A recent Harris Interactive poll finds that more than half of Americans (54 percent) - say that they do not trust the press, "with only 30 percent tending to trust the press." More Americans (41 percent) trust "Internet news and information sites" than they do the mainstream media, while radio tends to do best among Americans, as 44 percent say they tend to trust that medium.

The Harris results reflect the findings of a Harvard University study conducted last year, which found "nearly two-thirds of Americans do not trust campaign coverage by the news media."

The poll found that of the adults surveyed, 44 percent tend to trust radio while 32 percent tend not to trust that medium and 24 percent were not sure. For the Internet, 41 percent tended to trust the medium, while 34 percent tended not to trust it and 24 percent weren't sure. Television fared worse, with only 36 percent tending to trust TV, while 46 percent tended not to trust it and 18 percent weren't sure. When it came to the press, only 30 percent tended to trust journalists while 54 percent tended not to trust them and 16 percent weren't sure.

A few other recent surveys offer some explanation for the public's distrust:

• Two thirds of Americans - 67% - believe traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news according to a recent Zogby poll.

• The harshest indictments of the press come from the growing segment that relies on the internet as its main source for news. The internet news audience is particularly likely to criticize news organizations for their lack of empathy, their failure to "stand up for America," and political bias, according to a study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

• Democrats, Republicans and independents have decreased confidence in the accuracy of media reports on the war, said Pew Research Center.