Emilee Caudill
ec217717@ohio.edu
Journalism in today's society is less about what is being reported and more about whether or not to trust those reporting it. There are many reasons for the lack of faith in the media and it is important that both journalists and consumers of news find a way to improve this distrust.
Photo source: ethicsinjournalismblog.wordpress.com
Reasons for Distrust
Although it is hard to picture now, the media didn't always face such distrust. The American people often questioned journalism ethics, but there wasn't a large shared hated for the media like there is today.
Media distrust became more prevalent after the Watergate scandal and the lies told by the Nixon administration. After years of lies, people started to question the media they were consuming and the sources it was coming from.
A big issue now is the contrast in reporting between left leaning and right leaning news sources. In a Gallup news report it says, "...trust in U.S. local media declines for people who perceive a large gap between their political ideology and the perceived ideology of local news organizations." Basically, Americans like consuming news that aligns with their beliefs and biases.
Big media corporations have found ways to thrive off of the political polarization that is facing our country by creating a war amongst themselves. News is being produced for competition and the winner is the news source with the most shock value.
Another issue that plagues the media today is the understandable distrust from people of color. The gap between how the media covers white people versus every other race is painfully obvious.
In a compelling New York Times article it says, "It is hard to trust an institution that ignores you unless you are perceived as causing a problem...". It is easy to see the difference in media coverage for a person of color versus a white person. When a white child goes missing the whole world is alerted, but many children of different races disappear all the time without any media coverage.
How can we Improve?
Although not all media distrust is warranted, some is. It will take both journalists and news consumers to improve the way our country views the media.
Journalists have to be sure they are following a code of ethics. This will prevent personal views from outweighing the facts. It is also important for journalists to learn how to report on different races to improve the way people of color are portrayed. If journalists are going to claim to be fair and ethical, then they need to stick to their word.
Media consumers also need to hold themselves accountable for the information they consume and share. Being aware of biases and conscious about where the news comes from can help consumers be better informed. Checking to see what is in the code of ethics for each news source can help rule out the untrustworthy.
Be Better
It is up to society as a whole to improve the way the media is viewed today, but having ethical journalists and educated consumers is a great start.
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