Grumpy Editor

Slumping viewers/readers confidence should alert editors

Warning bells are sounding for television and newspaper operations as a Gallup poll finds confidence in TV news reached a new low while confidence in newspapers is close to its 2007 bottom, notes Grumpy Editor. 

In Gallup’s latest poll, 25 percent of adults expressed “a great deal or quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers.  That’s down from 28 percent last year and half the 51 percent high reached in 1979. 

Meanwhile, confidence in television news declined to 21 percent from 27 percent last year and 46 percent at its high point in 1993 when Gallup started tracking confidence in that category. 

“This year's updates mark a setback from last year for both television news and newspapers, when Americans appeared to be regaining some confidence in these institutions," said Gallup.  

Noteworthy is that Gallup found liberals and moderates “lost so much confidence in television news this year --- 11 and 10 points, respectively --- that their views are now more akin to conservatives' views.” 

Many of the groups that lost confidence in television news also tended to lose confidence in newspapers, though to a lesser degree, said Gallup. “These include liberals, older Americans, men and postgraduates,” it added. 

“Americans have grown more negative about the media in recent years, as they have about many other U.S. institutions and the direction of the country in general,” pointed out Gallup. 

The latest Gallup poll was based on telephone interviews June 7 to 10, with a random sample of 1,004 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

 

 

 

Poll: Public ranks ‘high confidence’ in press near bottom

The press still has much work to do in elevating its near bottom “confidence” ranking with the American public, notes Grumpy Editor after reviewing a new Harris Poll. 

Utilizing its Harris Confidence Index, the poll --- of those saying “a great deal of confidence” --- gives the press an 11. 

That ranks slightly above Wall Street, with a 7, and Congress, at the bottom, with 6. 

Highest press ranking in the past decade: 16 in 2002. 

Television news, meanwhile, gets 17 in the poll conducted by Harris Interactive between April 9 and 17.  That rank compares with a high of 24, also in 2002. 

So which institutions rank highest in the latest poll of 2,060 adults? 

The military tops the list with 55. 

Small business follows with 50. 

These are well ahead of third-place medicine with 34.

 

Casey Anthony trial tops Bing’s 2011 most searched list

Already, one month before year’s end, and a Bing top 10 list of most searched news stories for 2011 is the first out of the chute, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Search engine Bing, from Microsoft Corp., tallied news items on high profile trials of Casey Anthony (tops on the list) and Michael Jackson/Dr. Conrad Murray (No. 7) as among those getting the most attention. 

Also sought by inquisitive minds were natural disasters Hurricane Irene (No. 3), Japan’s earthquake and tsunami (No. 4) and the Joplin tornado (No. 6). 

Remembrances ranking high included the 9/11 10-year anniversary (No. 8) and the one-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake (No. 10). 

How they stacked up for Bing searchers: 

• Casey Anthony trial
• Osama bin Laden death
• Hurricane Irene
• Japan earthquake/tsunami
• Amy Winehouse death
• Joplin tornado
• Michael Jackson/Dr. Conrad Murray trial
• 9/11 10-year anniversary
• Republican candidates Herman Cain, Rick Perry
• Haiti anniversary 

Interestingly, nothing connected to Congress, jobs, taxes, economy or unusual stock market gyrations made the top 10.

 

Poll finds most people turn on TV for breaking news

When a sudden development occurs, most curious people turn on their television sets and check out the news networks, according to a new poll, notes Grumpy Editor. 

A Poll Position-TV Newser survey finds 58 percent of Americans cite TV news networks as the source for breaking news details, while 17 percent go to Web sites, 14 percent tune in news radio stations and eight percent head for social media. 

It marks the initial survey (via telephone to 1,110 registered voters nationwide, conducted Oct. 23) in a Poll Position-TV Newser polling partnership. 

The two plan a periodic ongoing series of surveys on news media coverage and consumption. 

Poll Position describes itself as a “non-partisan news, polling and social media company.” 

TV Newser, an industry "ticker" blog hosted by mediabistro.com, covers daily developments in the TV news field.

 

Gallup poll: Most continue to find bias in news coverage

Fair and balanced.  That’s something most Americans feel continues to be missing from most newspaper, television and radio news coverage these days, according to the latest Gallup poll, notes Grumpy Editor. 

“Americans remain largely distrusting of the news media,” says Gallup. 

The poll, conducted Sept. 8 to 11, finds 55 percent of Americans have little or no trust in the mass media.

A Gallup chart shows trust and confidence in mass media have been heading downward since mid-2006. 

Most Americans --- 60 percent --- continue to perceive bias with 47 percent saying the media are too liberal, adds Gallup.

“Partisans continue to perceive the media very differently,” observes Gallup.

“Seventy-five percent of Republicans and conservatives say the media are too liberal,” adds Gallup.  “Democrats and liberals lean more toward saying the media are ‘just about right,’ at 57 percent and 42 percent respectively. Moderates and independents diverge, however, with 50 percent of independents saying the media are too liberal and 50 percent of moderates saying they are just about right.”

 

Creating ‘buzz’ cited in Newsweek's Bachmann cover art

The unflattering Newsweek cover photo of Rep. Michele Bachmann, (R., Minn.) who won the Republican Party’s Iowa straw poll on Saturday, continues to trigger chatter among media people, observes Grumpy Editor. 

The magazine's Aug. 15 issue features a close-up head shot of a wide-eyed Republican presidential candidate staring into the camera. 

Newsweek's bold, white cover line:  The Queen of Rage. 

On Sunday’s CNN’s Reliable Sources program, hosted by Howard Kurtz, guest Roger Simon, chief political columnist for Politico and former political editor, U.S. News & World Report, probably has the best answer in the photo decision by Newsweek where Tina Brown is editor-in-chief. 

Mentioning that “selection of the cover is very, very important,” Simon explains: 

“The cover was designed to have less to do with Michele Bachmann than getting buzz for a news magazine --- getting buzz for Newsweek.” 

He points out, “News magazines need buzz to survive" and the cover is going to whoever "gets them the most buzz.” 

The Bachmann cover stems from an Aug. 1 Washington, D.C. photo shoot by photographer Chris Buck.

 

So who’s paying attention to those TV commercials?

Even with the television set on, there’s more to do besides looking at what’s on the screen, finds an Adweek/Harris poll, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Such multitasking is something programmers and advertisers don’t relish. 

Only 14 percent of 2,309 U.S. adults surveyed between May 24 and May 26 say they aren’t involved with another activity while watching TV. 

These days, a hefty 56 percent of those polled surf the Internet while watching TV. 

Younger adults, the poll discovers, are more likely to surf on a computer or a mobile phone, go to a social networking site, text on a mobile phone or shop online. 

About three in 10 (30 percent) say they do something else while watching TV.

Other findings with those watching TV:

• About three in 10 (29 percent) say they shop online.

• About two in five (44 percent) admit to reading a traditional book, magazine or newspaper. 

Poll: Newspapers rank third in providing information

Certainly something for newspaper publishers and editors to worry about:  Newspapers are a distant third in informing people, according to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey conducted last week, with just 11 percent saying they are the best source for news and information, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Rasmussen poll finds 44 percent of adults say the Internet is the best way to get news and information. Television comes in second with 36 percent.  Nine percent rely on radio.

This should indicate it is time for large and small newspapers to conduct vital all-day newspaper editorial board meetings to kick around ideas in efforts to improve the products, suggests Grumpy Editor who recommends these items to consider:

Fewer boring long stories, better selection of news items (with preference given to topics of interest to readers in newspapers’ circulation areas) rather than using random stories merely to plug editorial holes, an attractive and newsy front page with more than four or five stories, expanded local coverage, dramatic layouts on inside pages, dynamic --- and cropped --- in-focus photos and clever headlines.  And tap ideas from a cross-section of readers, too.

With the Internet age, the Rasmussen poll uncovers “two-out-of-three Americans (67 percent) feel they are more informed today than they were 10 years ago.”

The poll also finds 22 percent believe their level of knowledge is about the same, while just eight percent consider themselves less informed these days.

The results also show women are more confident than men that they are better informed now, the majority of Americans under 50 regard online sources as the best for news and information, and older Americans trust television more.

Sixty one percent of those surveyed are confident that if newspapers go out of business, online and other news sources will be able to make up the difference and report things people want to know about, according to the poll.

The Rasmussen Reports survey is based on 1,000 adults contacted Sept. 15 and 16.

Read the full report here.