{"id":87802,"date":"2020-08-31T11:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T16:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/"},"modified":"2024-05-16T17:33:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T21:33:53","slug":"americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/","title":{"rendered":"2. Americans largely see news organizations as opaque, particularly when it comes to finances"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The public often feels in the dark about how news organizations produce their news and the potential influences on it. Americans think news outlets are not fully transparent with them in a number of ways, which may also help explain <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-are-largely-skeptical-of-the-news-media-but-say-there-is-room-for-confidence-to-improve\/\">their negative evaluations of the news media<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked how well news organizations explain six different aspects of their process to audiences \u2013 ranging from how they produce their news to article corrections and their finances \u2013 Americans overall give news outlets more negative than positive marks. But one aspect stands out as especially opaque to audiences: Where do news organizations get their funding?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About a quarter of Americans (27%) say news organizations do \u201cvery\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d well when it comes to explaining where their money comes from, while an overwhelming majority say they do either \u201cnot too\u201d (33%) or \u201cnot at all\u201d (38%) well at this \u2013 a tension that has been noted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niemanlab.org\/2020\/07\/these-mcclatchy-financials-are-a-window-into-how-much-damage-covid-19-has-done-to-the-newspaper-business\/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&amp;utm_campaign=7ba5c8c94b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_17_01_41&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-7ba5c8c94b-400598721\">by journalists themselves.<\/a> Perhaps relatedly, six-in-ten U.S. adults say news outlets do not do a good job telling their audience about conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/pj_2020-08-31_trust-in-news-media_2-01-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"efe9e2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #efe9e2;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" height=\"382\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Many Americans see issues with news outlets\u2019 transparency, particularly in how they are financed\" class=\"wp-image-108709 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png 1276w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=300,179 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=768,459 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=1024,612 1024w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=678,405 678w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=200,119 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=260,155 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=310,185 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=420,251 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=640,382 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=740,442 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=160,96 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-01.png?resize=320,191 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-200-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/pj_2020-08-31_trust-in-news-media_2-02-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e5dfe1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e5dfe1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" height=\"530\" width=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?w=387\" alt=\"Most Americans think their news is influenced by corporate interests\" class=\"wp-image-108716 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png 416w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=113,300 113w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=387,1024 387w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=153,405 153w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=200,530 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=260,689 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=310,821 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=121,320 121w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-02.png?resize=242,640 242w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Majorities of both political parties and <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/pathways-2020\/\">a range of demographic groups<\/a> feel news organizations aren\u2019t transparent about their finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Americans see a lack of transparency of the media\u2019s revenue stream, many are unaware of the financial situations of news organizations. A 2018 Pew Research Center study found that <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2019\/03\/26\/for-local-news-americans-embrace-digital-but-still-want-strong-community-connection\/\">a majority of Americans (71%)<\/a> thought their local newsrooms were doing well financially, when in fact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2019\/03\/local-news-is-dying-and-americans-have-no-idea\/585772\/\">local news organizations in general are struggling<\/a>. And about a third of Americans (34%) said in April of this year that they were unsure of what <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2020\/05\/01\/most-americans-say-covid-19-has-changed-news-reporting-but-many-are-unsure-how-its-affected-the-industry\/\">financial impact the coronavirus outbreak<\/a> has had on news outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This perceived lack of transparency is amplified by the public\u2019s opinion that financial and corporate interests have influence on the news in some way. In fact, a vast majority of Americans (80%) think that these interests at least \u201csomewhat\u201d influence the news they get, including 38% who say they have \u201ca great deal\u201d of influence. Only 19% say they have not very much or no influence at all on the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"quotes-from-focus-groups\">Quotes from focus groups:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWho\u2019s paying you? That\u2019s what we want to know. Who\u2019s paying you? Who\u2019s paying you to say this?\u201d \u2013 Woman, 24<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cYou want to say what those \u2013 the contributors want you to say. Say the people with the money put a lot of money into researching a pharmaceutical medicine. Well, they want to push this pharmaceutic medicine, so they want the news to talk positively about that. And if they\u2019re contributing to campaigns or somehow paychecks of the media, then the media is going to lean more towards feeling positively about this new medicine. Same thing for politics.\u201d \u2013 Woman, 46<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWith news, I end up trying to stay away from big conglomerates\u2026 When there\u2019s a big conglomerate, there\u2019s more money involved. \u2026 In short, money corrupts.\u201d \u2013 Man, 40<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Financial information is not the only area where Americans see a lack of transparency from news organizations. More than half of U.S. adults say news outlets do not too or not at all well in telling their audiences about how sources are chosen (57%) and about whether a story is based on fact or opinion (55%). The public is about evenly split on whether the industry does an adequate job explaining how stories are produced and when corrections have been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;most-americans-think-news-organizations-won-t-admit-when-they-make-mistakes-and-many-say-corrections-boost-their-confidence-in-outlets&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"most-americans-think-news-organizations-won-t-admit-when-they-make-mistakes-and-many-say-corrections-boost-their-confidence-in-outlets\">Most Americans think news organizations won\u2019t admit when they make mistakes, and many say corrections boost their confidence in outlets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/pj_2020-08-31_trust-in-news-media_2-03-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e3d7c4\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e3d7c4;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"401\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?w=836\" alt=\"Most Americans expect their news will be accurate, but think news organizations won\u2019t admit to mistakes\" class=\"wp-image-108721 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png 836w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=300,286 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=768,733 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=424,405 424w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=200,191 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=260,248 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=310,296 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=420,401 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=640,611 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=740,706 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=160,153 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-03.png?resize=320,305 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even though about half of Americans think news organizations are at least somewhat transparent when they make a correction, the public lacks confidence that news organizations will even get to the point of admitting that they made a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans generally express confidence that their news will be accurate both overall and for specific topics such as the<br>coronavirus outbreak.[5.numoffset=&#8221;5&#8243; While most Americans expect their news overall to be largely accurate, most of those who get news on <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2018\/09\/10\/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2018\/\">social media<\/a> expect the news they get on those sites to be largely inaccurate.] Overall, most Americans (61%) say that<br>they go into a news story<br>expecting that it will largely be<br>accurate, compared with 38%<br>who expect it to be largely inaccurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, most Americans think that news outlets try to cover up mistakes when they do happen. Nearly seven-in-ten Americans (69%) say this, while far fewer (30%) think news outlets are willing to admit mistakes. This is on par with <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2018\/09\/25\/partisans-remain-sharply-divided-in-their-attitudes-about-the-news-media\/\">early 2018<\/a>, the last time Pew Research Center asked this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eight-in-ten of those who say news organizations are willing to admit their mistakes say that news organizations do at least somewhat well in explaining when they do make corrections. While much lower, 38% of those who think news organizations try to cover up their mistakes say the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/pj_2020-08-31_trust-in-news-media_2-04-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e6e3e2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e6e3e2;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"265\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?w=846\" alt=\"Many Americans say that seeing corrections to news stories increases their confidence in news outlets\" class=\"wp-image-108725 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png 846w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=300,189 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=768,485 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=642,405 642w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=200,126 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=260,164 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=310,196 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=420,265 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=640,404 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=740,467 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=160,101 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-04.png?resize=320,202 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fessing up to mistakes may be beneficial to news organizations\u2019 reputations in the long run. About half of Americans (51%) say that they feel more confident in a news organization when they see an official correction, far higher than the portion who say it makes them less confident (12%). The remining 36% say that it makes no difference in their confidence about that outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, a minority of Americans report having recently seen an official correction. About a third of Americans (36%) say they have seen one in the previous few months, while most (63%) say they have not seen one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"quotes-from-focus-groups-0\">Quotes from focus groups:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201c<\/em><em>Whatever came out first, they\u2019re going to tell you. If it\u2019s changed, they will retract it. So that is what I like, they admit to a retraction \u2013 this was wrong, we are retracting this, \u2026 and I like that, specifically, because I watch it on my show, and you can see here \u2013 there\u2019s a retraction.\u201d \u2013 Woman, 53<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cI like when they report something and get it wrong, they apologize for it and retract it. They say it out. \u2018We made a mistake, we reported this and it wasn\u2019t true.\u2019 Some don\u2019t.\u201d \u2013 Woman, 32<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWhen they double down, and they\u2019re like, \u2018No, well.\u2019 Now just admit that you got it wrong. I\u2019m going to respect you more if you just say, \u2018Yeah, we messed up.\u2019\u201d \u2013 Man, 31<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When mistakes do make their way into news reporting, Americans see a range of reasons why these errors occur, from malicious to more accidental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/pj_2020-08-31_trust-in-news-media_2-05-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e2d5d8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e2d5d8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" height=\"460\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?w=836\" alt=\"Americans see a range of reasons why mistakes can make their way into news stories\" class=\"wp-image-108729 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png 836w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=274,300 274w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=768,841 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=370,405 370w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=200,219 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=260,285 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=310,340 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=420,460 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=640,701 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=740,811 740w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=160,175 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_2-05.png?resize=320,351 320w\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey asked about five potential reasons for why significant mistakes may occur in news stories; no single reason dominates. A little over half of respondents say carelessness is a major reason (55%), and a similar portion say it is because news is breaking too quickly (53%). About half say that sources giving incorrect information is a big reason for mistakes in news stories. This is closely followed by the feeling that a desire to mislead (44%) and a lack of expertise (44%) are major reasons for errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether people think errors in news stories happen unintentionally or with ill intent aligns with their broader views of the news media. For instance, those who think the public has at least a fair amount of confidence in the news media are less likely than others to say the desire to mislead is a major reason why significant mistakes occur (31% vs. 55%). There also are divides between the two major political parties on these questions, with Republicans more likely to expect ill intent from journalists (<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/partisans-remain-sharply-divided-in-many-views-toward-the-news-media-stark-differences-between-trumps-strongest-supporters-critics\/\">see Chapter 4<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The public often feels in the dark about how news organizations produce their news and the potential influences on it. Americans think news outlets are not fully transparent with them in a number of ways, which may also help explain their negative evaluations of the news media. When asked how well news organizations explain six [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":377,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","bylines":[],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"prc_watchers":[],"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[1841,1020],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[527],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-87802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-62","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-72","formats-report","research-teams-journalism"],"label":false,"post_parent":87815,"word_count":1214,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":108984,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":108984,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":108984,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":108984,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":108984,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":108984,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_trust-in-news-media_featured.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":87815,"title":"Americans See Skepticism of News Media as Healthy, Say Public Trust in the Institution Can Improve","slug":"americans-see-skepticism-of-news-media-as-healthy-say-public-trust-in-the-institution-can-improve","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-see-skepticism-of-news-media-as-healthy-say-public-trust-in-the-institution-can-improve\/","is_active":false},{"id":87807,"title":"1. Americans are largely skeptical of the news media, but say there is room for confidence to improve","slug":"americans-are-largely-skeptical-of-the-news-media-but-say-there-is-room-for-confidence-to-improve","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-are-largely-skeptical-of-the-news-media-but-say-there-is-room-for-confidence-to-improve\/","is_active":false},{"id":87802,"title":"2. Americans largely see news organizations as opaque, particularly when it comes to finances","slug":"americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-largely-see-news-organizations-as-opaque-particularly-when-it-comes-to-finances\/","is_active":true},{"id":87792,"title":"3. Americans who have a closer relationship with their news sources are more supportive of the news media overall","slug":"americans-who-have-a-closer-relationship-with-their-news-sources-are-more-supportive-of-the-news-media-overall","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/americans-who-have-a-closer-relationship-with-their-news-sources-are-more-supportive-of-the-news-media-overall\/","is_active":false},{"id":87778,"title":"4. Partisans remain sharply divided in many views toward the news media; stark differences between Trump\u2019s strongest supporters, critics","slug":"partisans-remain-sharply-divided-in-many-views-toward-the-news-media-stark-differences-between-trumps-strongest-supporters-critics","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/partisans-remain-sharply-divided-in-many-views-toward-the-news-media-stark-differences-between-trumps-strongest-supporters-critics\/","is_active":false},{"id":87772,"title":"5. Black Americans see representation as key in determining how they stay informed","slug":"black-americans-see-representation-as-key-in-determining-how-they-stay-informed","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/black-americans-see-representation-as-key-in-determining-how-they-stay-informed\/","is_active":false},{"id":87767,"title":"Acknowledgments","slug":"trust-in-news-media-acknowledgments","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/trust-in-news-media-acknowledgments\/","is_active":false},{"id":87757,"title":"Methodology","slug":"trust-in-news-media-methodology","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/2020\/08\/31\/trust-in-news-media-methodology\/","is_active":false}],"report_materials":[{"key":"b3c33752-18a8-4cae-b62d-4feb034ceb2a","type":"report","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/08\/PJ_2020.08.31_Trust-In-News-Media_FINAL1.pdf","label":"","icon":"","attachmentId":108990},{"key":"ffb4e89c-7897-4752-a677-3c0b7633f3fc","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2020\/08\/ATP-W62-Topline.pdf","label":"February-March 2020 Topline","icon":"topline","attachmentId":""},{"key":"30f58cf4-fa83-4416-80f1-1157cc3e9b97","type":"link","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2020\/08\/ATP-W72-Topline.pdf","label":"August 2020 Topline","icon":"topline","attachmentId":""},{"type":"dataset","id":1841,"label":"American Trends Panel Wave 62","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/dataset\/american-trends-panel-wave-62\/"},{"type":"dataset","id":1020,"label":"American Trends Panel Wave 72","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/dataset\/american-trends-panel-wave-72\/"}],"report_pagination":{"current_post":{"id":87802,"title":"2. 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Americans largely see news organizations as opaque, particularly when it comes to finances","description":"The public often feels in the dark about how news organizations produce their news and the potential influences on it. Americans think news outlets are not fully transparent with them&hellip;","og_title":"2. Americans largely see news organizations as opaque, particularly when it comes to finances","og_description":"The public often feels in the dark about how news organizations produce their news and the potential influences on it. 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