APME Report Shows Newspaper Readers Still Trust Mainstream Media, Mostly

By: Joe Strupp An e-mail survey of more than 2,500 newspaper readers, conducted through 39 newspapers and released Wednesday by the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME), revealed that most still trust mainstream media but think the flap over CBS's purported National Guard memos hurt credibility. The majority also added that they do not read Web blogs and are more trusting of local election coverage than national coverage.

The survey, results of which were released at APME's annual conference in Louisville, Ky., was sponsored by APME's Credibility Roundtables Project. A total of 39 news organizations sent e-mails to 16,575 regular readers, prompting 2,543 responses received from 49 states and the District of Columbia, a response rate of 15 percent.

While no hard data is being released, the report offered a summary of findings based on responses and follow-up interviews.

"Plenty of readers said human error goes with the territory," the report said in reference to the CBS scandal and other credibility problems of recent years. "Even more said the media needs to put in plenty of work to win back the public trust." The report added that readers offered advice, listing ways to remind the media of its mission as well as a few ideas that "conflict with journalistic tradition."

Among the papers participating were the Arizona Daily Star in Tuscon, The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, and The Bakersfield Californian.

Most readers said getting the media back on track is simply a matter of getting back to basics: More objectivity, fewer anonymous sources, being skeptical but not hostile, taking time to verify the story, being quick to admit mistakes, and "send those sound bites into the abyss."

Some readers explained that they'd always had suspicions of agenda-driven coverage, and the Rather memo story told them they were right. Others said they still felt comfortable trusting the rest of the media but would be keeping an eye on CBS.

But some were more sympathetic. "These sorts of things happen sometimes, because the media is actually composed of a large group of human beings, and I haven't met a human being yet who is infallible," Marge Barber, of Beaufort, S.C., a reader who responded to the survey, told APME.

One suggestion for improving credibility was pervasive: Lose the perceived liberal bias. Other readers offered a simple solution that would require a "titanic shift from the traditional sense of objectivity": Be open about the process of journalism, and be upfront about your background and perspectives.

In another area, the report indicated that despite the recent surge in interest regarding Web logs, four of five readers said they didn't read them. Those respondents who did read blogs "urged caution but suggest the new medium offers great potential as a watchdog of mainstream media," the report stated.

Finally, the survey showed that readers rely on a small number of media sources for coverage of local elections and are much more trusting of that coverage than of national election coverage. They added that newspapers still played a vital role.

Discussing all of these results, the report admitted, "The results are not scientific; those who responded are likely to be among the more wired and interactive readers that newspapers have. They were polled because they had given their e-mail address to their local newspaper, and comments were taken only online."

The National Credibility Roundtables Project is funded through a grant from the Ford Foundation and is intended to help the media address the credibility crisis that exists with the public. The Reader Interactive initiative, as part of that project, has assisted newsrooms around the country in setting up reader e-mail networks so that editors can be in better touch with readers