Some words of encouragement in an era of media distrust
Public polling services have been tracking a steady decline in trust in news media since even before Donald Trump declared us an “enemy of the people” and widened further the gap between us and our audience.
Before the issue became so politicized — and to some extent even now — it has been reassuring to note in most major surveys a distinction people make between national news agencies and local providers.
I have often said that the Daily Herald’s chief stock in trade is not news but trust. News and entertainment are the visible product we put up for sale in print and online, but their value is lost if we don’t first earn the trust of the audience we seek to attract. So, we take great pains to present news objectively and offer a wide range of points of view in both news and opinion to ensure that our readers can feel safe that they are not being manipulated but are able to make up their own minds in how they interpret the events they read about.
Even so, I speak from experience and my own mail bag when I say that many of those who most distrust us are not likely to be persuaded otherwise, and that can be disheartening.
So, it was with some surprise and pleasure that I came across a survey this week that found a relatively strong trust in local media, with Illinois solidly in the middle of the pack among the 50 states — and well above the average.
In what it called “a glimpse of hope,” the press release distribution service PRFire.com found that in a survey of more than 3,000 respondents, an average of 60% expressed trust in local media compared to just 47% with trust in national news outlets. Illinois ranked 23rd among the states at 66%, but it is worth noting that only 3 percentage points separated the nine states ahead of Illinois and it was another nine that shared trust levels from 70% to 75%. The top five states — Delaware, Vermont, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas — shared ratings between 77% and 83%, with Delaware alone in the top position.
Surveys are open to all kinds of interpretation, and I know very little about the PRFire.com agency or its survey methods, so I guess I have to admit at least somewhat to taking encouragement in today’s highly distrustful environment wherever I can get it. But for those of us who appreciate and have faith in local news, there is something in the PRFire.com results worth reflecting on.
In a news release announcing its results, the agency says the survey results suggest “that local media continues to play a crucial role in informing communities, a testament to its relevance and resilience.”
The release notes that 65% of respondents said they believe local media’s trustworthiness has either improved or remained consistent over the past five years, though 66% still said they see some degree of ideological slant in local news reporting.
“As the national narrative grows more divisive, local media stands as a beacon of community trust and engagement,” PRFire.com’s CEO Sam Allcock says in the release. “Our survey underscores the resilience of local journalism and its critical role in providing a platform for diverse voices. It's a clarion call to support and sustain the local outlets that so faithfully reflect America's rich journalism.”
Those are welcome words to hear about our business. I’m not entirely sure how much faith to put in them until they are, hopefully, reflected in other future surveys. But for now, I’ll take them, and, perhaps more important, they give me the opportunity simply to reiterate our commitment to earning them, whatever their source may be.
• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on Twitter at @JimSlusher.