There’s a not-so-hidden message in Gallup’s latest survey on the honesty and ethics of professions: America hates Washington, D.C.
At the bottom of its list of 22 professions sits the media-politics industry that dominates the city.
“Americans are most skeptical of the ethics of elected officials, particularly at the federal level, as well as the media,” the analysis dryly reads.
Professionals that should be viewed as having high standards are instead graded low in the survey, putting reporters, House and Senate members, and lobbyists at the bottom.
Of those three groups, newspaper reporters have the highest marks in average honesty and ethics at 39%. Car salespeople do better, with an average score of 49%.
But in the key column of “very high/high” ethics and honesty that Gallup focused on, newspaper reporters earned just 17%.
Still better compared to TV reporters (14%), members of Congress (9%), and lobbyists at the very bottom (5%).
At the top, as usual, were nurses, members of the military, and teachers. As with most polls, the politics of those questioned played a big role in how professions were viewed.
According to Gallup:
“The largest party difference in views of occupations measured in the new poll is for police officers, with Republicans rating them much better than Democrats. Republicans also have more-positive opinions than Democrats of military officers and clergy.
“Democrats, on the other hand, give moderately better ratings than Republicans to newspaper reporters, medical doctors, grade-school teachers, TV reporters, pharmacists and members of Congress. Republicans and Democrats view all other professions similarly.”
