As someone who has paid very close attention to the media news universe for the past two decades, I am not surprised that public trust in legacy news networks and many of the nation’s most powerful institutions continues to crater.

Since 1972, Gallup has tracked Americans’ trust in mass media (newspapers, TV, and radio). In 1976, 72 percent of Americans had a “great deal” of trust in the mass media whereas only 22 percent had “not very much” trust and a minuscule 4 percent had “none at all.”

Nearly 50 years later, only 31 percent still have a “great deal” of trust, 33 percent have “not very much,” and a shocking 33 percent say they have zero trust in the mass media. Incredibly, as of 2024, the percentage of Americans who generally trust the media has reached an all-time low while those who possess no trust has reached an all-time high. This is a very concerning trend that warrants investigation and analysis.

According to the Gallup data, the general inclination of public confidence in the mass media began a slow and steady decline from 1976 to 1996. However, from 1996 to 2003, this trend briefly reversed. In the period from 2003 to 2004, public trust in the media nose-dived. Why? Probably because the mass media lied about the events leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

By 2005, half of Americans still generally trusted the mass media while nearly 40 percent had “not very........

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