A new survey by an Iowa public relations firm examines the interplay between businesses in Iowa and the media. Hanser and Associates President Ronald Hanser says they surveyed over 500 businesses and all media that report the news daily. The study showed that 59-percent of business executives trust the media, while 90-percent of the media trust business executives. Hanser says the numbers were “surprising.” Hanser says initial discussion about the survey led him to believe the trust between the media and business would not be so good. Hanser says business leaders and media members agreed on what it takes to cover business stories. Over two-thirds from each side believe that reporters need to be more knowledgeable on business-related areas. He says there was disagreement over the political backgrounds of reporters.While a majority of journalists classified themselves as politically “neutral”, a majority of business leaders labeled the media as politically “left”. Hanser says the survey showed only 29-percent of business leaders think it’s inevitable that antagonism will develop between the media and business. He says 47-percent of the media members in the survey felt antagonism was inevitable.
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