Editor's note: This is another in a series of "WND/WENZEL POLLS" conducted exclusively for WND by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.
There's been much ado about how mainstream media reporters have installed themselves in Barack Obama's pocket over the course of his campaign for the presidency and occupancy of the Oval Office.
Talk-radio icon Rush Limbaugh even bluntly pushed the metaphor further, stating recently, "Next time Obama has a colonoscopy, I wonder who they'll find in there. Which NBC personality will show up first?"
But a new poll suggests that main street America may not be all that impressed with mainstream reporters, with only one person in 10 between the Atlantic and Pacific stating that they trust the "national news media" a great deal.
Learn the media madness from behind the scenes: Read Joseph Farah's "Stop the Presses!"
That's according to a new scientific telephone survey of nearly 1,100 respondents conducted Aug. 20-22 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.93 percentage points. It was done by Wenzel Strategies.
The poll reveals that a higher percentage – 13.7 percent – trust national news media "not at all." And a huge 34.3 percent say "not very much." The biggest segment of the respondents, 41.8 percent, said they trust the media "somewhat," a result that simply is condemnation by faint praise.
Democrats have far more confidence in the media, perhaps reflective of the mostly left-leaning positions posited by the big media outlets, with 20.1 percent trusting "a great deal" to the Republicans' 3.6 percent. Also, 49.5 percent of Democrats trusted big media "somewhat" to 34.7 percent for Republicans. And 23.9 percent of Democrats trusted big media "not very much," to 43.4 percent for Republicans. Independents rode the division between the two parties.
"When it comes to trusting the news media, there is a chasm between the opinions of progressives and liberals and conservatives," said Fritz Wenzel, chief of Wenzel Strategies.
"Two out of three progressives trust the media either a great deal or somewhat, while just 27 percent of the 'very conservative' said the same thing. And while just 5 percent of the 'very liberal' said they don't trust the news media at all, 39 percent of the very conservatives said the same thing."
He said, "This is no doubt a reflection of the public's distaste with how the national news media have covered the presidential campaign and administration of Barack Obama. That coverage has been incurious and fawning, and, this poll indicates, has served to harm journalism itself much more than it has helped the president."
Wenzel continued, "Americans have seen through the journalistic smokescreen that the national media have created to shield Obama's political failures from public view, as is shown in Obama's anemic job approval numbers. When it comes to the president's leadership on the economy, three out of four Americans give him a failing grade."
Read the results to the question: "Overall, how much do you trust the national news media?"
Read the results to the question: "Which do you trust more?"
The poll showed that Democrats were out of step with Republicans and even independents in choosing the source of their news. While the biggest part of Democrats, 44.6 percent, picked television as the news source they trust the most, another 33.7 percent said they trust newspapers the most.
For Republicans, 40.3 percent picked television and only 10.2 percent picked newspapers. For independents, 35.1 percent picked television and 18.5 percent picked newspapers.
Large portions of both of the latter groups, 37.2 percent for Republicans and 30.4 percent for independents, picked radio news and talk.
The up-and-coming reporting on the Internet was the first choice among nearly 12 percent of Americans, including 16.1 percent of independents.
"Television is trusted the most of all media outlets," Wenzel said. "While 40 percent said they trust TV most, another 27 percent said they trust radio news and radio talk shows to provide them with the most reliable reporting. Just 21 percent said they turn to newspapers as the most trustworthy outlet for news."
Interestingly, the survey also revealed that Fox News is both the most trusted – and untrusted – network by large margins.
The poll also showed local news outlets were trusted more by 46.2 percent of the respondents – with all political persuasions within percentage points of each other. The national news media members were picked by 39.1 percent. Nearly 15 percent, however, said they trust neither.
"For all the fun that is aimed at local news outlets in the entertainment world, it was the local outlets that won out over national news outlets when it comes to trustworthiness," said Wenzel.
Read the results to the question: "Overall, how much do you trust the national news media?"
Read the results to the question: "Which do you trust more?"
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