Journalists are much less critical of themselves. Journalists are not a representative sample of the public. They are better educated and younger, their household incomes are often higher, and journalists are more likely to be political liberals than the public at large. Nobody doubts that journalists are cynical, including the journalists themselves. But Americans also believe that journalists are quite willing to hurt people just to publish a story.
Readers concede that journalists are better informed than the public.
The public feels that newsroom values and practices are sometimes in conflict with their own priorities for their newspapers. The public suspects that the points of view and biases of journalists influence what stories are covered and how they are covered. All we want is fair play and neutrality, and please keep your opinions on the editorial page, Americans say. Don't kid us. We know that journalists write for their editors, not their readers.