Trust fall: Faith in news reports has fallen again

10/19/23 7:00PM

Articles of faith

‍As the threat of fake news mounts amid escalating global conflicts, it appears that faith in America’s newscasters as veritable information sources is dwindling.

This week, a Gallup poll found that only 32% of Americans say that they would trust the mass media — including newspapers, TV, and radio — either “a great deal” or “a fair amount” to report the news accurately and fairly, matching the all-time low that was set in 2016. In that year, coinciding with a bot-ly contested US election, adults were most likely to have “not very much” trust in the media, with 41% taking this stance.

In 2023, however, it seems that people have become yet more jaded by unreliable journalism: a record-high 39% of US adults report having no trust at all in mass media — 28 percentage points more than just 20 years ago. This marks only the second time, along with last year, that no confidence whatsoever has surpassed having even a middling amount of trust in mass media news reporting.

J. Edward Moreno11/4/25

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

Starbucks disclosed on Monday evening in a regulatory filing that it will sell control of its ailing China business to Boyu Capital for about $4 billion.

Under the agreement, Boyu will own a 60% stake in the China segment, which will become a joint venture between Boyu and Starbucks. The coffee chain will retain a 40% interest in the entity and will continue to own and license the brand and intellectual property.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company was looking to sell its China segment. The American coffee giant has struggled to succeed in China, its second-largest market after the US.

Tom Jones

10/6/25

OPEC and others are boosting oil production as the race to catch up with the US goes on

This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

Millie Giles

RED FLAG, GREEN FLAG

9/25/25

China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, has pledged to cut emissions for the first time

President Xi Jinping has announced that China is aiming to slash carbon emissions by up to 10% in the next decade.

solar power station on the rooftop of the factory

Claire Yubin Oh9/19/25

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Despite a record year of passenger numbers, flight cancellations, and delays, a new survey has revealed that flyers have been increasingly satisfied about their experiences in North American airports.

According to this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study from data analysts at J.D. Power, overall passenger satisfaction scores were up 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale), largely from “improvements in food, beverage and retail and ease of travel through the airport.” The annual survey measures overall traveler satisfaction across the region’s airports in seven categories (in order of importance): ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, airport departure experience, food and retail, and airport arrival experience.

Here are the region’s favorites:

Millie Giles

DOT-COM BUBBLE

9/12/25

More than 40% of American adults now report being online “almost constantly”

While a new survey showed Japan has the greatest share of perpetually online people, there was a significant number reporting not using the internet at all.

Trust fall: Faith in news reports has fallen again

More World

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

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