Bad News for the News Industry

Source: Pew Research

As this chart above shows, news organizations have a serious credibility problem. This survey from Pew Research’s People and Media Center underscores how far the media has fallen. In terms of public trust and confidence, news media credibility is at a two-decade low point [emphasis added]:

Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two Decade Low (Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, September 13, 2009)

The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows.

Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate. That percentage had fallen sharply by the late 1990s and has remained low over the last decade.

Similarly, only about a quarter (26%) now say that news organizations are careful that their reporting is not politically biased, compared with 60% who say news organizations are politically biased. And the percentages saying that news organizations are independent of powerful people and organizations (20%) or are willing to admit their mistakes (21%) now also match all-time lows…

Why is the news about the news media so bad? The advent of the Internet and its many free sources of information have posed a serious problem for media organizations with high cost structures. Not only has the Internet offered alternative sources of information, but it has also brought along serious competition for classified ads and advertising, both of which are essential to the media business model. Changes in this realm have caused newspapers to fail, magazines to fail and have hurt the value of media franchises.

However, this series of surveys from Pew Research go back many years and the surveys indicate a steady erosion of trust and confidence in the media. There is widespread belief that media stories are frequently inaccurate and often biased. That’s a killer.

Some of my friends are in the media

I know many hard-working folks in the media — broadcast, print and online. The ones I know have spent years building their skills and their credibility as objective journalists. They believe in their craft and they work hard at it. Yet, on the few occasions when this topic of media bias or inaccuracy has come up, my media friends have downplayed the problems of bias or inaccuracy as being rare or unusual.

If that’s the case, why does the media itself get very low marks? Bad public relations? A few bad apples? Or, is it systemic? And, why has the public’s faith in the media been sliding for decades as we can see from the Pew Research findings?

The Internet passes newspapers

This chart from Pew Research shows the trend and it’s bad news for the traditional news media. As you can see, the trend for television is down, but it’s going down from a high level. On the other hand, newspapers are losing ground as a source for national and international news and they have just been passed by online media as a source.

That’s a trend to which I can relate because I get all my news online. I don’t have television at home and I don’t subscribe to any newspapers or general interest magazines. So, for me, online is everything. I do still go to newspaper sites such as the Wall Street Journal (NWS), Washington Post (WPO) and so on, but it’s to their online sites that I go. And, I spend time at other online sites such as MarketWatch, Bloomberg as well as many financial and general blogs:

Source: Pew Research

Finally, take a peek at this chart which covers classified advertising at Craigslist versus the traditional media. Craigslist revenues (blue line) are in the millions as seen on the left hand side. Newspaper classified revenues (red line) are on the right hand side and they are in the billions. So, this is not a straight comparison, but rather a look at the revenue trend for each side. Newspaper classified revenues have fallen from $16 billion or so to about $6 billion at the same time that Craigslist revenues have ballooned by a factor of 10:

Source: Clusterstock/Business Insider

As Craigslist online ad revenues have grown, newspaper industry ad revenues have plummeted. And, along with falling revenues, newspaper valuations have tanked. Ouch.

See also:

Washington Post: Pay for play?

Comments

[RE Broker:]

Hopefully the broadcast media follows the newspapers into the toilet. I'll be happy to flush.

Sep 15 04:10 AM

[CautiousInv...:]

More than ever before MSM has become an extension of the white house press office, dutifully providing cover and spinning events with clear political purpose. In this role, they have become propaganda machines with unapologetic political agendas.

I sometimes think I am living in a "mirror funhouse" with all kinds confusing images, reflections and twisted sensations; everything I see, hear and read in MSM is an editorial distortion flowing from commission or omission. There is no unbiased reporting of news.

The failure by MSM to cover the controversy around the departure of green jobs czar Van Jones is almost pardonable compared to the lapse in reporting the most recent events involving ACORN, a community organization that helped register voters and do everything else possible to get Obama elected. Largely unreported is that ACORN employees have been taped providing assistance to a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute seeking housing from which to operate.

Operating under the principles drafted by Joseph Goebbels, the political leanings of MSM are well understood and manifest in their daily offering of drivel and agitprop. Fortunately, their influence is waning and their economic end is near.

Sep 15 05:15 AM

[Alphareader60:]

What you fail to mention is the fact that the Labor Unions virtually control all media, and have for years. The reason newspapers will probably go broke is due to vast number of unions involved in "negotiations" (See Boston Globe - had to negotiate with 18 different Unions; NY Times 21 or more Unions, etc). The Labor Unions have collectively become no more than extortionists of their members and their members employers. The untold story of Unions is the Mafia takeover in the 1930's of most unions and the out right criminal activity and behavior ( in politics, in business and control of the "media spin" to minimalize such behavior) since that time. It doesn't take more than some minimal research in this area to see how pieces fall into place - especially in the political arena.
Media has become more about hyping "the story" and not letting facts get in the way of a good story. Thanks to the internet, the public can now do their own research, thus learning that a vast amount of media is nothing more than sensationalized fiction, with maybe a shred of truth buried somewhere in the spin.

Alphareader60 9-15-09

Sep 15 07:55 AM

[holmesnmanny:]

On Sep 15 07:55 AM Alphareader60 wrote:


Thanks to the internet, the public
> can now do their own research, thus learning that a vast amount of
> media is nothing more than sensationalized fiction, with maybe a
> shred of truth buried somewhere in the spin.
>
> Alphareader60 9-15-09

Ya, such as your post. Unions are nothing like they used to be. They have faded hard and their goal has been to attempt to get the working person reasonable wages and protection.

You must be the exectutive of some company or such or you wouldn't be trying to sell this nonsense.

Sep 15 08:54 AM

[Jimbo:]

I have sadly concluded that both political parties are so corrupt they are beyond redemption. But I also sadly observe that the "MSM" are quick to jump on scandal involving Republicans while looking the other way when the Democrats are the focus. Consider the almost simultaneous events where South Carolina Republican governor Sanford admitted his shameful extramarital affair. Former North Carolina Democratic Senator Edwards admitted he is the father if a child by a campaign worker while his loyal wife is dying of cancer. Edwards is under investigation for alleged use of campaign funds to support his paramour. Check your local paper to see how much coverage both events received. Ironically, the servile fawning of the "MSM" toward the present administration has insulated them from realistically assessing the mood of most citizens and may deliver an electoral disaster in 2010. There really does seem to be a disconnect between the coastal and big city elite and the folks in "flyover" country.

Sep 15 10:47 AM

[swaps:]

Reporters and editors consciously and subconsciously skew the news and suppress it because they are afraid they will lose their jobs and wind up unemployed, writing for free in their Internet blogs.

Sep 15 10:50 AM

[Interested One:]

It's easy to label the MSM biased when the majority of the population start from the premise that Rush Limbaugh and John Stewart are serious sources of news. These numbers are more a reflection of peoples inability or unwillingness to separate news from entertainment.

Sep 15 11:47 AM

[Interested One:]

This commenter obviously sees the world through conservative colored glasses.


On Sep 15 05:15 AM CautiousInvestor wrote:

> More than ever before MSM has become an extension of the white house
> press office, dutifully providing cover and spinning events with
> clear political purpose. In this role, they have become propaganda
> machines with unapologetic political agendas.
>
> I sometimes think I am living in a "mirror funhouse" with all kinds
> confusing images, reflections and twisted sensations; everything
> I see, hear and read in MSM is an editorial distortion flowing from
> commission or omission. There is no unbiased reporting of news.<br/>
>
> The failure by MSM to cover the controversy around the departure
> of green jobs czar Van Jones is almost pardonable compared to the
> lapse in reporting the most recent events involving ACORN, a community
> organization that helped register voters and do everything else possible
> to get Obama elected. Largely unreported is that ACORN employees
> have been taped providing assistance to a couple posing as a pimp
> and prostitute seeking housing from which to operate.
>
> Operating under the principles drafted by Joseph Goebbels, the political
> leanings of MSM are well understood and manifest in their daily offering
> of drivel and agitprop. Fortunately, their influence is waning and
> their economic end is near.

Sep 15 11:52 AM

[casey00001:]

Thank God for Fox News.

Sep 15 06:16 PM

[Burton A. J...:]

Thank God for the Internet.

It's so nice to have a choice and to be able to find out what really is happening. It's particularly satisfying to read news now on the Internet that previously would have been sequestered and suppressed or distorted beyond recognition if reported at all by the liberal propogandists who have controlled our press, media, and academia for decades. What a sanctimonious, self righteous, pompous bunch they are!

Let's pray they do not receive any governmental bailouts. They deserve to go broke.

Burton A. Johnson, MD,JD
bajvalueinvesting.com

Sep 15 06:35 PM

[Relayer10:]

When a 20 year old kid, with a $1,300 budget does what Mike Wallace and 60 minutes USED to do....it puts the entire decline in such a perfect box...tied with a bow. Why are the so called " real" journalists not asking deeper questions....why are they focused on the kid? What if the kid is CORRECT??? Why is the big budget professional media machine not looking real deep into the tentacles of ACORN...and more importantly, the politicians that have benefitted from ACORN. If there are none....is THAT not a story as well?? This story just puts a big huge spotlight on how inept media is now...and explains the declines without saying a word! Keep ignoring.....we will keep not buying your papers, and not watching your newscast.....

Sep 15 09:07 PM

[newspapersales:]

The fact that more people are getting their news from the television than from newspapers reflects more on the dumbing down of America than anything else. How can we fit complex and meaningful arguments into 2 minute sound bites? We can't. So the broadcast media repackages it into segments for the lowest common denominator.

I'm just glad there are still newspapers around so I can get what what Paul Harvey calls "the rest of the story".

Sep 17 03:33 PM

[FullMetalPh...:]

The need for speed, lack of personal, and lack of journalism skills has damaged the credibility of news organizations.

(1) The need for speed, has down a lot of damage not because how fast the info goes up but how little it is checked. We are now talking information going up in a constant flow information with poor follow through and fact checking. There used to be a technological barriers but those barriers have collapsed. So information is not edited as throughly as it should be and is not fact check. There is also poor follow through on developing stories. Instead we the next hot piece of information is thrown up. Also news organizations do not like to admit to mistakes. So if they make a mistake on the news cycle they are slow to correct it.

(2) Lack of personal, TV and printed Newsrooms have shrunk. Most newsrooms have 1/3 the size of personal that they did in the 80's. You have less editors, and less reporters in the field. Reporters are spread thin on beats so they have a harder time developing reliable sources. There are less editors to look over copy to check facts and even grammar.
I recently saw a Lee Paper in Hanford, CA fire their only Hispanic reporter, who good speak, read and write spanish in community with a 53% hispanic population.

(3) Lack of journalism skills, This goes back a lot to lack of personal. When you cut staff with early retirement, fire experienced reporters in order to have cheaper less experienced reporters, the quality of coverage will go down. If you look at the amount of years of experience it has decline drastically. This isn't rocket science.

To any corporation that owns media they do not understand journalism. They view journalists as nothing but a cost. A corporation views journalism only as a advertising delivery system. So the quality of the journalism is not an economic concern.

Sep 27 05:33 PM