Keywords: media skepticism, journalism, democracy, hostile media effect

An increasing number of people in Germany find journalism to be not credible. At the same time, more and more people in Germany are not satisfied with the way democracy performs in the country. There is a considerable correlation between the two measures that links the decline of journalism’s credibility and the decline of satisfaction with democracy over the past years. However, there is little scientific explanation for this link (e. g. the general ability to trust other people appears to be a link). This paper sets out to add new approaches to explain this phenomenon. Making use of the 2024 wave of surveys among Germanys general public (n=1018), politicians (n=668), and journalists (n=525) we attempt to shed some light on probable causes of dissatisfaction with journalism and democracy.

One interesting approach to the phenomenon appears to be the hostile media effect. Many citizens, as well as politicians, believe that most journalists support the opposite side of the political spectrum. In the general public, those who experience this hostile media effect tend to be less satisfied with democracy. This phenomenon is linked to the opinion that journalism is important for the functioning of a democratic society. Mean comparisons indicate that people who do not find journalism credible consider journalism to be less important for democracy.

The paper discusses other phenomena that appear to be linked to perceived credibility of journalism and satisfaction with democracy, such as general mistrust of democratic institutions, economic status, education, and media use. Consequences of findings are discussed with the upcoming national elections in Germany in mind. Finding journalism not credible and dissatisfaction with democracy are linked to a preference for the right-wing AfD and could be crucial for the distribution of power in the next Bundestag (federal parliament).