Transparency and Relationships: The Remedy for Distrust

Elise Hammond
eh233614@ohio.edu

In a digital age of clicks, likes, and shares we are all competing to be relevant. Like everyone else, journalists grapple with how to stand out in the vast arena of information sharing. But while everyone wants to be noticed, journalists have restrictions others do not. As professionals, journalists have a responsibility to the truth first.  If journalists are stretching or sensationalizing the truth to be noticed, become relevant, or to meet a financial bottom line, they are not doing their job. This is what leads to the loss of trust and credibility: the exact problem journalism is trying to solve today.

Make the Significant Relevant

One main function of journalism is to make the significant relevant and interesting.  But with so much competition online, and with many consumers getting their news on social media, how can this be accomplished in the new digital realm?  To make it even more difficult, journalism is a business.  News outlets rely on advertisements and ratings to simply stay operating. More often, news begins to look like entertainment.  Financial pressures force outlets to sensationalize stories because they think that is what their audience wants and will click on.

However, it is imperative that in the midst of all of these changes, journalists do not sacrifice their core values. They need to adapt to the different landscape while still maintaining ethical standards and prioritizing truth. The way journalists tell stories may change, but their morals and underlying values should not. Staying true to these values is how professional journalists and reputable publications distinguish themselves from "fake news" and other falsehoods.

Transparency is the Solution

One of the most important core values is transparency. Transparency is the only way for journalists to re-gain trust and become relevant. Viewers are interested in the process. The audience wants to see what journalists are doing and how they are gathering information. They want to be involved, so give them a front row seat.

People trust those who they have a relationship with.  For example, you trust your parents more than you would trust someone you just met at a coffee shop. This is because you feel comfortable with your parents and believe they have good intentions.  Practicing transparency in newsrooms and on assignment will allow journalists to build a relationship with their audience. Showing the audience what they are doing and how they are collecting information communicates trustworthiness to those who are watching.

Courtesy: PEW Research Center

This is proving to be successful in local news.  According to Poynter's Media Trust Survey, 76 percent of Americans say they trust local TV news, and 73 percent trust local newspapers.  That is compared to 55 percent trusting national network news, and 47 percent trusting online-only news outlets.  This could be because local newsrooms have a more intimate relationship with their audience.  News consumers in the community have the opportunity to see reporters and on-air talent as real people doing relatable things like getting gas or going to the grocery store.  When the journalists are working and gathering information, this sense of community allows them to forge connections with people and foster relationships that ultimately cultivate trust in the publication. People trust local news more because there is transparency, and therefore, there is a relationship.