Americans are fed up with news coverage that puts emphasis on gossip, celebrities, sports and sensationalism.
You wouldn't guess that if you watch most TV news or read many newspapers. But that's what a recent Harris Poll discovered, as reported in Media Daily News.
The poll, taken in August, found that 76 percent of American adults feel celebrity gossip and scandal gets too much news coverage. Forty-five percent say entertainment in general gets too much coverage, and 41 percent feel that way about pro sports.
The poll also found that some issues are believed to get too little news attention. Forty-seven percent cited education issues, 45 percent cited science, 44 percent said government corruption, followed by global humanitarian issues at 33 percent and health issues at 30 percent.
If this survey is accurate,there may yet be hope for real news. But it's a big IF. Let's face it -- when people fill out surveys, they generally want to appear more highbrow than they really are. So they may say there's too much gossip and trash on TV, even as they tune into it and then talk about it online via social media.
The proliferation of gossip and soft news may be why the level of trust in media continues to drop. The same Harris poll showed only 25 percent place great confidence in local TV news and even less -- 21 percent -- in their local newspapers. Network TV news is trusted by only 17 percent.
Online news sites not affiliated with a "traditional" news outlet had only 11 percent confidence among those polled. Well, at least they got that right.