Trusting News

With news avoidance on the rise and trust in media declining, content creators have become a fast-growing news source — especially for younger audiences. But how can people know whether the information they're getting from these creators is credible or not? We collaborated with Liz Kelly Nelson of Project C to survey journalists and news content creators about the ethics behind content creators. We asked: What standards should be in place for individual content creators? What are people most concerned about in this new information landscape? What training is needed? Here are some quick highlights from what we heard and where we're taking this work next. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/g8mfcaxy

It’s likely people will be questioning the fairness and accuracy of your election coverage — and of election results and processes. As journalists, we need to be ready to respond. But we know your newsroom’s capacity is limited. That’s why Trusting News is offering real-time support to help newsrooms respond to public perceptions and misassumptions about your election coverage and voting processes. Bring us whatever is showing up in your comments, inboxes and community conversations, and we’ll help you figure out how to respond (yes, we’ll help draft responses you can copy and modify!) **We’re offering this support as part of the Election Urgent Care Slack, from the Knight Foundation Election Hub and Votebeat. In that Slack workspace, you can get rapid support on topics like election law, election administration, online threats and data gathering.** Find details and request access to the Election Urgent Care Slack here. >> https://lnkd.in/gQDqBvXe

ICYMI: We’ve teamed up with Stylebot to help make it easier to add trust-building strategies to your election coverage. Here's what that would look like if you were looking for guidance on how to write about political polls.👇 If you’re in our Slack space, you can try out the tool for free. If your newsroom already has Stylebot, you can use it in Slack, Teams or wherever it’s connected. If your newsroom doesn’t have Stylebot but would like to try it out for this election season, you can sign up for a free trial through the Knight Election Hub. To learn more, head here. https://lnkd.in/ggEvZ8A7

Newsrooms, can we agree not to overuse "Breaking News" alerts? Especially on Election Day? Of course, our job isn’t to protect people from stressful news. But we should consider whether we’re adding to people's general anxiety and overwhelm. What if we stopped using "Breaking News" alerts for things we KNOW will happen (like when polls are closing) and instead, provided calm, helpful context? More on how to do that here. https://lnkd.in/g_t8b4TV

👇👇👇

Congrats to Brittany Harlow and Verified News Network on this important work.

It's more than likely there will be questions, misassumptions, and disinformation spread about who won the election. As journalists, we can be a trusted voice of reason during chaotic times when our communities need it most. One way we can do that is by *setting expectations now* for what people can expect on Election Day. That means explaining how elections are called, votes are counted -- and normalizing the idea that vote counting often takes time. We have pre-written explainers about this ready for you to copy and share with your audience. Check them out below, and copy the text here. >> https://lnkd.in/gcA6MySZ

Congratulations to Erica Smith and her Times Union Media Group team for creating an incredible voter guide focused on simplifying the voting process. 🎉 A few things to get inspired by:  ✅ The mission of providing fact-based, fair, and easy-to-understand coverage is at the very top.  ✅ The guide makes is easy to understand what and who you're voting for (clearly explaining what each ballot proposition means; how long each candidate's term is; what each government position does, etc.)   ✅ Basic voter information is compiled into one place, making it really easy to find how, where, and when you can vote.  ✅ The newsroom prominently links to their Election FAQ that explains: how the newsroom decides which races and candidates to cover; why they endorse and that it doesn't influence reporters in the newsroom; how they choose sources The newsroom also published it a week before early voting begins -- ensuring all voters in their area have access to this information before filling out their ballots. Check it out. >> https://lnkd.in/gCFbjqJc

Gallup asks annually about trust in the news media, and this year’s numbers are out today. https://lnkd.in/ek7rc_BV Some highlights: * The percentage of people who have a great deal or fair amount of trust in mass media to report the news "fully, accurately and fairly" hit a new low: 31%. * The numbers broken down by partisan leaning are fairly similar to last year's. The biggest change is a dip in Democrats’ trust. * Trust in media is compared to trust in government and it ranks at the bottom — below trust in eight forms of government. Local and state government are at the top of the chart. Our team complements polling like this by researching ways journalists can effectively earn trust and demonstrate credibility. Find our body of research on transparency, engagement and polarization here. https://lnkd.in/e8DTcKqp

Trusting News director Joy Mayer lives in Sarasota and says she had a front-row seat to what it meant to *really* rely on local news this past week in the wake of Hurricane Milton. In this Poynter Institute column, she and Janet Coats raise the questions: Who is being served by local news, and who might be getting left out? What signals are we as journalists sending about who the news is for? https://lnkd.in/g5EaYQ_d