Seen at Norman's Spectator via Kinsella -- From Angus Reid Strategies:

Canadians give top marks to doctors, teachers and police officers, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll has found, while politicians garner the least amount of respect.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, a large majority of Canadians say they have a great deal or a fair amount of respect for doctors (94%), police officers (83%) and teachers (83%). At the bottom end are politicians (25%), lawyers (44%) and journalists (49%).

The results of the current survey are especially noteworthy when compared to those of an identical poll carried out by the Angus Reid Group in 1994. Interestingly, over the past 14 years, respect for every single profession—with the exception of doctors—has diminished across the country.

The professionals who endured the most noticeable slump are journalists. In 2008, less than half of all respondents say they have a great deal or a fair amount of respect for journalists (49%), compared to 73 per cent in 1994.

Okay, why? Too left-wing a bunch of elitists, like the conservative MSM-haters will say? Or too right-wing a bunch of craven, careerist, corporate lackeys like the lefty MSM-haters will say? Or both?

Do people give the same respect ranking to media institutions as as to journalists? (other surveys I've seen suggest that credibility is assigned partly on how much an outlet conforms to a respondent's political leanings)

Is a Globe and Mail journalist given the same ranking by respondents as someone who works for the National Enquirer? Does it again depend on the respondent?

Do people give the same measure of respect to columnists versus worker-bee reporters? How about to columnists they agree with versus columnists with whom they disagree?

Are TV and radio reporters rated differently than newspaper reporters?

Do newspapers' running of corrections help or hurt their credibility?

Is the actual performance of journalists 24 per cent worse than it was almost a quarter-century ago? How would you measure that actual performance? Alternatively, is there something about the audience itself that has changed?

Why has respect fallen across almost all professional groups with the exception of doctors? Would journalists get more respect if they wore lab coats?

That poll, on its own, provides no answers to those questions. That makes it useless and thus rather stupid.