People are simply ignorant of what journalists do, and that they’re their friends and neighbors, according to an Associated Press (AP) article attempting to explain away results of a new survey showing that more than half of Americans don’t trust the election news they’re being fed.

The national poll of adults by the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted March 21-25, reveals that Americans do, indeed, distrust the media’s election coverage:

In an effort to absolve the media from blame for the results, AP cited the reaction of one of the survey’s sponsors, American Press Institute CEO Michael Bolden.

Bolden blamed the Americans’ distrust, not on media bias or inaccuracy, but on the public’s ignorance and politicians:

“Years of suspicion about journalists, much of it sown by politicians, is partly responsible, he said. People are also less familiar with how journalism works.”

…

“There may have been a time when people knew a journalist because one lived on their block…that’s much less likely today.”

Americans’ ignorance has caused their “disconnect” from the media, so news outlets need to educate them, especially about “what journalists do” and how they’re actually their “friends and neighbors,” Bolden advised:

“There’s a growing disconnect between news organizations and communities that the outlets need to address, by helping to let people know what journalists do and how people reporting news are their friends and neighbors, he said.

“Outlets should lean into a convenor role, bringing people together for newsworthy events, he said.”

Thus, the people and politicians are really the ones to blame for the public’s growing distrust of the news they’re getting, the AP article suggests.