"A clear majority of American consumers are more likely to trust media reports than advertising, according to a nationwide poll conducted by consumer research company RoperASW last month," PR Week writes.
"The study ... showed that 68%
of participants place more weight on news coverage than advertising when determining their trust of individual companies. While just 23% of respondents said they consider the
two to be of equal value, a mere 9% called advertising more important." While this may come as no surprise, it's a boon for PR firms, often vying with advertisers for corporate dollars. "We wanted to demonstrate the best way for a company to rebuild the consumer trust that's been taken away by the recent corporate scandals," explained Ron Hanser, president of Hanser & Associates, which sponsored the survey. Among other results, the survey found that trust in the media also appeared to rise with education and income level.