The kind folks at Edelman sent me a copy of this year's Trust Barometer, so I thought I'd add a few comments to the discussion (for example, here and here and here).
- The report finds "a modest global rise in trust in business," tempered by the fact that "nearly 70 percent saying business and financial companies will revert to old habits when the financial crisis is over." Funny, that's what I've been thinking about all these people who say their personal spending/saving habits have changed permanently. Really?
- "The only institution to lose trust around the globe is media." The report concludes that the rise of opinion journalism due to the "dispersion of traditional media's authority" is the root cause. So... if you're one of those losing trust, stop paying attention to opinion-based journalism and demand real reporting. (You might actually have to pay for it, too.) The report notes that the credibility of TV news dropped 20+ points in the United States.
- On the topic of business, academics and experts are the most trusted. Guess I'd better watch what I say. A "person like yourself," which scored highly in past years, dropped 3%; it'll be interesting to see the long-term trend.
- To all those students who've listened to me drone on about CSR: this year, for the first time, the report showed that "trust and transparency are as important to corporate reputation as the quality of products and services." Hello, Walmart? Good ethics IS good PR.
The survey looked at "informed publics ages 25 to 64 in 20 countries" (methodology).
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