Was the media more trustworthy in the past?

Question

I was having a discussion with my mother on the state of the media today. She says that in the past, news networks were more trustworthy, but have gone downhill. I said that there is more potential to uncover the truth these days, and that's why the media looks so unreliable. Problem is, I can't find any studies done (small or large) that tested how often old news networks told the truth, and how much was omitted or biased. I found plenty done asking viewers how trustworthy they felt the media was, but none actually determining if it was. I'm looking for comparisons from the last decade (after computer use became common, during the "age of information"), to any time before, but preferably during the 70's and 80's (when my mother was a child). Any help?

The First Dragon · Accepted Answer

I think the media in the US were more truthful in previous decades, though they did leave some things out.
Example:  When reporters from the Post discovered reason to suspect the involvement of high government officials, and even Pres. Nixon, of criminal behavior, the Editor insisted that they must find at least 3 reliable and credible sources before anything could be published.
Now, all kinds of incorrect stories are published or broadcast by mainstream media, and we take it for granted.  
When I say the media used to leave things out, here is an example:  In 1979 when there was a revolution in Iran and they invaded the US Embassy and took hostages, I found it very difficult to find out WHY they did this.  Obviously they had a reason, right or wrong, but Iran's point of view wasn't put forth in the media.  Nowadays, our enemies' point of view is usually so well represented that it is hard to tell who is right and who is wrong.  Is this good or bad?  Or both?
Myself, I just try to recognize that any media source has some bias, and try to take that into account.

Anonymous · Answer

It's very simple, with the media being politicized these days, you don't really get news anymore, you get propaganda.
You get editorialized news, with an 'advice'.

Back in the 70s/80s there were less commerical interests, and having a political color was frowned upon.

There's always been good news, and misinformation, but these days, it's intentional a lot more often.

Anonymous · Answer

Because the world did not have such an advanced way of communicating, news was more based on what government officials and witnesses said then based on evidence (videos, pictures etc...) News was mostly focused on local news rather then a train crash in turkey ( example.)

Hope this helped.

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Was the media more trustworthy in the past?

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