39% of Americans don’t trust any of the mass media, according to Gallup. That’s alarming, because Americans’ trust in the mass media has been steadily declining since 1972 and is on a record low. But perhaps the US can learn from other countries, where trust in the media is not as low as it is in the US like some of the European countries, such as Germany. But why is a low Media Confidence such a problem and why is there a difference in countries like Germany?
The first issue are the dangers that come with an untrustworthy media, because it can lead people to seek their information from dubious websites or social media platforms, allowing populists to easily manipulate dissatisfied citizens.
It is important for democracy to have trustworthy and legitimate media so that people have a basis of information on which to debate. The media and journalists in general play an important role in monitoring and criticising the government. In Germany for example, the media is considered the “fourth power”, after the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, because of this role. However, it is important to note that the “fourth power” is not officially named like the other three.
Germany for example has a system like Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the US, which is called “Öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk”(ÖRR). And we can see that the German public has far more trust in channels like “ARD” or “ZDF”(which are part of the ÖRR) compared to the trust of US-citizens in their mass media. Especially in times of crisis, people in Germany are glad that they can rely on the sources of the “ÖRR” . Unlike in the US, the “ÖRR” in Germany is taxpayer-funded rather than donor-funded, which makes it easier to create financially independent journalism.
It is important for a stable democracy to keep a trustworthy Media, especially in times where Fake News are a huge problem. In difficult times people need information that they can trust and rely on. Maybe a Public broadcast system like in Germany, could help US-Citizens to find something they can trust and be sure the information they get are not for financial reasons but only for the reason to inform
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I find the article interesting because I didn’t know that the German system is so unique and I think it’s important to draw attention to the problem in the US. It seems to me that the possibility of restoring trust in the media in the USA through a structure like the one we have in Germany is a very good starting point, but I think that more needs to be changed there so that people trust the media again.
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