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For the 20th year, the Edelman public relations agency has published its Trust Barometer. Its “Global press release” (ironically coming from a public relations agency, it fails to qualify as such since it lacks contact information for reporters seeking follow up) notes, “Media is also viewed as incompetent and unethical: a majority (57 percent) don’t believe the media does a good job of differentiating opinion and fact but find them invaluable on covering news (58 percent).”
Let’s dig into some of the key findings related to the media, and examine why they matter to you.
Issue: How many respondents scored journalists as very/extremely credible? Sorry, scribes. Only 36 percent see you in that light, with the percentage trending downward slightly from the previous year. That means a next-to-last showing when compared to such other trades as business and academic experts, CEO, or non-profit executives. The slightest glimmer of good news: Reporters do rank higher than government officials; you take your victories where you can get them, I suppose.
What you can do: Why would any news source want to deal with reporters who lack credibility? When doing your due diligence on journalists who contact you for comment, research the specific reporter and media outlet. Refuse to paint with a broad brush and label all as lacking credibility.
Issue: Trust in our institutions is dropping — fast. Traditional media suffered a drop of four percent from a year earlier in the U.S. and Canada, sinking to 61 percent. This still places it ahead of gaining news from search engine results, owned media (which the report fails to define), and “social” or digital media (author’s note: I tend to avoid the term “social media” since there is little that is truly social about it).
What you can do: Here, too, focus on the individual reporter you are dealing with. Many are trustworthy, though keep in mind that trust is something that is earned over time. For instance, if a reporter you have not dealt with before tells you it’s fine to go off the record, a dose of skepticism is in order. On the other hand, such an arrangement may be workable, depending on the situation, if you’ve built a relationship over time.
Issue: One ray of hope: Respondents report a significant growth in how often they consume news once a week or more and share it routinely (one would assume primarily online). This figure is up notably from just two years prior, though is flat when compared to one year before. Given the two factors in this question, it is difficult to tease out whether the increase flows from paying attention to the news or sharing it more widely (or both). My hypothesis is that, due to the growth of digital tools like Twitter and Instagram, much of the increase is due to greater sharing. This is just an educated guess since the Edelman report features little in the way of actual reporting (i.e., a narrative explaining the raw numbers; after all, data lacking context and interpretation is no more than a series of numbers).
What you can do: News sources that reporters turn to again and again consume news voraciously. Subscribe to your local newspaper (assuming you still have one), one or two national outlets, and any trade press that covers your industry. Supporting quality journalism is a good way of helping it grow and thrive. As for sharing, be tactful with your digital media posts. Stick to your issues, avoiding cat videos or political vitriol. Refuse to spread rumors or fake news. Share content only from legitimate outlets.
Issue: What about trustworthiness? The press suffers here, too. The media’s honesty quotient is underwater by a margin of 43 to 38 percent. It is instructive to compare reporters with their sources. When leading media training workshops for my clients, I hammer home the notion that honesty is paramount. If you lie to the press, you will likely be burned as a source forever. Yet the press is not viewed as truthful. It’s an interesting comparison, though I would never counsel sources to toss that figure in a reporter’s face during an interview.
Only 48 percent of U.S. respondents trust the media. Oddly, China topped the list with a score of 80 percent. I don’t have enough information to comment on methodology, but wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the high proportion for China is due more to the fear of being monitored and caught giving a “wrong” answer than anything else.
Fairness also comes into play, with 51 percent agreeing that the media “Serves the interests of only the few” while a mere 32 percent believe it “Serves the interests of everyone equally and fairly.”
What you can do: This is basic, yet bears continual repeating: Never lie to the press. Both your reputation and that of your company will be forever tarnished.
Issue: Media outlets are seen as relatively skilled at covering national news, international news, local news, and having enough journalists, with each of those qualities scoring greater than 50 percent. I’m going to quibble with the latter two.
Local news has morphed into little more than camera shots of murders and fires. While it has long been noted for that, the advent of “news choppers” has made it worse. Whenever something is spectacularly ablaze, you can be sure your local TV station is wasting fuel and crowding airspace just to get that shot.
The notion that there are enough reporters to cover various beats is laughable. As a regular at the National Press Club, I can testify that layoffs aplenty have taken place in recent years. Regional reporters — the backbone of monitoring how Washington and its officeholders are performing — have taken a particularly nasty hit. Additionally, those reporters remaining are often covering a wider beat, and are in many cases younger and less experienced than their predecessors.
What you can do: Understand that reporters are stretched to the breaking point now more than ever. Make their jobs easier by adhering to their deadlines whenever possible, doling out quotable quotes they can slide into their stories with ease, and offering to serve as a resource for future stories.
The Edelman report makes clear that trust in our institutions is faltering. How can we improve the situation? At the risk of sounding like Pollyanna, tout the good news. Trumpet the reporters you view as real pros. Subscribe to a handful of newspapers. Become a savvy news source. And, as popular as it may be today, refuse to slam the media.
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