Trust #6: Here's what the public wants from news media

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Trust #6: Here's what the public wants from news media

The same things that journalists value: transparency, accuracy, fairness, lack of bias

James Breiner

Oct 24

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You’re reading the Your News Biz newsletter. My goal is to help digital media entrepreneurs find viable business models.

I’ve been writing about trust in the media for years. My particular interest has been on its economic value. People want information they can trust. They consume media they trust. They will even pay for media they trust.

Smart money is betting on local, trustworthy news
How publisher credibility creates economic value

Obviously democratic societies depend on people having trustworthy sources of news and information. Only then can they hold the powerful to account. Only then can they ensure that the people in power are serving the people they represent and not their own personal interests.

The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report for 2024 dives deeply into the issue of trust in the news. One of the surprising findings is that the public places the highest value on trust factors that journalists value as well.

The report asked 95,000 people in 47 countries the following question: “is the following important or not important to you when it comes to deciding which news outlets to trust?”

Whether

they have a long history
they have high journalistic standards
they are too negative
they are biased
they exaggerate or sensationalize
they are transparent about how the news is made
their values are the same as mine
they represent people like me fairly

The graphic below shows their responses.

Methodology: A detailed explanation of the report’s methodology is here.

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen. (Photo by John Cairns)

A warning and a survival strategy

In a farewell address last month, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, outgoing director of the Reuters Institute, described what he sees as the weaknesses of today’s journalism — and the way forward.

He stressed the importance of staying independent of powerful political and commercial interests in order to maintain trust.

“If journalists want to revive independent journalism, they cannot rely on people in power. They have to rely on the public.”

Nielsen’s thoughts are based on deep study of global audience data over several decades.

His warning. “At its best, independent journalism seeks to hold power to account. When have people in positions of power last liked being held to account? Independent journalists and those in power are not natural friends. They are arguably not meant to be friends. When some journalists sidle up to them, their colleagues, often rightly, criticise the results as toothless access journalism.”

His strategy. “Renewing the social contract between journalism and the public will take more than simply insisting that news is great as it is. It will require understanding why so many people increasingly feel that it is not. Maybe that is an idea for next year’s World News Day: to dedicate it to journalists taking time to talk with people rather than at them. Maybe the slogan could be less a command – choose truth! – and more a question posed to the public that the profession ultimately relies on – what can we do for you?”

I suggest reading his entire address. The numbers don’t lie.