Radio remains the most trusted and widely used mass medium in the U.S., according to fresh data compiled by the World Radio Alliance (WRA). This reaffirms radio's resilience and credibility in an era of declining overall media trust and increasing fragmentation from digital platforms.
Key findings from the WRA include:79% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older rate radio as very trustworthy or trustworthy. This edges out newspapers (77%), television (68%), magazines (68%), and dramatically surpasses social media (28%).
The WRA, a global coalition of radio industry bodies (including the U.S. Radio Advertising Bureau), compiles these metrics to showcase radio's strengths for advertisers, audiences, and public information roles. The data highlights radio's local, live, and community-oriented nature as key factors in its perceived authenticity and accuracy—qualities often lacking in algorithm-driven social feeds or polarized TV/news outlets.
This trust advantage holds amid broader skepticism toward mass media. For context, a September 2025 Gallup poll found overall trust in newspapers, TV, and radio combined at a historic low of just 28% (for reporting news "fully, accurately, and fairly"), down from prior years. Radio consistently outperforms in targeted surveys, including a recent Katz Radio Group study showing it as the top trusted medium among adult women at 83%—ahead of newspapers (79%), TV (74%), podcasts (70%), magazines (69%), and social media (48%).
Radio's enduring reach—especially in cars, workplaces, and daily routines—combined with high engagement in ad-supported formats, continues to make it a dominant audio force despite competition from streaming and podcasts. The WRA's emphasis on these figures, often tied to World Radio Day promotions and global comparisons (where radio also leads in trust in markets like the EU), positions it as a credible, high-impact medium in a distrustful landscape.