The latest annual U.S. survey of how Americans view honesty and ethical standards in occupations has found journalists typically in the middle of the pack of 22 roles, ahead of politicians and those in finance but well behind nurses and doctors.

The Gallup survey on honesty and ethical standards found 24 per cent rated highly those qualities in journalists, 45 per cent thought them average, and 30 per cent considered them low. Those trust numbers didn't vary much from the previous year and from earlier surveys (a high of 29, a low of 21).

At the top of the list were nurses, with an 85-per-cent high rating, and at the bottom were car dealers, with an eight-per-cent high rating. 

The survey was conducted in November.

The Gallup organization said Friday that U.S. media distrust has reached a new high --- or, put another way, media trust has reached a new low.

Some 60 per cent of Americans surveyed said they had little or no trust in the mass media to report accurately, fairly or fully. There has been a slow rate of growth in the level of distrust in the last decade from a rate in the mid- to high-forties. Trust in the media was more positive than negative until 2004.

Gallup notes the pattern in presidential election years for media distrust to peak. Republicans most distrust the media, but more than half of Independents do, too. Democrats are more trusting. While Americans pay more attention to political news in an election year, Gallup notes they are paying less attention in 2012 than they did in 2008.

The poll was conducted in early September.

"On a broad level, Americans' high level of distrust in the media poses a challenge to democracy and to creating a fully engaged citizenry," Gallup concludes. "Media sources must clearly do more to earn the trust of Americans, the majority of whom see the media as biased one way or the other. At the same time, there is an opportunity for others outside the 'mass media' to serve as information sources that Americans do trust."

Romenesko.com has a strong analysis of the findings here.

A new Gallup poll indicates American confidence in television news has reached an all-time low. Trust in newspapers is not as bad, but not much better.

The poll suggests only 21 per cent of Americans have confidence in television news, one point below last year's finding and down 25 points from Gallup's original research in 1963. Confidence in newspapers dropped to 25 per cent this year, down from 28 per cent last year and half of the 50-per-cent confidence rate of 1980.

Interestingly, those who identify themselves as liberals were among those whose confidence most declined, rivaling low-confidence levels by those who identify themselves as conservatives. 

Gallup could not conclude why television news confidence dropped as it did, but noted the poll was taken before recent cable news mishaps involving the Supreme Court decision on health care legislation --- meaning, the results might even be lower today.

Gallup suggests all networks "will have to renew their efforts to show Americans that they deserve a higher level of confidence than what they enjoy today." 

Among the 16 institutions Gallup studied, confidence in newspapers ranked tenth and television news eleventh. The military, small business, the police, organized religion, the medical system, the presidency, the Supreme Court, public schools and the justice system ranked ahead of them. Only organized labour, banks, big business, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and Congress ranked lower.