Trusting Journalists?

In a recent poll conducted by Time magazine, Time asked Americans who they trusted most behind the news desk.  The results might surprise you. Edging out Katie Couric, Brian Williams, and Charlie Gibson was (drum roll please) Comedy Central's Jon Stewart. Thats right, 44 percent of America trusts comedian Jon Stewart more than any of the network news anchors.  Stewart (seen below) hosts a satirical news parody, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central Monday through Thursday.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Intro - Balloon Boy Is Safe
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

So what does that mean for journalists? It means we have a problem we need to fix.

Is it a problem with journalists and journalism itself or a problem with the audience? My guess is its a little bit of both, but its up to the journalists to earn the trust back.

And how do we do that? Well we have to start doing what we profess to do and actually following what we learn in journalism class. The things we have been taught are the basics of journalism. Things like first loyalty to citizens, truth, objectivity, independence, etc.