According to a new Gallup poll out Wednesday, of all the institutions, entities and individuals in the United States currently responding to the global coronavirus pandemic, the mainstream establishment media boast the lowest favorability.

With an approval rating of only 44 percent, the media ranks significantly below Congress (59 percent), President Donald Trump (60 percent) and federal agencies such as the CDC and NIH (80 percent).

Every single entity polled is above water on trust, by significant margins. Except one. Our condescending, hectoring, blinkered, self-appointed arbiters of truth are underwater by double digits: pic.twitter.com/A8PHq01U95 — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 26, 2020

While many, many, many reasons might explain this unsurprising phenomenon, including the media’s eager insistence on disseminating the Communist Party of China’s propaganda, a less obvious one might be the media’s unrelenting narcissism.

For even in the midst of this crisis, the same greatly disliked “journalists” and “reporters” who’ve been spouting communist talking points and trashing the United States are now demanding a stimulus of their own of up to $5 billion.

Why? Because they’re just such wonderful people …

“In the face of this pandemic, the public needs good, economically secure journalists more than ever. As most of us are sheltered in place, journalists are out there tracking the spread of COVID-19, separating fact from fiction, and holding politicians and powerful institutions accountable,” a piece from Columbia Journalism Review reads.

“We need the press asking tough questions and digging through fine print—starting with this fast-moving recovery bill, which is both absolutely necessary and particularly ripe for corruption and boondoggles. Crucially, we need local reporters delivering information on how to stay safe and healthy, who is saving lives, what institutional failures are making matters worse.”

CJR is considered by “journalists” to be a highly esteemed magazine that represents their collective interests and perspectives.

However, its claims were highly dubious.

“Journalists” likely haven’t been correctly “tracking the spread of COVID-19” given that they’ve taken to blindly accepting the Communist Party of China’s dubious claim that the virus is no longer spreading in the East Asian nation.

And “journalists” certainly haven’t been “separating fact from fiction.” Rather, they’ve been propagating fiction, i.e., fake news. And lots of it too.

Examples below:

New York Times editorial board spreads fake news about White House response to coronavirus https://t.co/6p7xgSahUG — Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) March 17, 2020

CNN humiliated after firestorm claiming 38% of Americans wouldn’t drink Corona beer due to coronavirus https://t.co/8dkIeee1uU — Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) February 28, 2020

Media botches ‘fact-check’ of Trump’s speech: Yes, Google is building a coronavirus webpage https://t.co/ecv996Nyvy — TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 14, 2020

At no point has Trump urged people to stop social distancing. This is a lie by insinuation. https://t.co/KdSKicjRPg — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 26, 2020

DEFINITION OF FAKE NEWS‼️@AshleyRParker of Washington Post FALSELY claimed that @realDonaldTrump called the coronavirus a “hoax” PROBLEM: Her own publication’s fact checker called that inaccurate & a reporter who mimicked her falsehood had to apologize Apologize, Ashley! ⬇️ https://t.co/eFZbqazcU1 — Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) March 27, 2020

They ingested FISH TANK CLEANER! Stop lying to the American people! The mainstream media’s Trump Derangement Syndrome is out of control! https://t.co/o1SyNAx5PH — Jake Hoffman (@JMHoffman) March 24, 2020

So-called “journalists” have admittedly been “holding [CERTAIN] politicians and powerful institutions accountable.” Namely, the ones linked to President Donald Trump. There has been no accountability for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter.

Moreover, many of the media’s attempts to hold Trump responsible have involved fake news, lies, smears and other reprobate behavior not suitable for real journalism.

Nevertheless, “journalists” believe they deserve “at least $5 billion in emergency funds right away” to continue their brand of disreputable “journalism,” according to CJR.

“Media columnist” Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post echoed this request in her own column published Thursday.

“[T]he accompanying economic decline is killing off advertising — for restaurants, cars, travel, entertainment — and other support that has kept many news organizations going,” she wrote.

“For some, the events of the past few weeks have already proved too much for their fragile existence. Alternative weeklies have stopped printing. Local dailies are laying off staff at already decimated newsrooms. Many others, including digital-only newsrooms, are hanging on by a thread.”

Other “journalists” have also echoed this concern:

The newspapers whose websites you keep refreshing need to keep operating. Please subscribe to your local paper. In fact, if you’re able, subscribe to several outlets. Ads are disappearing, and who knows when they’ll be back. https://t.co/5ufKr7SVqG — Amber Hunt (@ReporterAmber) March 25, 2020

The problem, of course, is that they’re likely only referring to mainstream establishment “journalists,” given as members of the mainstream media have repeatedly demonstrated a clear-cut disdain for non-establishment journalists such as the ones at One America News Network.

And since the mainstream media is comprised almost exclusively with left-wingers, what CJR and Sullivan are essentially demanding is a stimulus for left-wing “journalists.”

And not just any “left-wing journalists,” but the same ones who’ve exploited the global coronavirus pandemic to smear the president, stick up for China and trash the very country that has provided them with an opportunity to earn a living peddling fake news:

Who’s the shithole country now? https://t.co/7NL4aHbyHq — Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) March 26, 2020

And so the question becomes whether these people really deserve a stimulus. Better yet, would a majority of the public support taxpayer funds going to them? Judging by recent polling data, the answer seems to be a resounding no.