American trust in the media is falling to new lows, unaided by President Donald Trump鈥檚 outspoken negative views of the press and news organizations. But in a time where 鈥渇ake news鈥� and 鈥渁lternative facts鈥� swirl about us like smoke from a fire, the need for journalists fact-checking and combing through truths and lies is more important than ever.
The numbers aren鈥檛 good: Pew Research, a non-partisan research think-tank, say they trust local news 鈥渁 lot.鈥� Even less, about 18 percent, trust national media 鈥渁 lot.鈥� At the same time, Pew found, think that fake news causes a 鈥済reat deal鈥� of confusion about 鈥渂asic facts of current events.鈥�
But why is that the case? What has changed in recent years? And how are newsrooms adapting to a world that doubts their credibility?
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On Friday鈥檚 Behind the Headlines on St. Louis on the Air, we discussed the state of trust in the news with people who make journalism decisions every day and with a researcher who has charted Americans鈥� relationship with the news over the years. We also heard from listeners about what makes them trust 鈥� or distrust 鈥� news sources.
Joining the program were 漏 2024 外网天堂鈥檚 Executive Editor Shula Neuman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editor Gilbert Bailon and Amy Mitchell, the Director of Journalism Research at Pew Research.
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