{"id":18653,"date":"2019-11-19T01:56:33","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T01:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=18653"},"modified":"2019-11-20T03:59:35","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T03:59:35","slug":"local-news-outlets-can-fill-the-media-trust-gap-but-the-public-needs-to-pony-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/local-news-outlets-can-fill-the-media-trust-gap-but-the-public-needs-to-pony-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Local news outlets can fill the media trust gap \u2013 but the public needs to pony up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Damian Radcliffe<\/a>, University of Oregon<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With the polarization of America\u2019s media and politics<\/a> reaching a fever pitch, many news consumers \u2013 \u201cworn out by a fog of political news,\u201d as a recent New York Times feature put it<\/a> \u2013 are responding by tuning out altogether.<\/p>\n

Media distrust, which has intensified globally<\/a> in recent years, is also a likely factor. A recent Gallup poll found<\/a> only 13% of Americans trust the media \u201ca great deal,\u201d while 28% indicated that they trust the media \u201ca fair amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, evidence suggests a more favorable situation for local journalism.<\/p>\n

Poynter\u2019s 2018 Media Trust Survey<\/a> and a recent Knight Foundation-Gallup study<\/a> each found that trust in local media is higher than for national media.<\/p>\n

Only 31% of Americans say they trust reporting from national news outlets \u201ca great deal\u201d or \u201cquite a lot,\u201d while 45% of Americans say the same for reporting from local news organizations.<\/p>\n

Forty-five percent still isn\u2019t great; clearly, there\u2019s work to be done. These efforts are complicated by the fact that many newsrooms are struggling financially<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite this backdrop, I\u2019m optimistic. I\u2019ve spent two decades researching<\/a> and working in<\/a> local news. I believe local media outlets are in a position to creatively cater to audiences burned out by beltway drama.<\/p>\n

Here are four ways local newsrooms can forge deeper relationships with the communities they serve.<\/p>\n

1. Interact with readers<\/h2>\n

With newsroom employment down 25% since 2008<\/a> \u2013 the equivalent of 28,000 jobs \u2013 there are fewer boots on the ground. Nonetheless, opportunities to engage with audiences are greater than ever.<\/p>\n

One way is to be visible \u2013 online and in real life.<\/p>\n

Journalists can think about opportunities for face-to-face interaction with readers. Some outlets have started holding open editorial meetings<\/a>, in which journalists discuss the stories they\u2019re developing, or meet-and-greets<\/a> with the public. There are also opportunities to engage with readers via social media, whether it\u2019s through Facebook Live<\/a> or Q&As on Reddit, also known as \u201cAsk Me Anything<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

These efforts matter, because local journalists are often the only journalists people ever meet. As a result, they can serve as a proxy for perceptions of the wider industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Teach the process<\/h2>\n

Another way to build trust is to explain how journalism works.<\/p>\n

Research suggests<\/a> audiences don\u2019t understand how journalism is produced, nor do they understand some of the terminology reporters deploy.<\/p>\n

For example, a 2018 survey<\/a> found 60% of respondents believed reporters get paid by their sources \u201csometimes or very often.\u201d Joy Mayer<\/a>, director of the Trusting News<\/a> project, told me<\/a> that when journalists talk about \u201canonymous sources,\u201d many people assume the journalist doesn\u2019t know who the source is, either.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not difficult to address this<\/a>, and doing so could help engender more trust in journalistic practice.<\/p>\n

In December 2018, for example, journalists at The Oregonian published a series<\/a> about five seemingly disparate crimes and their connection to John Ackroyd, a convicted murderer. But they didn\u2019t just publish the pieces and wait for the awards<\/a>. They also shared articles outlining<\/a> their reporting methods, alongside an annotated version of the full series<\/a> with footnotes and links to related documents.<\/p>\n

3. Give readers what they want<\/h2>\n

Without this type of transparency, as a recent Knight report acknowledged<\/a>, trust in local news \u201cis vulnerable to the same perceptions of partisan bias that threaten confidence in the national media.\u201d<\/p>\n

One further way to try to eliminate this is to cede some control to the audience.<\/p>\n

In an article published by Harvard\u2019s Nieman Lab<\/a>, newsroom consultant Jennifer Brandel and editor M\u00f3nica Guzm\u00e1n argue that it\u2019s important for journalists to shift their approach to coverage.<\/p>\n

The editorial meeting of the future, they write, \u201cwon\u2019t start with our ideas \u2013 we\u2019ll start with the information gaps the public demonstrates they have, and focus our efforts squarely on filling those gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting audiences to submit questions<\/a> and listening<\/a> to their needs can actually result in stories<\/a> that journalists might not otherwise have produced.<\/p>\n

The Knight Foundation\u2019s recent research<\/a> highlighted opportunities to put this principle into operation. Nearly two-thirds of their respondents want more coverage on subjects like drug addiction, K-12 education, the environment and planned public works. They also want local outlets to do a better job<\/a> holding those in power accountable.<\/p>\n

4. Encourage readers to pay<\/h2>\n

However, the uncertain finances of many small newsrooms are a major roadblock to experimentation and giving readers the content they crave.<\/p>\n

Declining revenue has meant more than 1 in 5, or 1,800, local newspapers have closed<\/a> since 2004. Today, over 1,300 communities lack<\/a> original local reporting.<\/p>\n

Most readers simply don\u2019t realize how dire the situation is for some outlets.<\/p>\n

According to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, 71% of Americans \u201cthink their local news media are doing just fine financially.\u201d This may explain why only 14% of them financially supported a local news source in the past year.<\/p>\n

Yet readers indicated<\/a> that they \u201cwere more likely to subscribe or otherwise support their local newspaper if it were the only one in their area and at risk of shutting down.\u201d<\/p>\n

New research<\/a> shows that audiences value local news, and 61% of Americans say<\/a> their local news organizations do an \u201cexcellent\u201d or \u201cgood\u201d job covering what\u2019s going on in their area. But the Knight Foundation\u2019s latest report, \u201cPutting a Price Tag on Local News<\/a>,\u201d also finds that few readers are currently paying for it.<\/p>\n

Clearly, many readers don\u2019t realize how precarious things are. Newsrooms therefore must make a better case for the value of their work and why it needs to be supported.<\/p>\n

A civic imperative<\/h2>\n

Until then, local outlets will have to do more with less<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t easy. But even the smallest newsrooms, like the Cottage Grove Sentinel<\/a> in Oregon, have been able to successfully experiment with new formats<\/a> and ways to engage with readers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Americans believe local news outlets<\/a> are accurate, useful, trustworthy and caring. Yet without a vibrant local news industry, fewer people run for office<\/a> and citizens become less engaged<\/a> about elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe diminishment of local news is to democracies what climate change is to the environment,\u201d argues Tim Franklin<\/a>, the head of Northwestern University\u2019s Medill Local News Initiative<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a slow-motion crisis, the effects of which we\u2019re just beginning to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appetite for hard-hitting, relevant, local news is clearly there. The big question is how best to tap into it and satiate it \u2013 all while ensuring local journalists can pay the bills.<\/p>\n

[ Deep knowledge, daily.<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s newsletter<\/a>. ]\"The<\/p>\n

Damian Radcliffe<\/a>, Caroline S. Chambers Professor in Journalism, University of Oregon<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Damian Radcliffe, University of Oregon With the polarization of America\u2019s media and politics reaching a fever pitch, many news consumers \u2013 \u201cworn out by a fog of political news,\u201d as a recent New York Times feature put it \u2013 are responding by tuning out altogether. Media distrust, which has intensified globally in recent years, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":18649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[293],"tags":[785,2624,1615,7267,702,3697,1748,789],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18653"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18656,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18653\/revisions\/18656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}