Story by Steven Blomquist

Trust in news media has changed over time according to a recent poll by Pew Research Center published in Sept. of 2011
In 1985, 34 percent of people believed stories published in the media were inaccurate. Today, 66 percent of people believed that stories are inaccurate.
Local news organizations tend to be the most trusted of the news media, as 69 percent of people trust their local news organizations. The survey showed that large organizations such as Yahoo and Google tend to be most common where people get their information.  These national organizations tend to only have 59 percent trust approval.
“Google and Yahoo have… so much news information that it makes it a one stop shop,” said Alex Rasmussen, at student of communication at the University of Utah.
Receiving information from national organizations such as CNN and FOX News is the second most common form. According to the survey 77 percent of the people surveyed believe that those press organizations tend to favor one side of a point of view.
Tyson Phillips, a mass communication student, said he believes, “It’s good to get information from multiple sources to receive your news.”
The percentage of people who believe that the press is influenced by powerful people is up from 53 percent in 1985 and is now 80 percent in 2011.
Bryant Jacobson, a Democrat, US Army veteran and current student at the University of Utah, said, “News organizations have their own agendas, thus making it hard to trust what they say.”
The Pew Research Poll has shown throughout their study of many different aspects trust in media has changed over the past 25 years. People tend to not trust news media as much as they once did.