25	15	1
1999 Jul 22-25	52	18	22	8	--
1998 Jul 13-14	55	19	19	7	*
1998 Mar 6-9	56	19	17	7	1
1995 Aug 11-14	62	20	15	3	*
* Less than 0.5%

Morning news and interview programs on the national TV networks

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	29	10	26	35	*
2006 Dec 11-14	28	11	26	35	*
2006 Apr 7-9 ^	29	11	26	33	1
2004 Dec 5-8	27	12	25	36	*
2002 Dec 5-8	29	10	26	34	1
1999 Jul 22-25	32	11	29	28	*
1998 Jul 13-14	25	13	27	35	*
1998 Mar 6-9	25	13	24	37	1
1995 Aug 11-14	23	13	34	30	--

* Less than 0.5%
^ WORDING: Morning news and interview programs on the national TV networks such as Good Morning America or the Today show

Cable news networks such as CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	40	16	27	16	*
2006 Dec 11-14	34	16	30	20	*
2004 Dec 5-8	39	16	25	20	*
2002 Dec 5-8	41	15	26	18	*
1999 Jul 22-25 ^	29	22	32	17	*
1998 Jul 13-14 ^	21	16	33	29	1
1998 Mar 6-9 ^	22	16	34	27	1
1995 Aug 11-14 ^	23	20	36	21	--

* Less than 0.5%
^ WORDING: CNN News or CNN Headline News

Public television news

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	28	11	30	31	*
2006 Dec 11-14	28	12	30	30	*
2004 Dec 5-8	27	11	28	33	1
2002 Dec 5-8	35	12	29	24	*
1999 Jul 22-25	30	12	33	24	1
1998 Jul 13-14	16	9	33	40	2
1998 Mar 6-9	19	10	32	37	2
1995 Aug 11-14	23	15	39	22	1
* Less than 0.5%

Local television news from TV stations in your area

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	51	13	23	13	*
2006 Dec 11-14	55	14	23	8	*
2004 Dec 5-8	51	19	19	11	*
2002 Dec 5-8	57	16	18	9	*
1999 Jul 22-25	58	14	19	9	*
1998 Jul 13-14	57	15	19	9	*
1998 Mar 6-9	56	17	17	9	1
1995 Aug 11-14	55	18	20	7	--
* Less than 0.5%

National Public Radio

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	18	9	27	46	*
2006 Dec 11-14	19	8	28	45	*
2004 Dec 5-8	17	12	25	46	*
2002 Dec 5-8	22	9	28	40	1
1999 Jul 22-25	17	10	32	41	*
1998 Jul 13-14	15	12	25	47	1
1998 Mar 6-9	20	10	26	43	1
1995 Aug 11-14	18	11	36	35	--
* Less than 0.5%

Radio talk shows

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	18	10	28	43	*
2006 Dec 11-14	20	9	27	44	*
2004 Dec 5-8	21	12	25	42	--
2002 Dec 5-8	22	10	29	39	*
1999 Jul 22-25	12	8	33	47	*
1998 Jul 13-14	12	9	21	58	*
1998 Mar 6-9	11	5	25	58	1
1995 Aug 11-14	12	5	35	48	--
* Less than 0.5%

News on the Internet

	Every day	Several times a week	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	31	11	22	35	*
2006 Dec 11-14	22	11	24	43	*
2004 Dec 5-8	20	6	25	49	*
2002 Dec 5-8	15	8	27	50	*
1999 Jul 22-25 ^	8	7	23	62	*
1998 Jul 13-14 ^	7	6	17	70	*
1998 Mar 6-9 ^	5	6	18	70	1
1995 Aug 11-14 ^	3	3	12	82	--

^ WORDING: News on the computer using the Internet or an online computer service
* Less than 0.5%

And how often do you get your news from each of the following WEEKLY sources of news: every week, several times a month, occasionally, or never. How about -- [ITEMS READ IN ORDER]?

Weekly newsmagazines

	Every week	Several times a month	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%
2008 Dec 4-7	8	3	20	68	*
2006 Dec 11-14	12	6	18	64	*
2004 Dec 5-8	11	4	21	64	*
2002 Dec 5-8	12	5	20	63	*
1998 Jul 13-14	15	6	27	52	--
1998 Mar 6-9	13	6	26	54	1
1995 Aug 11-14	14	5	30	51	--
* Less than 0.5%

Television news programs on Sunday mornings

	Every week	Several times a month	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	21	6	21	53	*
2006 Dec 11-14	19	5	26	50	*
2004 Dec 5-8	18	7	22	53	*
2002 Dec 5-8	18	5	25	52	*
1998 Jul 13-14	17	6	27	50	--
1998 Mar 6-9	18	5	27	49	1
1995 Aug 11-14	16	5	32	47	--
* Less than 0.5%

TV news magazine shows during the evenings -- such as "60 Minutes," "20/20," "Dateline," and others

	Every week	Several times a month	Occasion- ally	Never	No opinion
2008 Dec 4-7	17	11	40	31	*
2006 Dec 11-14	20	12	45	23	*
2004 Dec 5-8	19	11	44	26	*
2002 Dec 5-8	23	12	45	20	--
1998 Jul 13-14 ^	30	14	42	14	*
1998 Mar 6-9 ^	30	15	42	12	1
1995 Aug 11-14 ^	33	15	43	9	--

^ WORDING: TV news magazine shows during the evening, such as "60 Minutes," "20/20," "Prime Time Live," "Dateline," and others
* Less than 0.5%

(Asked of a half sample) In general, do you think the national news media are -- [ROTATED: too liberal, just about right, or too conservative]?

	Too liberal	Just about right	Too conservative	No opinion
2007 Sep 14-16	42%	38	16	3

(Asked of a half sample) In general, do you think the local news media in your area are -- [ROTATED: too liberal, just about right, or too conservative]?

	Too liberal	Just about right	Too conservative	No opinion
2007 Sep 14-16	25%	56	16	3

As you may know, "citizen journalism" is the process by which people use technology such as cell phone cameras, video recorders, and Internet websites to post pictures, stories and videos of news events they encounter. Do you think citizen journalism is likely to be more reliable or less reliable than the traditional news media?

	More reliable	Less reliable	Same (vol.)	No opinion
2007 Jan 5-7	45%	48	3	5
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Do you, personally, have any concerns about the accuracy of reports made by citizen journalists, or not?

	Yes, have concerns	No, do not	No opinion
2007 Jan 5-7	62%	35	3

Do you, personally, have any concerns about the accuracy of reports made by traditional journalists, or not?

	Yes, have concerns	No, do not	No opinion
2007 Jan 5-7	61%	38	1

How likely is it that you, personally, would ever participate in citizen journalism -- very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?

	Very likely	Somewhat likely	Not too likely	Not at all likely	No opinion
2007 Jan 5-7	8%	16	34	41	*
* Less than 0.5%

Do you think the news media should -- or should not -- report information it obtains about the secret methods the government is using to fight terrorism?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
2006 May 12-13	47%	49	3

As you may know, Katie Couric is leaving the Today show on NBC to become the lead anchor for the CBS Evening News.

Will this make you more likely to watch CBS Evening News, less likely, or will it make no difference to you?

	More likely	Less likely	No difference	No opinion
2006 Apr 7-9	10%	9	81	*
* Less than 0.5%

As you may know, Meredith Vieira, a host of The View and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has been named as the replacement for Katie Couric on the Today show.

Will this make you more likely to watch the Today show, less likely, or will it make no difference to you?

	More likely	Less likely	No difference	No opinion
2006 Apr 7-9	7%	6	87	*
* Less than 0.5%

Please rate how much you think you can believe each person I name on a scale of 4 to 1, where '4' means you can believe all or most of what the person says and '1' means you believe almost nothing of what they say. How would you rate the believability of -- [RANDOM ORDER] -- on this scale of 4 to 1?

2005 Feb 25-27 (sorted by "believe all/most")	Believe all/most 4	3	2	Believe almost nothing 1	Never heard of (vol.)	No opinion
Peter Jennings of ABC World News Tonight	31%	37	19	8	1	4
Dan Rather of the CBS Evening News	23%	29	25	19	1	3
Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News	21%	36	20	5	9	9
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Generally speaking, do you think Dan Rather's news broadcasts are -- [ROTATED: too liberal, about right, or too conservative]?

[BASED ON 526 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A]

	Too liberal	About right	Too conservative	No opinion
2005 Feb 25-27	35%	37	13	15

Generally speaking, do you think most news anchors' broadcasts are -- [ROTATED: too liberal, about right, or too conservative]?

[BASED ON 482 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B]

	Too liberal	About right	Too conservative	No opinion
2005 Feb 25-27	42%	28	25	5

In general, do you think -- [ROTATED: news organizations get the facts straight, (or do you think) news organizations' stories and reports are often inaccurate]?

	Facts straight	Often inaccurate	No opinion
	%	%	%
2003 May 19-21	36	62	2
2003 Feb 17-19	39	58	3
2000 Dec 2-4	32	65	3
1998 Jul 13-14 ^	50	45	5
1989 Aug 9-28 ^	54	44	2
1988 Aug 24 ^	40	50	10
1988 May 13 ^	48	43	9
1988 Jan 8-17 ^	44	48	8
1985 Aug 17 ^	50	38	12
1985 Jun 22 ^	55	34	11

^ Items not rotated. WORDING: In general, do you think news organizations get the facts straight, or do you think that their stories and reports are often inaccurate?

In general, how would you rate the job the news organizations in this country have done in covering the situation in the Mideast concerning the war with Iraq? Would you say it has been excellent, good, only fair or poor?

	Excellent	Good	Only fair	Poor	No opinion

2003 Mar 29-30	38%	41	13	7	1
2003 Mar 22-23	52%	32	10	5	1

Persian Gulf War
1991 Jan 30-Feb 2	42%	37	13	7	1
1991 Jan 17-20	63%	26	8	2	1

Which comes closer to your opinion -- [ROTATED: that the news media generally favor one political party over the other, (or) that the news media generally favor neither political party]?

And which political party do you think the news media generally favor -- [ROTATED: Republicans (or) Democrats]?

[COMBINED RESPONSES]

	2003 Feb	2000 Dec	1995 Apr ^
	%	%	%
Total favor one over the other	48	51	47
(Republicans)	(20)	(15)	(17)
(Democrats)	(23)	(29)	(25)
(Both)	(3)	(4)	(2)
(No opinion)	(2)	(3)	(3)

Favor neither	46	41	48

FAVOR BOTH (vol.)	4	3	3
No opinion	2	5	2
(vol.) = Volunteered response
^ Items not rotated. WORDING: Do you think the news media generally favor one political party over the other, or do the news media favor neither political party? Which political party do you think the news media generally favor -- the Republicans or the Democrats?