Whom do you trust? Not us.

Whom do you trust? Not us.

: Confidence in news media — newspaper and TV — has reached an all-time low in Gallup‘s survey of trust in institutions.

Those having a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in newspapers dipped from 30% to 28% in one year, the same total for television. The previous low for newspapers was 29% in 1994. Since 2000, confidence in newspapers has declined from 37% to 28%, and TV from 36% to 28%, according to the poll.

However, some other institutions fared far worse this year, suggesting a broad level of distrust, cynicism or malaise.

Confidence in the presidency plunged from 52% to 44%, with Congress and the criminal-justice system also suffering 8% drops. Confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court fell from 46% to 41%. The 22% confidence rating for Congress is its lowest in eight years, and self-identified Republicans have only a slightly more positive view of the institution than do Democrats.

Or it could suggest that they’re all just doing a piss-poor job.

Note also that the new pondscum of public institutions with the lowest trust of all are… drum roll and fart sound-effect at the ready, please… HMOs.