NOT AS LOATHED AS CONGRESSMEN. This Editor & Publisher story on the latest Gallup poll leads with the news that public confidence in the media continues to slide. E&P reports:

Those having a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers dipped from 30% to 28% in one year, the same total for television. The previous low for newspapers was 29% in 1994. Since 2000, confidence in newspapers has declined from 37% to 28%, and TV from 36% to 28%, according to the poll.

But wait! Near the bottom of the article is this:

Confidence in the presidency plunged from 52% to 44%, with Congress and the criminal-justice system also suffering 8% drops. Confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court fell from 46% to 41%. The 22% confidence rating for Congress is its lowest in eight years, and self-identified Republicans have only a slightly more positive view of the institution than do Democrats.

The military topped the poll with a 74% confidence rating, with the police at 63% and organized religion at 53%. Big business and Congress (both at 22%) and HMOs (17%) brought up the rear.

In other words, the public may detest the news media, but not as much as it detests congressmen, masters of the universe, and their health-insurance providers. This isn't much of a silver lining, but it's something, I suppose.

DEPOPULATION CRISIS. The Globe's Mark Jurkowitz has the latest update on who's leaving and who's staying at the Herald.