Where Are The News Media Role Models? A Study of Skepticism of the Mainstream News Media among Communications Graduate Students

Recent research has shown that the consequences of news media skepticism can lead the public to disbelieve facts, have differing opinions about important issues, and to choose non-mainstream media sources to receive information. These reactions can be dangerous for the news media industry. It is important to gauge if communications graduate students, potential future media professionals, mistrust the mainstream news media. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between skepticism of the mainstream news media and news choices of communications graduate students. The author surveyed 76 communications graduate students at Grand Valley State University. Results showed that those who trust the mainstream news media are more likely to use mainstream sources and those who do not trust the mainstream news media are more likely to use non-mainstream sources. The author also found that students employed in the news media are less skeptical of the mainstream news media than those who are not.