MSNBC’s Katy Tur wonders if she’s doing ‘more harm than good’ as a journalist: ‘People don’t trust us’

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Do Americans trust the mainstream media?

Fox News host Lawrence Jones took to the streets in NYC to find out what Americans think of the media, Fox News contributor Joe Concha and former Biden surrogate Kevin Walling react to their responses on 'Cross Country.'

MSNBC host Katy Tur wonders if she’s doing "more harm than good" as a journalist as trust in the media has dwindled in recent years.  

"People don’t trust us," Tur said last week.

In an interview promoting her new memoir, Tur was asked by The Hill’s Niall Stanage about admitting that she almost walked away from journalism altogether during the COVID-19 pandemic and how she feels about the industry overall. 

MSNBC host Katy Tur wonders if she’s doing "more harm than good" as a journalist. (The Hill)

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"It’s something that I don’t have a concrete answer to, and that’s not because I don’t love journalism, I do, it’s just convergence of two issues," Tur said. 

"One of them being that we cover very dark stuff, in succession, and it seems like its getting darker and darker and it can be hard on your mental health," Tur said, citing political divisions, frequent mass shootings and other tragic incidents. 

"It can be a bit demoralizing, and then on top of that, there was just a Gallup poll out today that shows that the trusts in media – newspapers and television – is hitting an all-time low," she said. 

MSNBC host Katy Tur appears on "The Daily Show" to promote her new memoir. (Comedy Central )

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Indeed, the recent Gallup poll indicated confidence in newspapers and television newscasts has crumbled. 

Only 16% of Americans said they have a "great deal or quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers in 2022, a 5% drop compared to the 2021 findings, according to Gallup. It was the lowest number to give those answers since Gallup started asking about newspapers in 1973.

Television news has Americans even more concerned in 2022, as a dismal 11% told Gallup they have a "great deal or quite a lot" of confidence in the industry. That figure is down from the 16% who were confident in TV news last year, also a nadir.

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"People don’t trust us, they don’t believe us, and it makes me wonder if this job, as I am currently doing it, is effective, but if it’s doing more harm than good," Tur said. "I don’t have a good answer for that, though, those thoughts linger in the back of my mind. They linger though because I do love it and I think it’s important and I’m hoping to find a way to better communicate with people."

Also last week, a Pew Research Center study indicated that 55% of journalists surveyed "say that every side does not always deserve equal coverage in the news," but 76% of Americans overall believe journalists "should always strive to give all sides equal coverage."

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"While some feel that equal coverage is always necessary to allow the public to be equally informed about multiple sides of an argument, those who disagree argue that people making false statements or unsupported conjectures do not warrant as much attention as those making factual statements with solid supporting evidence," Pew researchers wrote. 

Tur, whose memoir "Rough Draft" delves into her unique upbringing and ascent in journalism, also explained that she attempts to be fair to both sides of the aisle but found it difficult during the Trump administration. 

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"I guess, it felt like the moment was so scary and so dire, with Donald Trump in the presidency that they needed to seek comfort in somebody who they felt like was fighting the good fight," she said of people who appreciated her approach to covering the 45th president.