There’s new data out from Gallup/Knight Foundation on how trust in the media varies by age. One interesting chart shows the different things that different age groups are looking for in trusted news organizations.
18- to 34-year-olds are significantly more likely than older people to say that news orgs should back their work up with links and research, Gallup found. Meanwhile, people ages 55 and older were significantly more likely to say that their trust in a news organization depends on how often that news organization makes mistakes.
Knight:
These differences between younger and older Americans seem to indicate a shift away from a foundation of “trusting the brand” or the reputation of a particular journalist toward transparency and fact-checking. Thus, evaluations of trust of news by younger Americans may not be simply cynicism, but rather skepticism of where information comes from and how it is vetted.
More interesting stuff on age and trust in news here.
