Who are the most trusted names in news?
A poll conducted by The Hollywood Reporter and Morning Consult has an answer, although it might not be the right answer in providing the most accurate picture of viewers’ trust.
The survey of 2,239 adults — conducted May 4-5 — asked participants about major names in the news business, according to the Reporter.
Participants were given three options regarding their level of trust for each person: “A lot/some,” “Not much/Not at all” and “Don’t know/no opinion.”
The networks whose news correspondents were listed included CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, NBC and NewsNation.
While some results seem appropriate, others appear strange in light of network controversies and failings.
NBC News anchor Lester Holt enjoyed the greatest level of trust with 65 percent answering “A lot/some.”
ABC News’ Robin Roberts and David Muir also fared well at 64 percent and 63 percent in that category, respectively.
Former Fox News anchor and current CNN host Chris Wallace had 60 percent of respondents place him in the “A lot/some” category, with CNN colleague Anderson Cooper also enjoying 60 percent for the same answer.
Do you think the establishment media is trustworthy?
Meanwhile, at MSNBC, incessant race-baiter Joy Reid found herself at 44 percent in that category, and the deranged anti-Trump host Rachel Maddow surprisingly found herself at 51 percent.
At Fox News, Harris Faulkner led the way at 53 percent, followed by Greg Gutfeld at 51 percent.
Disturbingly, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson had the highest “Not much/Not at all” percentage in the survey at 49 percent. Only 38 percent put him in the “A lot/some” category.
Former CNN hosts Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon were also divisive among poll respondents. Cuomo received 43 percent in the “A lot/some” category and 39 percent in “Not much/not at all.” Lemon’s numbers for those categories were 44 percent and 35 percent.
While some of the worst names at CNN appear to carry their reputation beyond that network, it is surprising that current names at CNN enjoy such a high degree of trust.
Despite the network appearing to take a different direction with the departure of Jeff Zucker in 2022, it is still largely the blindly partisan anti-Donald Trump network that viewers came to know.
Even more strange is Lemon and Cuomo’s trust rating being higher than that of Carlson.
How Cuomo could exit CNN with a better reputation is confusing, to say the least. In 2021, he was involved in a fiasco while working for the network when he tried to assist his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, amid sexual misconduct allegations.
THR/Morning Consult Media S… by THR
If the survey is taken at face value, the numbers still do not look flattering for anyone.
Americans, it seems, hardly have an unshakeable faith in the mainstream media. Promising percentages would be at 80 percent or above in trusting some of these names.
Yet, The Hollywood Reporter did not try to take a pessimistic tone in its article as its intent is indicative of a glass-half-full mentality in saying, “Look who’s trustworthy!”
The timing is everything given the November presidential election is fast approaching and these networks will help shape voters’ opinions.
Consider the aforementioned CNN, which will host the first presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden in June.
Polls like this may prove useful in boosting American’s confidence and viewership for the network.
The cynic should look at these polls for what they are: The mainstream media running damage control to an audience that has surely been growing skeptical in recent years.
