AMERICANS’ CONFIDENCE IN MILITARY NEWS COVERAGE TAKES STEEP DROP
McCormick Tribune Foundation/Gallup Poll Reveals Military and Media Providing Inadequate Information on Key Wartime Issues
CHICAGO—Aug. 24, 2005
Americans are more interested in military and national security issues, but feel the media and the military are doing an insufficient job in keeping them as informed on those topics as they were six years ago, according to a new McCormick Tribune Foundation/Gallup Poll.
Fifty-four (54) percent of Americans say they feel the military keeps them well informed, down from 77 percent of those surveyed in 1999. The news media also saw a decline, with 61 percent of Americans feeling the media keeps them well informed on military and national security issues, compared to 79 percent in the earlier survey.
The survey findings were released at the McCormick Tribune Foundation’s semi-annual Military and the Media Conference at the Cantigny estate in Wheaton, Ill. The McCormick Tribune Foundation offers neutral ground where journalists, military officers and Pentagon officials gather to better understand each other, find common ground and discuss ways to work together more effectively.
“This survey underscores how major events over the past six years have created a dramatic shift in the type of information Americans want and how they receive it,” said (Ret.) Gen. David L. Grange, executive vice president of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. “With our troops under fire every day in Iraq and the recent terrorist attacks and threats happening around the globe, the McCormick Tribune Foundation is helping to pave the way for constructive conversations between the military and the media so they can better address the public’s information needs and concerns.”
War Debate Spurs Cynicism
The McCormick Tribune Foundation/Gallup Poll also reveals that more than half of Americans (60 percent) feel that they did not receive enough information to make informed decisions about military matters. In fact, a majority of Americans give low ratings to both government and the media for news coverage before the Iraq war on reasons for going to war, with 68 percent and 61 percent of Americans respectively giving “only fair” or “poor” job ratings.
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Not only do they feel uniformed, but more than three-quarters (77 percent) of Americans feel the military occasionally gives the media false or inaccurate information. However, the poll also shows that both the media and military are somewhat critical of the accuracy of information either provided by the military or reported in the news.
“These results likely reflect Americans’ dissatisfaction with the public debate about Iraq before the decision was made to go to war,” said Mark Hallett, interim journalism program director, McCormick Tribune Foundation. “Skepticism among the military, media and public should be expected. Nonetheless, by bringing this issue to the forefront of debate, we can open the door to greater confidence on the information that’s being disseminated between the parties.”
Confidence Shaky
Given the public’s thirst for information, how reporters gather it impacts confidence levels. More than half of Americans (58 percent) say it’s especially important that reporters go to combat areas to provide independent accounts of what is happening. In addition, the poll finds that nearly six in 10 Americans (58 percent) say that anonymous sources make news stories less believable, while 35 percent say anonymous sources had no effect on their judgment about a news report.
Amid ongoing conflict in Iraq, the number of parents who would encourage their son or daughter to pursue a career in the military, if they expressed an interest, is down from 71 percent to 62 percent since 1999. Parents' regard for careers in the news media also dropped, with 80 percent saying they would encourage their son or daughter's interest in journalism, down from 85 percent six years ago.
The McCormick Tribune Foundation/Gallup Poll was conducted as a random telephone survey of 1,016 adults between May 31 and June 16. The margin for error is +/- 4 percentage points.
About the Gallup Organization
For more than 60 years, the Gallup Organization has been a recognized leader in the measurement and analysis of people’s attitudes, opinions and behavior. While best known for the Gallup Poll, founded in 1935, Gallup’s current activities consist largely of providing marketing and management research, advisory services and education to the world’s largest corporations and institutions.
About the McCormick Tribune Foundation
The McCormick Tribune Foundation is one of the nation’s largest charitable organizations, with combined assets of close to $1.5 billion. In 2004 the foundation approved the distribution of more than $109 million to invest in communities, address human needs and promote the ideals of a democratic society through innovative partnerships. The foundation, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2005, was first established as a charitable trust upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
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The foundation provides assistance in four program areas — communities, education, journalism and citizenship — and funds a special initiatives program. Through its grants, the foundation seeks to improve the social and economic environment; encourage a free and responsible discussion of issues affecting the nation; enhance the effectiveness of American education; and stimulate responsible citizenship. For more information, visit
www.mccormicktribune.org.
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