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BY TONYA GARCIA
NEW YORK: A new survey suggests that trust in business is higher than trust in government in the US and other countries. The results of the ninth annual Edelrnan Trust Barometer show that the trust gap was greatest in the US, where 58% of dents said they trust busin do the right thing versus 39 government. "Companies need to use tha trust asset with even mo tion as we enter uncert nomic times," said Laurence Evans, president of StrategyOne, the research firm who worked with Edelrnan on the survey. For the fmt time, the study included 25- to 34-year-old "opinion elites" in 12 countries, including the US and BRIC nations. This demographic also tends to put a lot of trust in business. ''[They] are more willing to listen to many voices, and, given
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"Word of mouth is still as important as ever," added Evam "The average employee is twim as trusted as the CEO, so t h g ' need others to tell the Ccompany's] story, as well as themselves." The study also noted a bump i trust in the media, with increase. from previous studies in e& countries. Business titles are mist trusted. but mainstream media is I the mist widely used source of information about companieg, Among the younger respobi. dents, 55% say WIkipedia is P credible source of information. "Media is more flexible and Wsonal, more market-responsive " Evans noted. Among other findings, technolom is still the most trusted sector Gi7 of 18 countries, while only 20% of respondents trust corporate or product advertising. The study was conducted using phone surveys in October and November of 2007.
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Trust Barometerfound tech to bethe most trusted sector in 170f 18nations that they are the business leaders of tomorrow, their openness is part of a sea change," said Evans. "They're more open to hearing many points of view through many different channels." Still, the most trusted people are analysts, academics, and "a person like me."
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