Millennials have become the generation that trust journalists the most, according to the latest annual Ipsos Mori trust scores.
Some 28% of millennials (currently aged 24 to 39) said they trust journalists to tell the truth – even higher than those in the age 75+ pre-war group (26%).
But three-quarters (77%) of Gen Z (those under 25) participants in the annual survey said they did not trust journalists to tell the truth – followed closely by baby boomers(currently aged 56 to 74) on 73%.
Journalists remain the fourth-least trusted profession in the survey with an overall trust score of 23% down from 26% in 2019. They were only more trusted than Government ministers, politicians generally, and advertising executives.
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This is despite two-thirds of Brits saying the Covid-19 pandemic has made them appreciate journalism more.
TV newsreaders are more trusted than journalists generally, potentially because of the more heavily regulated nature of broadcast news which commits them to impartiality.
However trust in them has plummeted to an all-time low despite a surge in demand for Covid-19 information from broadcasters this year.
[Read more: Two-thirds of Brits say Covid-19 pandemic has made them appreciate journalism more]
The dip saw trust fall from 61% to 50% in just one year.
Ipsos Mori said it “remains to be seen whether these are just temporary changes”.
TV newsreaders are most trusted by the over-65s, 56% of whom said they trust them to tell the truth, and least trusted by the 18-24 age group of whom just 38% said the same.
This year’s Ipsos Mori Veracity Index questioned participants by phone in October instead of face-to-face because of Covid-19, which the pollster said should be taken into account when comparing it with previous years – although the drop in trust for TV newsreaders appears to be more than any margin of error.
Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
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