The media also does not fare well in the poll. We are in a state of transition as we move toward a mass democracy where we communicate with mass media. This has put strains on all our institutions.
People find it easy to blame government and the media for their frustrations.
When people can't make sense out of what is happening to them, conspiracy theories are easy to believe. The poll showed that the groups most likely to see the world in conspiratorial terms are people who consider themselves to be very conservative and those who say they are very interested in politics. The poll was conducted by Dr. Bruce Merrill, director of the Cronkite Media Research Center. The poll of 586 registered voters was conducted by telephone from the studios of KAET-TV between July 20 to July 23, 1995. Do you feel the federal government lies to the American people to protect their own interests 1.