Fewer Americans Than Europeans Have Trust in the Media – Press, Radio and TV

A new Harris Poll measures the levels of trust which Americans have in important institutions, and compares the results with those in a virtually identical European survey. For many institutions the levels of trust, or distrust, on both sides of the Atlantic were similar. There were also some striking differences. Americans showed much less trust than Europeans in the media and in the United Nations. On the other hand, Americans, more than Europeans, trust religious institutions.

Both Americans and Europeans had relatively high levels of trust in their police and military. Both Americans and Europeans had very little trust in political parties, their governments, trade unions and big business.

The American data are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,092 adults surveyed online between December 8 and 15, 2004. The European data come from the Eurobarometer survey of adults in the 25 member countries of the European Union surveyed nine months earlier in February and March 2004.

American attitudes toward the press, radio and television were much more negative than European attitudes. Specifically:

• A 62 to 22 percent (almost 3-to-1) majority of Americans did not trust "the press"; Europeans were split 47 to 46 percent.
• A modest 43 to 33 percent plurality of Americans were inclined to trust the radio; a larger than 2-to-1 majority (62% to 29%) of Europeans did so.
• A substantial 58 to 22 percent majority of Americans did not trust television; a 54 to 39 percent majority of Europeans did trust TV.

In the five largest EU countries:

• Trust in radio was above 55 percent everywhere and highest in Spain and France (67%).
• Trust in the press was highest in Spain (61%) and France (60%) and lowest in the U.K. (20%) – with its own special mass market tabloid journalism.
• Trust in television was highest in Germany (59%) and the U.K. (54%) and lowest in Italy (37%) where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi owns several powerful networks.

Majorities in both the United States and Europe did not trust their politicians or their governments. A plurality of Europeans trusted the United Nations, while a plurality of Americans distrusted the U.N. Specifically:

• Very large majorities of both Americans (77% to 8%) and Europeans (77% to 14%) distrusted political parties.
• Substantial majorities of both Americans (55% to 27%) and Europeans (63% to 28%) distrusted their governments.
• A substantial majority of Americans (56% to 22%) distrusted the Congress. A substantial majority of Europeans (57% to 32%) distrusted their parliaments or elected chambers.
• A 44 to 30 percent plurality of Americans tended not to trust the United Nations. In contrast, in Europe, a 49 to 34 percent plurality were inclined to trust the U.N.

Large majorities of between 3-to-1 and 2-to-1 trusted the police and the military in both the United States and in Europe. Large majorities also trusted charitable and voluntary organizations.

On the other hand, very large majorities in both the U.S. (70% to 12%) and in Europe (60% to 26%) distrusted big companies. Adults also tended not to trust trade unions in both the U.S. (51% to 19%) and Europe (50% to 34%).

When it comes to justice and legal systems, Europeans were split with 45 percent trusting their systems and 47 percent distrusting them. In the U.S. a 47 to 36 percent plurality did not trust the legal system.

"I would like to ask you about how much trust you have in certain institutions. For each of the following institutions, please tell me if you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it."

Base: All Adults

+ Tend to trust

- Tend not to trust

Not sures excluded.

"I would like to ask you about how much trust you have in certain institutions. For each of the following institutions, please tell me if you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it."

Base: All Adults

+ Tend to trust

- Tend not to trust

Not sures excluded.

"I would like to ask you about how much trust you have in certain institutions. For each of the following institutions, please tell me if you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it."

Base: All Adults

+ Tend to trust

- Tend not to trust

Not sures excluded.

The Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between December 8 and 15, 2004 among a nationwide cross section of 2,092 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. This online sample is not a probability sample.

The European data come from the Eurobarometer 61 survey conducted for the European Commission in person (face-to-face) in February and March 2004 with 1,000 or more in each country.

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