PR Implications of the Stunning Lack of Trust in the Media

Americans’ trust in the media dropped to a new low – again.

Only 32% of those surveyed by Gallup say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. That’s the lowest since Gallup polling began in 1972 and down eight percentage points from last year. Gallup calls the drop “a stunning development for an institution designed to inform the public.”

While Americans’ trust in the media has been eroding steadily over time, trust dropped sharply this year. Republicans who say they trust the media plummeted to 14% from 32% a year ago. That could be because Republican leaders and conservative pundits accuse the media of unfair, overly negatively coverage of GOP nominee Donald Trump, Gallup points out. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, they say, has received overly positive media attention.  Trump’s constant criticism of the media could also be a factor.

Democrats’ and independents’ trust in the media declined only slightly over the past year, with 51% of Democrats (compared with 55% last year) and 30% of independents (versus 33% last year) expressing trust in the media.

Distrust across all Age Groups

Distrust of the media cuts across all age groups, although older Americans are more likely to express trust. Currently, 26% of those aged 18 to 49 (down from 36% last year) and 38% of those aged 50 and older (down from 45%) say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media.

Other surveys also cited a growing lack of trust in the media. About 52% of respondents said they have “some confidence” in the press, while 41% said they have “hardly any confidence,” a recent American Press Institute survey reveals. “Over the last two decades, research shows the public has grown increasingly skeptical of the news industry,” the American Press Institute states.

The fragmentation of the media landscape and the rise of opinion-touting blogs may be accelerating declining trust. “When opinion-driven writing becomes something like the norm, Americans may be wary of placing trust on the work of media institutions that have less rigorous reporting criteria than in the past,” Gallup theorizes.

What Lack of Trust in the Media Means for PR

The trend poses important implications for public relations.

“Suspicion of the media makes it that much more important to build great public relations.  A superb public relations firm helps to establish and maintain relationships with an institution’s target audience,” says Richard D. Pace in Everything-PR. “The more PR works at this, the more potential it provides for a client to receive positive exposure.”

PR pros may need to:

Become more familiar with social media as a promotional avenue. Placing and promoting news stories on social media has rapidly become a must-have media relations strategy.

Find and connect with social media influencers in their niche. The right influencers, people with large numbers of loyal followers, can increase the reach of your message exponentially.

Embrace owned media. Owned media strategies, such as brand journalism, can be more powerful than media pitches. Similar to mainstream news, brand journalism projects an unbiased style and voice that factually reports brand news.

Protect and enhance their organization’s reputation. A damaged online reputation can severely harm an organization. Being proactive is key. Companies can take advantage of a media monitoring service to identify comments that require timely responses as well as incorrect or slanderous content that calls for a more forceful response.

Monitor all media, including social media, closely. In an increasingly fragmented media environment where unfavorable, even if inaccurate news, can spread quickly if not identified and promptly corrected.

Bottom Line: A record-low level of trust in the media means public relations is both more difficult and more important. It’s now more important than ever for PR to pursue social media and owned media strategies.