Trust in U.S. media hit an all-time low in 2024 − a new survey shows Black midwesterners have found other trusted messengers of news

Black Detroiters mentioned Fox 2 anchor Maurielle Lue as a trusted messenger. Screenshot from Fox 2 Detroit by Danielle K. Brown, Michigan State University In 2024, Gallup reported Americans’ trust in media was at an all-time low. In 1972, only about 6% of Americans said they had no trust at all in mass media. Between 2020 and 2024, that number teetered between 33% and 39%. The issue is worse in the United States than in 46 other countries. The decline has made headlines over and over again. I’ve spent the past 10 years studying problems with journalism that help explain this decline. I can tell you that audiences notice when reporters get things wrong or fall short of their expectations. For Black communities, traditional news outlets routinely fall into problematic narratives that too often portray Black people in compromising, inaccurate or inadequate ways. Throughout its history, journalism has struggled to get it right. Declines in trust may help explain the small but growing number of people who actively avoid the news – as well as those who are turning to new sources of information. I recently set out to find out who these new sources were. My research focused on...