Saving democracy is a slogan not a strategy

In the past four years, I’ve seen increasingly fervent articles, studies and op-eds declaring journalism’s essential role in a healthy democracy. As we’ve heard many times before, local news is critical to informing communities and promoting civic engagement. The very presence of a local news organization revives democracy, underpins democracy, sustains democracy, and yet these proclamations have been strikingly disconnected from reality.

A Trusting News analysis: What news consumers say they trust

Trusting News Project ReportDownload Fundamentally, news consumers trust journalism that they find to be balanced, in-depth, honest and reputable.  Those qualities appeared over and over in an analysis of 81 in-depth interviews our newsroom partners conducted with members of their communities. And when asked directly about what defines quality journalism, they were at the top … Continued

Journalists: Defend your work through action, not just with editorials

The Trusting News project, staffed by Joy Mayer and Lynn Walsh, is designed to demystify the issue of trust in journalism. They research how people decide what news is credible, then turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. The project is funded by the Reynolds Journalism Institute, the Knight Foundation and Democracy Fund.