Trust Stems From Knowledge and Understanding

 Ayden Crowley
ac893419@ohio.edu

As our first week in ethics started, we were quickly familiarized with the public distrust in

the media. It was to little surprise that many shared this sentiment, however; the

discourse about the lack of trust sparked reflection for me. There are a number of sources

for this feeling: political interest, financial pressure, or a rise in opinion based content just

to name a few. But what can we do to improve this problem? As someone with a vested

interest in the future of the journalistic landscape, it is imperative to try and improve the

current image of mass media. How do you build back trust? This is obviously not a simple

task. However I believe the best way to improve trust is through an expansion of knowledge

on both sides of the coin.

Image Source: Americans' Trust in Mass Media Sinks to New Low

The Publishers 

The best way to solve a problem is to attack it at its source. As a journalistic community

there needs to be a greater emphasis on the fundamentals and communication to the

audience. It feels like there has been a collective drift away from unbiased reporting. A

greater emphasis has been placed on opinion pieces and the line between the two has

been blurred. It is our responsibility as journalists to create a more concrete distinction

between the two. Opinion pieces are valued and entertaining as displayed though the

dynamic shift in mass media, but they are just that: opinions. A second way to shift

comes from establishing a connection with the audience. In an interview with Pulitzer, investigative journalist  Lynn Walsh of Trusting News says, “If we, as journalists, take

a moment to explain what we’re doing, talk about what we’re doing, listen to our

audience more … these trust issues can take a 180-degree turn and we can regain

some of the trust we’ve lost." This is an intriguing stance that I think is work exploring.

I would equate this with Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN. The audience has created such

a deep and trusting connection with Woj because of name recognition. This could greatly

improve public relations if that kind of trust is established more often. 

The Audience

However, trust is a two way street, and there are ways that everyone can improve their discernment in the media that they consume. Personally, I think there needs to be greater emphasis on media literacy in schooling. I do not believe enough people are equipped enough to deal with the currently journalistic medium with misinformation spreading like wildfire. A study, which tested 7,800 students' ability to recognize "fake" vs real news, conducted by Stanford University found that "more than 80 percent of students couldn't identify biased content from independent news sources supported by groups like lobbying firms as being less reliable than a mainstream news source." This number is concerning. I would strongly advocate for education on media literacy early on in schooling. This could entail, recognizing bias, checking sources, etc. The consumers of the content should have a better grasp on what it is they are reading. This will help weed out the great articles from those seeking to spread misinformation.