Pew Study finds increased distrust of media among democrats and independents

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"For the first time in a Pew Research Center survey, as many say that news organizations hurt democracy (42%) as protect democracy (42%)."...

9/23/11, "Pew: 75% of Americans say journalists can’t get their facts straight," Poynter.org

"While Republicans have long held negative views of the media, Democrats and independents are increasingly critical of it.

The survey finds that the growth in negative attitudes toward the news media in recent years in several key areas has come among Democrats and independents. … In 2007, 43% of Democrats and 56% of independents said stories were often inaccurate. Since then, the percentage of Democrats expressing skepticism about the accuracy of news reports has increased by 21 points to 64%, and the percentage of independents saying this has grown by 10 points.

• Republican views have held fairly steady:
  

69% see stories as often inaccurate, little changed from four years ago (63%). …"...

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Also, many more Americans follow national news now than did in 2008. Fewer follow international news than did in 20099:

9/26/11, "More Americans now follow local, national news closely; teens, adults both rely most on TV for news," Poynter.org, Julie Moos

"Buried in the latest Pew research on where Americans turn for local news, there’s this important trend: 72 percent of respondents — nearly three-quarters — say they follow local news closely most of the time, whether or not something important is happening. That’s up from 57 percent in 2008. More people are also following national news closely most of the time, with 68 percent saying they do currently, compared to 55 percent in 2008. Despite two wars and other unrest throughout the Arab Spring, fewer Americans (56 percent) are following international news closely than did in 2009 (62 percent).

Interestingly, while Americans are following news more closely, they’re also more distrustful of the media than ever, with 75 percent saying journalists can’t get their facts straight and 60 percent saying they’re biased. People believe their particular sources for news are less biased than the media generally, though."...

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