I’ve been getting great e-mails all day

from around the country over my DMN column whacking the media for ignoring

the good news out of Iraq. One of my correspondents was Mark Tapscott at the

Heritage Foundation, who sends along results of a Gallup poll released

today. The poll surveyed the

confidence Americans had in their institutions. The military got the highest

rating, with 75 percent of those polled expressing a “great deal” of

confidence, while only five percent saying they had “very little or none” in

the military. Compare that with TV news, in which 30 percent of respondents

report a “great deal” of confidence, and a nearly equal number reporting

“very little or none.” It’s not much better for newspapers: 30 percent have

a “great deal” of confidence, while 25 percent have “very little or none.”

The U.S. military, then, is the most popular institution in America. The

news media are among the least popular. And of course, this will be ignored

in newsrooms, which have an uncanny ability to ignore handwriting on the

wall when it tells them things they don’t want to hear.