THE STORY BEHIND THE STORIES

Confidence in journalism is at an all-time low. Here's what we do to get the reporting right.

- BY Derek Burnett

IN OCTOBER 2024, the polling company Gallup released a survey containing this question: “In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media—such as newspapers, TV and radio—when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly?” Only 31% answered “a great deal” or “a fair amount,” down from 72% in the 1970s.

The true picture is likely even bleaker than the Gallup results suggest. Newspapers, TV and radio are typically staffed by professional journalists with years on the job, trained in properly sourcing and fact-checking their material. But newsrooms are shrinking, and local publications and programs are scarce and getting scarcer.

Today, we live in an era when people get information from a splintered amalgam of sources, many of which make no pretense of following journalistic standards. “Talking heads” are more ubiquitous than ever, with podcasters and influencers freely offering their two cents’ worth (and more!) on topics both slight and serious. Some social media platforms have publicly abdicated any responsibility for fact-checking. Information found on many websites is generated by “content mills” that may hire underqualified and dismally paid writers—or simply use artificial intelligence—to repackage what has already appeared elsewhere, possibly repeating errors or creating new ones. A lack of proofreading means that typos are common.

When the lines blur between sources of information, we're left with, not surprisingly, an erosion of trust and an alarming conclusion: A society is in trouble when more than two-thirds of its members no longer trust the people whose job it is to tell them the truth. Yikes. So what's the remedy?