Respect for journalists dwindling, study finds
Teachers, doctors, and members of the military still command considerable respect, but reporters just barely edge out lawyers in a Pew Research poll.
In a comparable 2009 poll, 38 percent of respondents said journalists contribute “a lot” to society. Since then, it’s dropped 10 percentage points, more than any other group, to 28 percent. About 42 percent of respondents said journalists contribute “some” to society, and 27 percent said they contribute nothing at all. Ouch.
Compare that against the most-disliked group, attorneys, whose “contribute a lot” rating dropped from 23 percent to 18 percent. Reporters seem to be catching up.
Journalists’ reputations have taken a particular hit among women: 17 percentage points in Pew’s poll. Among men, their reputation took a much smaller hit of two percentage points. Then again, they had further to fall in the eyes of women, who had much higher regard for journalists four years ago.
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