American trust in media has fallen again to a historic low, according to new polling from Gallup.

Why it matters: All media trust gains made during the Biden administration have essentially been wiped out.

Details: Only 32% of the population reports having "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of confidence that the media reports the news in a full, fair and accurate way.

• The only other time in recent history that trust has fallen to 32% was in 2016.

📉 In some cases, the sentiment is worse today.

• A record-high number of Americans (39%), say they don't trust the media at all. That number has steadily increased since 2018.

Be smart: Much of the sentiment dip is driven by Democrats and Independents, whose collective trust in media has plummeted 18 and 13 percentage points, respectively, from their 2018 peaks.

• Younger Democrats, in particular, tend to be much less trusting of the media, according to Gallup data.
• Trust in media by Republicans is still at a near all-time low.

Of note: The poll was conducted in September, which means the 2023 data doesn't reflect the recent coverage of the ongoing Hamas-Israel war or the current drama surrounding the election of a House speaker.

The chaotic coverage of the hospital attack in Gaza last week has made Western media's coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas a central storyline as the conflict unfolds.

• The response to the early coverage has drawn outrage from readers, especially on the political right, who argue the media has become biased against Israel.

Driving the news: The BBC and the New York Times have both issued editors' notes to their initial stories about the attack, acknowledging that they should've taken more caution before presenting and speculating that Israel was to blame for the attack without sufficient evidence in real time.

• Other outlets, CNN reports, have declined to comment on whether they regret their coverage. Axios has not commented on its coverage.

Zoom in: Coverage of the attack has also put a spotlight on whether certain media outlets describe Hamas as a terrorist group.

• Five dozen Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers papers ran an editorial last week urging the news media to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization after AP and others said they wouldn't do so, Axios reported.
• The decision was made by Alden's MediaNews Group and Tribune Enterprises leadership, not the editorial boards of each individual newspaper.
• A source confirmed that company ownership was involved in the decision.

Between the lines: Some Alden-owned outlets, like the Chicago Tribune, made a point to distinguish that the editorial came from "MediaNews Group/Tribune Publishing" rather than its editorial board, Axios Chicago's Monica Eng reported.

• The paper has since changed the way it refers to Hamas in its coverage.
• Before the editorial ran, the paper referred to other governments calling Hamas a terrorist organization, but after the editorial ran, it began to label Hamas a terrorist organization itself.

The big picture: The hospital attack coverage and the language debate around Hamas speak to the broader challenge newsrooms face trying to cover the war amid shifting audience expectations and a deluge of misinformation online.

• Major U.S. media institutions have historically sided with Israel during times of geopolitical tension in the Middle East.
• But the Israel-Hamas war is forcing newsrooms to reconcile with a new political reality: A growing number of Americans say they are sympathetic to Palestine over Israel.

The owner of Jezebel is shopping the trailblazing website to potential buyers, sources tell Axios' Kerry Flynn and me.

Why it matters: G/O Media putting the online women's magazine up for sale highlights the struggles of niche, digital media brands that are suffering from a weak ad market and a fragmented landscape.

• Jezebel is among several media brands initially geared toward millennial women that have struggled to find their footing as the entire digital publishing industry enters a new era.

Details: G/O Media deputy editorial director Lea Goldman has been leading the sales process.

• Jezebel has spoken to HollywoodLife owner Factz, Dear Media and others, according to sources.
• The sales pitch focuses on Jezebel as an outlier in G/O Media's male-skewing portfolio of digital media brands. Goldman also has stressed potential future growth areas for the brand such as podcasts, live events or licensing deals, according to a pitch email obtained by Axios.
• G/O Media declined to comment.

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D.C. council members introduced a first-of-its-kind bill that would issue government-funded vouchers to city residents to donate to local journalism outlets of their choice, Axios' Cuneyt Dil and I reported.

Why it matters: The bill, if passed, would mark the first time a local news voucher program would be implemented by a local government in the U.S.

• "It's a big step forward," said Steven Waldman, a longtime local news advocate who is leading a coalition of hundreds of local outlets to advocate for the tax credits.

How it works: Council members Janeese Lewis George and Brianne Nadeau introduced the Local News Funding Act Monday, after Axios reported they were planning to elevate the measure.

• The legislation would allocate $11 million annually to local news subsidies for D.C.'s roughly 670,000 residents.
• Residents could use those vouchers to support any local news outlet of their choice, with the exception of local TV companies.
• The money must be used to support non-paywalled content. News organizations will be required to create a separate bank account to accept voucher funds from residents.

The big picture: The new bill is part of a broader effort by local governments to find innovative ways to support local journalism, including issuing tax credits, funding fellowship programs and government advertising subsidies.

What we're watching: The bill would need the support of seven out of D.C.'s 13-member council to pass.

ESPN drives more annual profit for Disney than the entirety of Disney's entertainment business, according to a new regulatory filing.

Yes, but: Its earnings have fallen slightly in the first nine months of the year compared to the first nine months of 2022.

• And the data shows just how much ESPN's business relies on carriage fees ($10.79 billion in 2022) from cable TV providers over advertising ($4.4 billion in 2022.)

Why it matters: Disney is looking for a strategic partner to help ESPN manage its transition into the streaming era.

• The network's high profit margins may help explain why Disney isn't looking to sell the asset completely.

By the numbers: ESPN delivered more than $16 billion for Disney's fiscal year 2022 (which ended on Oct. 1, 2022) and $2.9 billion in profit. The vast majority of that income came from its domestic business.

• By comparison, Disney's entertainment business, which includes its streaming services, linear TV networks, and TV and movie studios, brought in $39.6 billion in revenue and $2.1 billion in profit during that same time period.

The big picture: The data also shows how much Disney's streaming efforts have eaten into the profit margins of its entertainment business.

• Disney has told investors that it expects its streaming efforts to turn a profit by 2024.

What to watch: Disney is nearing a deal to sell its India operations to Reliance Industries, for roughly $10 billion, Bloomberg News reports.

• Disney's sports division includes Star-branded sports channels in India.

Viewership for NBA games on national TV has rebounded from its pandemic-era lows, but it's still struggling to reach pre-pandemic numbers, Axios' Tim Baysinger writes.

Why it matters: The league's push to triple its rights fees when its current deals expire next year will be tested by media companies' shrinking budgets, as investors are scrutinizing spending more than ever.

Yes, but: Even with some fiscal tightening, the NBA will still have a feeding frenzy for its games, given live sports' outsized importance to the still-profitable legacy TV model.

What's next: The league's current rights holders, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, have an exclusive negotiating window until next April.

• After that, the competition is expected to include Amazon, Apple and Comcast.

Hispanic media company Sonoro has raised $12.5 million in venture funding its co-founders Camila Victoriano and Josh Weinstein tell Axios' Kerry Flynn and me.

Why it matters: Funding for Hispanic media companies has historically lagged in the U.S., but it's starting to increase amid a demographic boom.

• Latina activists and entrepreneurs raised $80 million last year to launch a new radio-focused startup called the Latino Media Network.
• New York-based digital media company Canela Media raised $32 million in Series A funding last year.

Details: The company, which launched in March 2020, has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Lerer Hippeau, followed by a $6 million Series A round in 2021 and a $3.5 million Series A extension this year.

• Additional investors include Founder Collective, Greycroft, Correlation Ventures, Clerisy, RiverPark Ventures and UTA Ventures.

Between the lines: Sonoro's goal is to produce a wide number of audio projects that it then can test and iterate for future franchises in TV and film.

• Some hits, like its "Princess of South Beach" podcast, have become optioned for TV projects. Other podcasts, like its meditation podcast "Intención Del Día," have secured big advertising-based audiences.

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