Trust in legacy media hit a historic low in 2024, with only 31% of Americans expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in major news outlets, according to Gallup. Among independent voters, this figure dropped to 27%, making media the least trusted institution among 10 civic and political entities, ranking even lower than Congress.
Declining Credibility and Industry Contraction
Controversies and missteps plagued legacy media in 2024, contributing to significant industry layoffs. Axios, The Washington Post, NPR, The Los Angeles Times, and Time Magazine all announced reductions, with some cutting over 20% of staff. The Associated Press trimmed 8% of its workforce, and CNN faced multiple rounds of layoffs. Meanwhile, Comcast announced plans to spin off MSNBC into a separate company.
Cable news ratings further underscored these struggles. Nielsen data revealed that MSNBC and CNN saw their post-election viewership decline by more than half, while Fox News captured 72% of primetime cable news audiences.
Controversial Coverage and Credibility Crises
The Trump Assassination Attempts
The media’s response to two assassination attempts on Donald Trump in 2024 revealed significant bias. During coverage of the July attempt, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz implied Trump’s rhetoric had incited the violence. In September, after a second attempt, MSNBC’s Alex Witt questioned whether the Trump campaign would “tone down the rhetoric.”
Coverage of Biden’s Mental Fitness
Media outlets initially dismissed concerns about Joe Biden’s mental acuity as partisan attacks, only to reverse course after a disastrous June debate. While MSNBC and others labeled viral videos of Biden’s lapses as “misleading edits,” these same clips were later used as evidence of his decline when outlets like The New York Times called for him to step aside.
Debate Bias
Presidential debates highlighted media bias, as moderators fact-checked Trump extensively, often misleadingly, while avoiding scrutiny of Kamala Harris. For example, ABC’s Linsey Davis inaccurately dismissed Trump’s claim about abortion laws while allowing Harris to make unchecked misstatements about U.S. military deployments.
Foreign Coverage Missteps
During the Gaza conflict, several outlets uncritically reported statistics from Hamas-controlled sources, later revealed as inaccurate. CNN faced ridicule after airing a flawed segment featuring a supposed Syrian prisoner whose identity was later debunked.
Attempts at Reform
While some industry leaders, like Jeff Bezos of The Washington Post, have pledged to pursue balanced coverage, tangible changes remain scarce. Rare acknowledgments of failure, such as former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza’s admission of insufficient scrutiny of Biden’s health, stand out as exceptions.
The year also saw costly corrections, including ABC paying $15 million to settle a defamation case involving George Stephanopoulos’ misstatement about Donald Trump.
As 2025 begins, legacy media’s influence continues to wane, increasingly supplanted by podcasts and alternative platforms. Whether these outlets will regain public trust remains an open question.
