MUMBAI: America may be the most sophisticated and complex country when it comes to the growth of media. However Americans often do not put much faith in what the media offers.

A new Harris Poll states that American attitudes toward the press, radio and television are far more negative than their European counterparts. 62 per cent of Americans surveyed do not trust the press. Europeans were evenly split. 43 per cent of Americans were inclined to trust the radio as opposed to 62 per cent of Europeans.

58 per cent of Americans do not trust television. On the other hand 54 per cent of the Europeans surveyed trust the idiot box. Trust in radio is very high in Spain and France at 67 per cent. Due to the increasing spread of tabloid journalism the trust in the press is low in the UK at 20 per cent.

In Europe trust in television was highest in Germany (59 per cent) and the U.K. (54 per cent) and lowest in Italy (37 per cent) where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi owns several powerful networks.

The Harris Poll was conducted online within the US from 8-15 December 2004 among a cross section of 2,092 adults aged 18+. Harris Interactive is a market research firm. It blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.