Starting with this week’s print issue, we’re including a new regular notice box in the paper about why our readers should be able to trust our reporting. Here’s what it looks like:
It refers readers to an online landing page with more detail about each trust factor:
This is all informed and inspired by the work of the folks at Trusting News, who study and develop resources around building the public’s trust in journalists, journalism and news media. Ever since hearing one of their team member speak at a conference years ago, I’ve been eager to incorporate their guidance into our local news ecosystem.
Our paper is fortunate to have already built what I believe is a high level of trust with our readership and the broader community. But at the same time, I don’t know that most of our readers think very much about why they might trust us, or what would have to change for that trust to erode, until they encounter a story that is substantially in conflict with their own understanding of what’s true.
So, I think it’s worth being proactive to communicate as publicly and transparently as we can about what we do to earn and maintain trust in our reporting. Then, if and when people have occasion to question it, they have some information from us to consider.
Or, maybe it’ll just be helpful if they’re trying to explain to a friend or neighbor why our newspaper is different from other sources of information that someone might encounter.
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