Jonathan Turley: America 'living in a new age of yellow journalism'

Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley said in a column on Friday that Americans' trust in the media is at an "all-time low."

"We have previously discussed how American journalism has been destroyed by years of openly partisan coverage in an age of echo journalism. Not surprisingly, the public has lost faith in what was once the leading nation in terms of journalistic practices and ethics," Turley wrote. 

A new survey by global communications firm Edelman found only 46 percent of Americans trust traditional media. The survey had similar results to a Gallup polling showing a lower level of trust in the media. 

"We are living in a new age of yellow journalism at a time when real journalism has never been more needed," Turley said

BROADCAST NETWORKS BARELY MENTION POST-BIDEN INAUGURATION ANTIFA RIOTS IN PORTLAND, SEATTLE

The polling showed that Republicans are the biggest share of those who do not trust media, viewing the media as favoring the Democratic party and the Biden campaign. 

Gallup’s 2020 results show that 73 percent of Democrats trusted the media while only 10 percent of Republicans held trust.

"The plunging level of trust reflects the loss of the premier news organizations to a type of woke journalism. We have been discussing how writers, editors, commentators, and academics have embraced rising calls for censorship and speech controls, including President-elect Joe Biden and his key advisers," Turley said.

Meanwhile, Antifa militants upset over President Joe Biden's inauguration have taken to the streets in cities such as Portland and Seattle to cause destruction and chaos this week, but the unrest has been barely covered by ABC, NBC and CBS.

The three broadcast networks have dedicated less than a minute to the story on-air combined.

"During President Biden’s inauguration Wednesday, the networks repeatedly reminded Americans of the horrible violence from Trump supporters two weeks ago, storming the Capitol over the election results. But, overnight, violent leftists took to the streets, rioting in at least two different cities in ‘protest’ over Biden’s election, and the networks couldn’t care less," Media Research Center news analyst Kristine Marsh wrote.

Turley observed that one of the "lowest moments" was last summer when the New York Times apologized for publishing an opinion piece by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calling for the military to be used to quell anti-police rioting. He contrasted that with the Times later printing an op-ed by a pro-China Hong Kong official who dismissed pro-democracy protesters. 

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"The great tragedy is that we need a legitimate media now more than ever. Citizens are facing deep and violent divisions without trust in what is being reported in our newspapers, television programs, and Internet sites," Turley concluded.

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.