Thread by @risj_oxford, Why is trust in news eroding? What might be done about it?These [...]

Why is trust in news eroding? What might be done about it?

These are the questions at the heart of a new report that looks at the trade-offs news organisations face when trying to regain trust and retain it

Read it here
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/what-we-think-we-know-and-what-we-want-know-perspectives-trust-news-changing-world

Key findings in thread

Why is trust in news eroding? What might be done about it?These are the questions at the heart of a new report that looks at the trade-offs news organisations face when trying to regain trust and retain itRead it here https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/what-we-think-we-know-and-what-we-want-know-perspectives-trust-news-changing-world Key findings in thread

Here are 4 things we think we know about trust in news:

There is no single ‘trust in news’ problem.

Our research suggests there are multiple challenges. People hold varying beliefs about how journalism works and differing notions about the true state of the world

Here are 4 things we think we know about trust in news: There is no single ‘trust in news’ problem.Our research suggests there are multiple challenges. People hold varying beliefs about how journalism works and differing notions about the true state of the world

Public understanding of how journalism works is low. Social media isn’t helping

So long as few know what goes into reporting and confirming information, audiences cannot be expected to differentiate between brands using informed assessments about newsgathering practices

Some distrust may be rooted in coverage that has chronically stigmatised or ignored segments of the public

Outlets have sought to address distrust using various engagement initiatives and reckoning with their failings. But focusing on some communities can alienate others

Assessments of trust and distrust are deeply intertwined with politics

Many attitudes about news may have little to do with newsrooms. As trust in other institutions has fallen, trust in news has followed with partisanship often serving as a strong predictor of distrust

The report outlines 4 things we don't know yet about trust in news:

How are platforms damaging to news organisations’ brand identities?

To what extent platforms are contributing to these problems? Might they be harnessed to improve trust? Here’s what a

editor told us

Which audience engagement strategies build trust and which may undermine it?

Engagement efforts are often based on intuition, and existing research has been too disconnected from practice and too focused on a few countries. Does impartiality matter? Attitudes vary by country

How much is too much transparency and what types matter most?

Efforts to present journalists as real people rather than faceless figures seem important to improving relationships with audiences, but we know little about the effectiveness of this or its potential to backfire

Where do preconceptions about news come from? How can they be changed?

We want to know when, how, and why audiences might be willing to revise their preconceptions about news. Those are essential questions because journalism would become irrelevant without an audience

The report, authored by @BenjaminToff @KhariBiskut @camilambpp @amyross87 @dragz & @rasmus_kleis, is the first instalment of our Trust in News Project