Trust Me. I’m With The Media.
The headline is a paraphrase of the famous quote by President Ronald Reagan: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Reagan said they were the nine most terrifying words in the English language.” And while the dislike and distrust of government is still prevalent, the level of distrust in news organizations is just as bad.
A recent survey of its readers and subscribers by The Atlanta Journal Constitution shows how news organizations are working to rebuilding that trust. It asks two sets of questions. The first one raises the question of whether newspapers will continue producing a print edition or go to new media delivery only. The second issue is one facing ALL news media — do you trust us?
So, first this: “In your perception are the news stories in The Atlanta Journal-Constition print and ePaper editions same as the news stories available at AJC.com?”
The move away from print is understandable. The cost of newsprint has almost doubled over the past year. Newspapers and magazines around the world are trying to figure out what to do. It is understandable, if somewhat sad, that they are all looking at moving away from their print editions. I say that as someone who started his journalism career at a newspaper and who used to love to watch the massive printing presses roar.
While the first issue of how to move away from print may be disappointing in some ways, the second issue raised in the survey is disturbing… or distressing… or disgusting. Take your pick. To me, it’s all three. The issue is trust and it one, again, that all news operations are concerned about.
There are two sets of questions with the option of multiple responses. The framing of the first one might be considered a loaded question because of the way it’s worded. It is — “When the journalists of The Atlanta Journal Constitution use the power of the First Amendment and the free press to do their job, I feel they are:”
The second question is open ended and therefore may be more acceptable as a legitimate question but again the possible responses provided are questionable. The question is “In your view are the local journalists of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:…” In both cases the responder can pick five.
Just about every journalism organization in the world shares the same concern of the AJC management about the public’s perception of the news media and their trust = or lack of trust — in the news media. According to the latest Gallup poll, trust in the news media has dropped to record lows.
It’s not much consolation… Cancel that, it’s NO consolation that there have been similar drops in media trust worldwide, according to the Reuters Trust in News Project. The challenge is defining why, besides the attacks that they are the “enemy of the people.” Also, what to do about it.
And it is not much consolation either that people in America trust their local news more than they trust the national news. The question that organizations like the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) are trying to answer is how to ‘fix it.’ Again, part of the problem comes from the “fake news” attacks. One in five Americans now say local news is ‘fake news.’
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vh2924lab0ymtf/RTDNATrust-Research-FINAL.pdf?dl=0
The RTDNA survey also looked for answers to the question. And there are a number of things journalists can do, according to the report. The ‘standard’ one, so to speak, is transparency and openness in how they get and present the news. But the most interesting point is that the report says that 60% of the respondents indicated that if even just ONE journalist at a news organization is not trusted, then they are less likely to use that source at all.
