News Media: A Thing Of The Past For The Millennials

Sharaf Rehman, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Original published version available at https://www.ijcr.eu/index.php?link=articole&anul=2020&nr=1&vol=10#a7

Abstract

In light of the 2016 Presidential campaign, this paper discusses the credibility of the news media as the campaign left the American public questioning the performance of the news media as providers of impartial news, and the credibility of the American social institutions such as the local politicians, the legal system, and the economy. Relying on the functional perspective, the paper traces the role of the media in establishing trust and credibility in the social institutions within a given culture. Using focus groups and a survey, the author reports on the diminishing levels of interest in the news media, and a lack of trust in the U.S. government, its legal system among the college students pursuing careers in journalism. These very individuals, supposedly, will be providing the news and information to the coming generations.