Pollster says it is better for journalists to be ‘transparent’ about their ‘perspective’

Pollster Lee Miringoff said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “What America’s Thinking,” that it would be better for journalists to be open about their personal “perspective” on the news.

“How do you cut through the noise? You turn on MSNBC, you get one perspective. You turn on CNN, Fox News. You’re getting what people think is journalism, coming out very strong on the opinionated side,” Miringoff, the director of the Marist Poll, told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons on Monday. 

“Journalists have opinions. They also have perspectives, and I think the more journalists are seen as having a perspective that’s transparent, the better off it’s going to be,” he continued. 

“Not that people don’t have opinions, but I think there’s the professionalism that has to come to the fore,” he said. 

Miringoff was taking part in a discussion on a new Marist poll on trust in U.S. societal institutions. 

Twenty-six percent of respondents said they had “a great deal/quite a lot” of confidence in the news media, while 72 percent said they had not much confidence in the media, or none at all. 

— Julia Manchester