Trust

Trust in the media has been on a downward slide since the 72% high point in 1976. By the 90’s it was in the mid 50’s and by 2005 it was in the low 40’s and now it has slipped below 40. A similar trend can be seen with trust in government going from 40% down to 15%. One reason for this that is not often discussed it the 24 news networks. They have to keep coming up with “Special Alerts” at the start of every show and thus they just jump from one story to the next. Something that is a big deal today is old news a week later. Recall the report about how veterans were dying while waiting for treatment. That is still happening but it is old news. Trump has taken advantage of this news cycle. He knows that people have lost trust in both news and government so he sends out a tweet and the news media jumps all over it for a few days and then he sends out another. They go especially wild if the tweet is not true but people so believe that much in the news is not true they don’t get excited. In a few days the press realizes that this is not a story and they go after the new shinny tweet bait