New Delhi: Trust in the American news media has fallen sharply over the past 50 years, far more than in other Western countries. Public distrust of the media has increased as politicians have continued to portray it as biased or dishonest, with politics playing a significant role in shaping these perceptions.
Titled “Is Americans’ Declining Trust in Media Driven by Political Messaging?”, the report published by Nieman Lab on 5 August 2026 discusses the reasons behind the growing distrust of the media among Americans.
The article is presented as an interview between Joshua Benton, the founder and senior writer at Nieman Lab, and David Beavers, a former Politico journalist and political communication researcher. The discussion focuses on Beavers’ research into why Americans’ trust in the news media has declined.
“A massive analysis of every speech given on the floors of Congress between 1939 and 2023 finds that criticism of the news media is remarkably tied to specific partisan interests and historical moments,” the report states.
‘Journalism in the US is different’
The interview begins with Benton asking Beavers why American journalism is more vulnerable to political attacks than journalism in many other countries.
Answering the question, Beavers explains that modern American journalism developed during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when ideas such as objective reporting, journalism schools, and professional standards first emerged. At that time, newspaper publishers strongly defended freedom of the press under the First Amendment and opposed government regulation.
He further explains that journalism in the US never became a tightly regulated profession. Because American journalism depends largely on public trust and its role in protecting democracy, it becomes more vulnerable when political leaders repeatedly claim that the media is biased or untrustworthy.
“In the US, think of medicine or law — like, the American Bar Association practically has the authority of a government unto itself in regulating the profession. And, to a somewhat lesser degree, journalism in the US is a little bit different than journalism in other countries. I think of the Italian case, for instance, where the order of journalists, the Ordine dei Giornalisti, basically controls access to the profession in the same way that American lawyers and American accountants do,” Beavers added.
In June, a survey conducted by YouGov, a market research, public opinion polling, and data analytics firm headquartered in London, for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting found that only two of 11 well-known national news organisations are trusted by a majority of Americans.
The survey also explains the reasons behind this low level of trust. On average, only 12 per cent of Americans believe that news organisations always report the full facts without leaving out important information that could change the meaning of a story.
Another finding added that 13 per cent of Americans think news organisations always clearly separate factual reporting from opinion or commentary.
The survey, conducted by YouGov between 16 February and 26 February, also found that Americans are divided over how news should be reported. About 53 per cent prefer a neutral style of reporting, in which journalists present what public officials and others say and allow readers to decide what to believe. The remaining 47 per cent prefer a more active approach, in which journalists clearly state whether statements made by public figures are true or false.
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Influence of political messages
According to The Nieman Lab, repeated political messages accusing the media of being unfair or biased have played a major role in reducing public trust, especially among people who strongly identify with a political party.
The article discusses two major periods when political criticism of the media intensified. The first occurred during the 1960s and 1970s, when White Southern Democratic politicians attacked the media while defending racial segregation under the Jim Crow laws.
The second came in the early 1990s, when Republican leaders such as Lee Atwater and Newt Gingrich strongly criticised journalists and encouraged their supporters not to trust the media.
Benton then asked Beavers about his research on how politicians have talked about the media over time.
Beavers analysed 10.7 million congressional speeches and used computer tools to identify and examine more than 5,59,000 passages that mentioned the media. He then classified these statements as positive, neutral, or negative.
He added that during the 1970s, both Democrats and Republicans became more critical of the media. However, after the 1990s, Democrats became more supportive of the press, while Republicans grew increasingly critical of it.
“I think this is the period at which press criticism, for Republicans, really became kind of a central organizing feature of their rhetoric,” Beavers said.
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Attempts to increase trust
In his next question, Benton asks Beavers about efforts to rebuild public trust in journalism amid growing political criticism, the influence of social media, and increasing public distrust.
Answering the question, Beavers discusses three possible approaches — making journalism more transparent, correcting people’s misunderstandings about the media, and teaching people how to identify reliable news sources.
However, he also said that none of these approaches has been particularly effective.
“They don’t really work,” he added.
As the interview concludes, the discussion turns to how the internet has played a role in people’s loss of trust in traditional media.
Benton said that the choices people had earlier were not for news exclusively but for other needs as well. He added that earlier, if someone stopped trusting their local newspaper, they would also lose access to many other kinds of information, including local news, sports coverage, movie listings, and advertisements for cars and other items.
“Like, if it’s 1960 and you decide you don’t trust your local newspaper, you’re in a big bind. You probably don’t have another newspaper to switch to. And you’re using the newspaper to meet a ton of different needs,” he said.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)