Has the Media Strayed too Far From the Code of Ethics to Return?

It is common knowledge that the general public's trust in the media has declined over the years, especially recently. This declining trust directly leads to partisan troubles and the recent problems with former President Trump and the newly elected President Biden. Due to the vast turmoil surrounding former President Trump's end of term and the four years he was president, republicans' belief in the media has about halved. In contrast, democrats' belief in the media is around eighty percent. However, this is the lowest that the trust in media has been documented in several years, and partisan troubles cannot be the only benefitting factor. Are people losing trust in the media because the media has strayed too far from the journalists' code of ethics? 

Source: ACFE Website

When you type 'code of ethics' into Google, you are provided with a definition that states, "A code of ethics is a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity." However, adding the words' for journalists,' an entirely different document and definition is shown. The code of ethics for journalists is extensive and covers nearly everything that makes good journalism just that- good journalism. 

The first thing that it states is that journalists should seek truth and report it, followed immediately by minimizing harm. If you would happen to pull up SPJ's code of ethics for journalism, that list goes on to further state that journalists should act independently and be accountable and transparent. These qualities are things that journalists should practice daily when out in the field or reporting on a significant news break; these are all things that got modern journalism to where it stands today. Unfortunately, those things are not being seen anymore in the news reporting every day. Nowadays, news has started leaning toward more opinion-based pieces to cater to an audience that reacts more and blurs the lines between facts and opinions for more viewership. They have also started disagreeing and clashing on facts and opinions, and specific news sources say different things. All of these things go directly against the journalists' code of ethics, where it says to seek truth and report it and be accountable and transparent. That is where the declining trust in the media comes in. While not all of the declining trust in the media can be tied back to journalists not adhering to the code of ethics, a lot of it can. Due to journalism taking a step outside of the code of ethics and not following it as closely as they did before when reporting has ultimately resulted in the decline in trust in the media. Has the media strayed too far from their code of ethics to be able to return to it now? Would returning to the code of ethics fix the trust in the media that the public seems to have lost?