More than a decade ago, a group of committed journalists and educators spent a year on a project they called “Restoring Journalism Trust.”
At the time, Gallup’s national poll found the public’s trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly had dropped to an all-time low. Just 44 percent of Americans said they had a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the news media. Since then, trust in the news media dropped even lower, before rebounding slightly in 2017.
If there were ever a time for the journalism profession to confront this erosion of public trust, it is now.
When government officials base policy decisions on “alternative facts,” Americans need credible information to determine what they should believe and how they should act as citizens. Most news organizations are providing credible information, of course, but until journalists earn back the public’s trust they might as well be whistling in the wind.
This section is designed to be a resource for news organizations, journalists and educators wishing to learn and teach about strategies for restoring trust in journalism. We explore some of the many reasons why trust in journalism eroded over time, what people think of the media today, and how newsrooms are trying to regain the public’s trust. We’ve also shared the course syllabus and readings.
A little history: More than a decade ago, a group of committed journalists and educators spent a year on a project they called “Restoring Journalism Trust.”
At the time, Gallup’s national poll found the public’s trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly had dropped to an all-time low. Just 44 percent of Americans said they had a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the news media. Since then, trust in the news media set even more record lows, bottoming out at 30 percent before rebounding slightly in 2017.
“There’s a divide between the journalists and the public, and we need to bridge that gap. Journalism needs to show that there’s a reason that they should be trusted, now more than ever.”
–Zack Jarvis (age 25)
When government officials base policy decisions on “alternative facts,” Americans need credible information to determine what they should believe and how they should act as citizens. Most news organizations are providing credible information, of course, but until journalists earn back the public’s trust they might as well be whistling in the wind.
Most of this section’s content was produced by students in a 2018 seminar on journalism and trust at the University of Montana. Deborah Potter, who taught the seminar, discussed news and trust in an interview with Montana Public Radio.
