© Rex Features
Yesterday, Lord Justice Leveson launched his inquiry into the ethics of the press in the wake of the string of shocking phone hacking revelations that resulted in the closure of the News of the World.
According to a transatlantic YouGov survey conducted for US broadcaster PBS, 58% of those surveyed in the UK feel that phone hacking has reduced their trust in newspapers, while 51% no longer trust the media as a whole.
The hacking scandal has also spread across the Atlantic due to the connection to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation empire. The survey found that 27% of the US public feel that hacking has reduced their trust in newspapers, while 25% have lost faith in the media.
The survey also revealed that 64% of people feel TV is the UK's most trusted media source, followed by radio at 58%. Newspapers were trusted by 38%, while magazines had the faith of just a quarter (25%) and social media lagged far behind at just 15%.
Almost two-thirds (59%) of people in Britain said that they don't trust any of the political parties in their dealings with media, following revelations over the close relationship between MPs and the Murdoch media.
Possibly most startling was the level of scepticism about media coverage, as three in four people (74%) felt that UK media outlets frequently lie to their audiences, whilst 55% said that the content in the UK media has been dumbed down in recent years.
On November 1, PBS launched its first UK channel on Sky and Virgin Media, broadcasting history, current affairs and documentary programming.
PBS UK's general manager Richard Kingsbury said: "We wanted to understand the issue of trust in the media given that we are launching America's most trusted broadcaster in the UK.
"It is salutary how public trust has been corroded across all media and yet encouraging that television still enjoys a high level of trust. We hope to play our part in its future health by bringing you the best of US science, history, current affairs and news."
