Only 3% of public trust journalists

Here's a sobering, if not entirely surprising, poll finding. Journalists are among the least trusted professionals in Britain. According to a survey conducted for the Bar Standards Board, we are down there with bankers, estate agents and politicians.

The survey results, which you will find here, show that only 3% of the 2,044 adults who were polled trusted journalists. Bankers managed a 2% rating while estate agents and politicians were trusted by only 1%.

By contrast, lawyers held the trust of 24% and accountants polled 14%. The fact that the online poll was done at the behest of lawyers is probably irrelevant, since it was carried out by reputable market research companies, KRC Research/YouGov.

Perhaps the most significant finding is that 57% of those polled do not trust any of the five professions. As Ruth Deech, chairman of the Bar Standards Board, told The Times: "Lack of public trust in the professions is clearly a substantial issue. While legal professionals do not fare too badly, their net trust rating of 24% is at best underwhelming."

Not as underwhelming as the score for journalists, however. Though this is not too different from findings in similar polls, it is still depressing.

Why, I wonder, is the public so disenchanted with journalists?