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CNN Live Today
Interview with Andrew Kohut
Aired August 05, 2002 - 12:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: So when it comes to the newsmakers nowadays, who do you trust? We are happy to report the new survey by the Pew Research Center shows CNN remains at the top of the heap, though the ratings are unchanged or show a slight decline, the reports state that CNN continued to be rated the most believable television news source.
Joining us now with more on the media and the messages is the Pew Center's director, Andrew Kohut -- nice to see you, Andrew.
ANDREW KOHUT, DIRECTOR, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Happy to be with you.
PHILLIPS: All right. So, of course, we mentioned that we had a very nice ranking in this survey. Why do you think CNN is still so credible and so trusted?
KOHUT: Well, I think that CNN has had a very good image since the Gulf War days, and continues to have that. But all -- almost all of the news organizations that we tested, including CNN, had somewhat lower ratings than we found two years ago, and that is kind of ironic since we saw a major improvement in the news media's image after 9/11. The American public liked the way the press covered that story, and for the first time in 15, 16 years, the public was giving the press better job ratings. But you know, the poll we just conducted found ratings and evaluations of the press very similar to what we had -- we were getting prior to the 9/11 attacks. So, the image -- the improved image of the media coming out of 9/11 has pretty much disappeared.
PHILLIPS: What about NBC, CBS, ABC as compared to the cable -- CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. Are more people still watching, or are they watching CBS, ABC, NBC more?
KOHUT: Well, those networks get very respectable high approval ratings, and their anchors get among the highest, if not the highest personal ratings for among the news people that we tested. But you know, the issue of cable versus broadcast news, and broadcast news problems in attracting audience, news programs that require a set schedule aren't as popular with people these days as they once were, when people can turn to cable news when they want to.
PHILLIPS: All right. We put together a couple graphics here, picked out some nuggets from this survey. First of all, the news organizations politically biassed, careful not to be biassed. Fifty- nine percent say politically biassed. Let's talk about this.
PHILLIPS: Not a good number. It was as low as 47 percent back in November when we had the image improvement, but I want to point out that that political bias isn't so much partisan bias, when we do follow-up questions, it is the public thinking the media and the press is biassed in its own favor. Too exploitive, too much -- makes too much of stories. Panders to stories in order to build audience. So it is not only political bias when we do follow-up questions on that, to that particular measure.
PHILLIPS: That is a good point, and I tell you, I wish that all viewers could see the type of meetings we have talking about ethics and standard and being fair. If they only knew what we go through on a regular basis. You know, you have seen those meetings take place before.
KOHUT: Well, the public appreciates many things about the press. There is improved opinion of the watchdog role that the press plays, the public has been very unhappy with that over the years, thinks that the press has been a watchdog that barks too much. But in these days of WorldCom and Enron, the public is looking for the press to play that watchdog role to a greater extent.
PHILLIPS: Well, another fact, news organizations usually get the facts straight, report inaccurately. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed think that we report things inaccurately?
KOHUT: Yes. That's a pretty terrible number. When I first started doing these polls back in mid-1980s, those numbers were just reversed. Only a third -- only about a third said "usually inaccurate."
And again, back in November, we had some improvement on that measure, but the public thinks that the press can get sloppy.
PHILLIPS: Now, Andrew are these people that really sit and watch the news, I mean, a lot, and compare, or are these people who are just kind of tuning in and out and Oh, I didn't like that, oh, the media -- you know, people make such quick decisions to blame media.
KOHUT: Well, they are the average consumers -- viewers, Kyra, the kind of people who are looking in at us. This is -- it is a representative sample of the public, and a representative sample of viewers and readers and listeners. And so, it is not so much that they don't have informed opinions, it is that they don't like everything that they see.
PHILLIPS: All right, finally. News organizations care about the people they report on, don't care. Gosh, another one. Fifty-five percent don't care. That's it. I am going to get all these folks that you surveyed, Andrew, and I am going to bring them into this news room to watch what we do.
KOHUT: Well, I hate to sound like a broken record, but that is another one that was up 40, 50 percent, positive, care about the people they cover around 9/11 because the public thought that the press did a very caring job in the way of reporting that incident -- terrible incident. PHILLIPS: Well, 49 percent -- that's true. Forty-nine percent at least say they stand up for America, that we stand up for America. So I guess that's a good sign.
KOHUT: But not as good as the 65 percent a few months ago.
PHILLIPS: Gosh. All right. Well, Andrew, hopefully the next survey will be a little bit more positive. Let me know about it, OK?
KOHUT: OK, we will keep you posted.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Andrew Kohut, thank you so much.
KOHUT: You are welcome.
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