A recent survey from Gallup and the Knight Foundation asked the public a fairly basic question. “Do you agree with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead people?” That seems rather unambiguous, right? Reporting on the results, the Associated Press truly seems shocked (Shocked!) to learn that fully half of respondents weren’t buying it. And that was twice the number who were willing to say that they didn’t think the media intentionally deceives people. Where are you all getting these crazy ideas? Are you insinuating that the media may be biased??? Next, you’ll be telling us that there is gambling taking place in the casino!

Half of Americans in a recent survey indicated they believe national news organizations intend to mislead, misinform or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through their reporting.

The survey, released Wednesday by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, goes beyond others that have shown a low level of trust in the media to the startling point where many believe there is an intent to deceive.

Asked whether they agreed with the statement that national news organizations do not intend to mislead, 50% said they disagreed. Only 25% agreed, the study found.

That works out to exactly a two-to-one margin who are aware that the media is not only biased but actively works to spin stories to portray one political ideology in a more favorable light than the other. But I’m guessing the majority of you really didn’t need the curtain to be pulled back to know that the media wizard was working the levers in the background.

The bad news for the mainstream press didn’t stop there. Respondents were asked if the media “cares about the best interests of their readers, viewers and listeners.” A slightly larger majority (52%) said that statement was malarkey as well. Only 23% said they agreed. One of Gallup’s consultants called the results “striking.”

The party line split was pretty much what you would probably expect. Democrats were far more likely to trust the media than Republicans or independents. And why wouldn’t they be? The vast majority of the mainstream media tells Democrats the things they want to hear and spins stories to portray liberal positions in a more positive light, while consistently depicting people holding conservative values as evil racists who are hell-bent on destroying democracy.

In one regard, this survey is actually good news for the country. It shows that an increasing number of people are fully aware that the press feeds them a consistent serving of garbage intended to promote the progressive agenda no matter how crazy the stories sound. And it justifies the skepticism that so many people feel about CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and all the rest. It also probably explains why Fox News dominates the cable news rating wars.

Unfortunately, people being aware of the spin machine doesn’t actually do anything to fix the situation. It costs a massive amount of money to start up a new media organization covering the news at a national level and the field is already crowded with contenders. The low ratings that CNN and MSNBC regularly receive and the plummeting subscription levels of the Post and the Gray Lady seem to have no impact on their editorial policies. But online news resources like Hot Air and the rest of the Salem Media Group network will still be out here slugging away. Never give up the ship, folks. There is far too much to lose if we do.