Journalists surveyed by the Oriella PR Network trust elected officials slightly more than they do PR people. But don’t feel bad, PR professionals: They also distrust elected officials more!
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Oriella PR Network’s annual survey gathered information from journalists in 15 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada. (About 37 journalists on average in each country, the report says, so put what stock in the results what you will.)
If you’re a member of Congress or other legislative body, there is some comfort in these results: Journalists trust elected officials far more than the American public at large does. In Gallup’s most recent index of confidence in institutions, only 10 percent of Americans expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress.
For these two institutions to square off is something of a tallest leprechaun contest: Only 23 percent of Americans trust either newspapers or TV news. About half the journalists Oriella surveyed said they’d trust “Someone like you” while researching.
