Poll: Half Of U.S. Public Lost Trust In Media Over Past Two Years, Only 8% Gained

[F]ully half the country says its trust in the media decreased over the past two years. A tiny 8% say it's increased.

That includes a plurality of independents (49%). Even among Republicans, who've long grown accustomed to media bias, 81% say their trust in the press has dropped over the past two years.

Geographically, those in the Midwest and the South are mostly likely to say their trust in the press has declined (52% and 57%, respectively) since Trump took office. Men are far more likely than women (54% vs. 47%). And those with incomes over $75,000 (51% of home distrust the media more) more than lower-income households.

[...] [M]ore than two-thirds of the public (69%) think the news media "is more concerned with advancing its points of view rather than reporting all the facts." Only 29% of the public disagrees with that statement.

[...] That includes 72% of independents, 95% of Republicans, and — surprisingly enough — 43% of Democrats.

There's more. Fifty-nine percent say that the press covers issues in a way "that seeks to delegitimize the views held by President Trump and his supporters."

Sixty percent of independents and 93% of Republicans agree with that.

Also, more than half (53%) say they agree that the media "prematurely declared President Trump guilty of collusion with Russia without sufficient evidence."

On this, too, most independents (55%) agree. So do more than one in five (22%) of Democrats.