The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth: On Trust In The Media

The public’s lack of trust in the media in the United States is lower than ever. The U.S. has one of the lowest ratings of trust in the media’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic at 42%, just above Italy, UK, and France, according to this Forbes article on trust in the media. Sensationalism and a focus on generating content that gets more “clicks” — literally or figuratively — has lead journalism to have ulterior motives, motives that don’t just involve disseminating accurate information to the public.

An article from the Pew Research Center highlights that the public has concerns about where a company’s finances come from and how much of those finances are linked to corporate or political interests. In the 1800s, party newspapers provided one-sided renditions of the new promoting their political leanings. While newspapers in the United States and other countries are no longer legally allowed to receive political funding, many are still viewed as heavily partisan.

In my home country of Peru, where I’m currently located, it is common knowledge that reporters are frequently bought and manipulated by corrupt politicians. This means that Peruvian’s are often hesitant to believe everything they’re told by the media.

Below I explain my interviews with two young Peruvians, where I discovered that — in general — they do trust journalists, however, they believe a better job could be done to increase that trust. Along with the articles mentioned above, the interviews I conducted supported the idea that journalists fail to be objective and transparent, and do not appear to put the public’s interest above corporate or financial interests.

The public’s mistrust of the media may also be attributed to being flooded with images of violence and misery — or trauma porn — that lead to desensitization as well as a lack of desire to keep up with media. This is where I believe solutions journalism comes in. Solutions journalism focuses on displaying projects and companies that bring a solution to a problem in society, rather than simply focusing on the problem itself and draining our audiences.

I interviewed two Peruvians, 31-year old publicist and businessman Santiago Agurto, and 22-year old Communications student, Francesca Peri, to get their take on the media’s authenticity. I asked them a variety of questions on trust and the media, from trusting social media over news publications to how journalists could generate more trust in the public.

When it comes to reporting on politics, Santiago said that he “look[s] at more outlets to see different perspectives and ideologies.” As a 31-year old, Santiago has very little trust in social media as a medium through which to receive news as compared to news outlets, while Francesca, at 22, trusts social media more than traditional news outlets. She says that having the liberty to express your opinion with no political or corporate ties can generate more accurate information. She also notes that she can differentiate when information is blatantly false from when it is truthful, something I find is easier for younger generations to do.

To increase the public’s trust in the media, Santiago said the media “needs to be more direct and less produced. It needs to be less edited and more real.” “Having a complete, 360 version of the news that shows all sides can increase the public’s trust in the media,” says Francesca, as “it gives people the chance to decide what they believe.”

Francesca would trust journalists more if she knew more about them, “I’d have more confidence knowing about their lives. Who are they? What have they done or what haven’t they done? Knowing this would allow me to decide if I can trust them.” In the US, some may argue that knowing information on a reporter’s background might decrease objectivity and increase bias, but for some, a reporter’s life and beliefs are determining factors in if they can believe the information they’re disseminating.

Despite declining trust in the media globally, most people still tend to be loyal consumers of it. Journalism is vital for a democracy; Santiago says “It’s vital for human existence. We are social creatures. We need to be able to hear about not only what is happening to our neighbors, but what is happening to people on the other side of the world. We need journalists to feed that innate sociability.”