Ipsos poll says that doctors, firemen and nurses score higher in public trust

(Illustration Zazzle)

Last week when researching the topic of Chartered Accountants gone to the dark side, I came across a poll of public trust in professions by IPSOS Reid.

Not surprisingly, firefighters, nurses, pharmacists, airline pilots and doctors top the list of people we consider trustworthy.

Firefighters are considered extremely trustworthy by 81% of Canadians.

Accountants fit in the middle along with judges.

Journalists and the media aren’t trusted that much at all. In fact people trust their plumbers more than journalists.

Down on the bottom of the pile, along with politicians and the car sales rep are the media and journalists.

Ipsos Reid 2007 poll of most trusted professions

“When asked to identify the level of importance of various attributes in their personal assessment of the trustworthiness of professions and associations, Canadians point to measures of:

(1)  “integrity” (67%),

(2) “commitment to promises” (64%)

(3) and “reliability” (62%) as extremely important considerations.

Meanwhile, other issues, such as “professionalism” (45%), “reputation” (35%), “personal experience” (32%) and “contribution to society” (22%) are usually seen as being less important to them.” Ipsos

In Britain journalists were found taping phones.

On Prince Edward Island, three journalists on the CBC Press Panel, discussing the Provincial Nominee Program scandal, had received free money or other benefits from the program.

Interestingly, American journalists are trusted 50% more than Canadian journalists.