How journalists and communities work together to confront low levels of trust
Researchers found that Black residents trusted journalists who listened, stayed present and shared feedback, with 100+ community members surveyed.
- A recent study in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, surveyed over 100 Black community members in 2022 to understand how journalists regain trust, identifying diligence and deference as key practices for building meaningful relationships.
- Mainstream journalism has a long history of misrepresenting Black communities, particularly in protest and crime coverage, driving communities to turn away from traditional news outlets.
- Among 17 interviewed journalists, diligence involved maintaining continuous community presence beyond assignments—attending events from start to finish and frequenting local shops to show they cared about people, not just headlines.
- Deference requires journalists to honor community boundaries and drop assumptions about having all answers. From these journalists' perspectives, "their trusted status was a product of the community's willingness to share both knowledge and feedback."
- Researchers believe this approach helps reduce harm and build personal connections, offering a blueprint for a more inclusive understanding of how trust is sustained between news organizations and the communities they serve.
39 Articles
39 Articles
The Conversation
How journalists and communities work together to confront low levels of trust
The most overlooked piece to building media trust is the willingness of a community to engage with journalists. addillum/Getty ImagesIn the past decade, study after study has come to a troubling conclusion: Trust in news and journalism has declined dramatically. The public’s loss of trust corresponds with the explosive development of our information ecosystem. The more options audiences have to find news elsewhere, the less trust the public has …
How journalists and communities work together to confront low levels of trust
by Danielle K. Brown, Michigan State University, [This article first appeared in The Conversation, republished with permission] In the past decade, study after study has come to a troubling conclusion: Trust in news and journalism has declined dramatically. The public’s loss of trust corresponds with the explosive development of our information ecosystem. The more options audiences have to find news elsewhere, the less trust the public has place…
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