I believe that trust in mass commercial media varies from country to country. In some places, governments implement censorship and abuse their control over mass media. When this influence becomes apparent to people, and they start understanding that the reality they are trying to be convinced of is significantly distorted, their trust starts to decrease. Still, in countries where sources of information are relatively independent, the trust is more attached to specific media companies as their control of them is not centered in the hands of elites or authorities. I do not think that in such countries, it is possible to have people perceive all commercial mass media outlets as one in terms of trust towards them.
Yet, when talking about places where mass media is not independent, there is definitely unified trust in television or mass media in general. A great example is provided in Antonio Castillo’s article “Breaking Democracy: Venezuela’s Media Coup,” where he talks about the political violence, misinformation, and propaganda through Venezuelan television, which was controlled by the country’s oligarchy at that moment (Castillo, 2003). Most people, after these events, were confident that the information provided by commercial mass media was controlled by the oligarchy. It means that there is a logical connection between these two events, as people were given one-sided, false information and their trust in the media decreased. I believe there is a similar situation in modern Russia, where many people still trust political propaganda on TV. Nevertheless, when the real lives of ordinary citizens keep getting worse, and the lies on TV keep becoming more explicit, it is inevitable that the trust of people in mass media will decline. However, propaganda is a powerful weapon that requires time to become immune to.
Reference
Castillo, A. (2003) Breaking Democracy: Venezuela’s Media Coup. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy, 103, 145-156.