Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their

newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to

answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-

analysis known as the journalism credibility project.

Sadly to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings 【M1】__________

about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combining with 【M2】__________

lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in world those readers 【M3】__________

really want.

But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to

see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns) which they 【M4】__________

plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line

in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made

narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.

There is a social and cultural disconnection between journalists and

their readers, which help explain why the “standard templates” of the 【M5】__________

newsroom seem alienate to many readers. In a recent survey, 【M6】__________

questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the

country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these

communities were phoned at randomly and asked the same questions. 【M7】__________

Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are

more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own

Mercedes, and trade stocks, and they’re more likely to go to church, do 【M8】__________

volunteer work, or put up roots in a community. 【M9】__________

Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural

elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite.

The astonishing distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or

poor reportorial skills and in the daily clash of world views between 【M10】_________

reporters and their readers.

【M4】