Kaplinsky and co plummet in ratings

Why has Britain lost faith in its television news anchors? Huw Edwards, Sir Trevor Macdonald, Natasha Kaplinksy et al were wondering this week what they’d done wrong after a new Ipsos MORI survey on trust in professionals showed that respect for television newsreaders has plummeted. Their net trustworthiness (after deducting those who positively don't trust them from those who do) is now +34 after years in the 40s and 50s. Ten years ago their rating was +60 and they were the third most trusted profession. Among journalists, reasons for this drop in public respect range from the various crises at the BBC post-Hutton, and the general move away from the gravitas of the past towards younger presenters presenting the news more informally. Natasha Kaplinsky (pictured), for instance, who moved from the BBC to Five for a £1m salary, now presents the news from a sofa. But then the journalists once again came bottom of the poll, equal with 'politicians in general', so the Fans of Fiona Bruce and Sir Trevor's many supporters might want to take the poll with a pinch of salt. The poll was commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians who will have been delighted to discover that doctors topped the poll, with nine in 10 members of the public happy that doctors tell them the truth.