Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 19

Once again, thanks to grumpyeditor.com for alerting us to media news
MEDIA LEAST TRUSTED INSTITUTION GLOBALLY,
FINDS EDELMAN
This contribution is from long-time newsman Hal Morris, grumpyeditor.com . As a former
journalist, Morris says, and let’s agree that journalism is certainly a part of the “media.” As stated
in the following article, words are so powerful in shaping opinions regardless if they are written or
spoken. Unfortunately, times have changed. While articles and reports used to be carefully vetted,
that is no longer the case. When the reports are not based on truth, eventually it results in distrust
of all media.
F OR THE FIRST TIME , MEDIA HAVE BECOME THE LEAST TRUSTED
2018 E DELMAN T RUST B AROMETER , NOTES G RUMPY E DITOR .
INSTITUTION GLOBALLY , FINDS THE
Research by Edelman Intelligence, a global insight and analytics consultancy, says in 22 of 28
countries surveyed, media are now distrusted.
“The demise of confidence in the Fourth Estate is driven primarily by a significant drop in trust
in platforms, notably search engines and social media," points out Edelman. “Sixty-three percent
of respondents say they do not know how to tell good journalism from rumor or falsehoods or if a
piece of news was produced by a respected media organization.”
“Lack of faith in media,” adds Edelman “has also led to an inability to
 Identify the truth (59 percent),
 Trust government leaders (56 percent) and
 Trust business (42 percent).
“The United States is enduring an unprecedented crisis of trust,” mentions Richard Edelman,
president and CEO of Edelman.
The Edelman “barometer” also reveals trust in the U.S. suffered the largest-ever-recorded drop
in the survey’s history among the general population, falling nine points to 43, placing it in the
lower quarter of the 28-country Trust Index.
 Consumer Packaged Goods (60 Percent) And,.
 Automotive (62 percent)
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
S PRING 2018
P AGE 11