PRINT MEDIA: EVERYONE ELSE TO BLAME FOR MEDIA WOES

David Burton of Southwest Region News Service -- a University of Missouri Extension program -- points us to this interesting survey conducted by Northwestern University's Medill School.

The survey of 527 randomly chosen print journalists at 218 daily newspapers found most everyone in agreement with the perception that the public has very little confidence in the mainstream media.

But who's to blame? Seven in 10 print reporters and editors pointed to "factors beyond their control," rather than anything their newspapers had done. Not only that:

Newspaper journalists say problems in television news, on Web sites and blogs, and even in tabloids and shopper publications all have a deleterious effect on the credibility of newspaper journalists.

One in five also blamed politicians who blame the media. But the best dig in the survey?

More than 70 percent say they themselves have been accused of bias in the past 12 months and often blame poor editing as contributing to inaccuracy in their articles.

Damned editors. Always screwing up a potential Pulitzer Prize winner.