Public trust in the news media is near an all-time low these days. And though local media sources are more trusted, urban-based national and regional news outlets that report on big political stories cast a shadow on local news publications. But a nonprofit journalism venture called Report for America, which deploys reporters to under-covered local markets, is hoping to restore trust in local media. Andrea Wenzel, Sam Ford, Steve Bynum, and Efrat Nechushtai of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University studied the program, now in its second year, to see if it was achieving that goal. They looked at a project in Chicago and one in Central Appalachia.
RFA reporters say some locals in those under-served areas don't trust news media and are reluctant to talk to them. That has happened to Will Wright, who has been covering 13 Eastern Kentucky counties for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Several people have refused to be interviewed because they said they didn't trust the newspaper. Wright "realized that many people he spoke with saw his news outlet as 'the liberal Lexington paper, you know, who doesn’t understand Appalachia and who hates the coal industry'," the researchers report in Columbia Journalism Review.
The researchers focused on "perceptions of three components or factors of trust: accuracy and credibility, respectful and equitable representations, and benevolence of the journalist’s or outlet’s motives," they write. "We then examine the RFA interventions in both locations—how journalists pursue ambitious goals with limited resources, what residents make of these efforts, and what residents believe would further strengthen relationships between communities and local news. We end with some recommendations for the next phases of Report for America, as well as others seeking to strengthen the capacity of local news."
They measured impact with focus groups, follow-up emails, and interviews with other local reporters and editors. They also assessed a random sampling of RFA reporters' coverage of the areas, noting articles' length, theme and key points to map out the broader themes the reporters were addressing.
Just as many Eastern Kentucky residents believe the Herald-Leader is liberal and anti-coal, many residents of the Austin neighborhood believe the Chicago Sun-Times is too pro-police. In both places, residents tend to distrust outsiders and question journalists' motives. (That is nothing new in Appalachia.) They also "shared a sense that RFA fellows’ stories were more about their communities than for them, but participants acknowledged that circulating more complete narratives about their communities was not a small thing," they report. Participants felt that the more nuanced stories from RFA reporters could make it more likely that outsiders might visit or invest in their communities.
People in focus groups said RFA reporters were motivated to cover Eastern Kentucky and Austin accurately and respectfully, but the RFA reporters said it was difficult to establish relationships with beat sources or deep relationships with the communities in general, the researchers report.
In Appalachia, focus-group members "had a number of ideas for new modes of communication that could improve relationships between journalists and residents like themselves. These ranged from town meetings about civic issues, to journalism literacy classes, to open office hours, to simply visiting senior citizen centers," the researchers report. "Participants also suggested that reporters create opportunities to crowdsource story ideas via text messages, and take polls via social media. One group suggested a weekly feature highlighting which local resources were available and to whom, covering everything from going back to school to post-prison reentry, by collaborating with people involved in various community organizations and initiatives."
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| Will Wright |
The researchers focused on "perceptions of three components or factors of trust: accuracy and credibility, respectful and equitable representations, and benevolence of the journalist’s or outlet’s motives," they write. "We then examine the RFA interventions in both locations—how journalists pursue ambitious goals with limited resources, what residents make of these efforts, and what residents believe would further strengthen relationships between communities and local news. We end with some recommendations for the next phases of Report for America, as well as others seeking to strengthen the capacity of local news."
They measured impact with focus groups, follow-up emails, and interviews with other local reporters and editors. They also assessed a random sampling of RFA reporters' coverage of the areas, noting articles' length, theme and key points to map out the broader themes the reporters were addressing.
Just as many Eastern Kentucky residents believe the Herald-Leader is liberal and anti-coal, many residents of the Austin neighborhood believe the Chicago Sun-Times is too pro-police. In both places, residents tend to distrust outsiders and question journalists' motives. (That is nothing new in Appalachia.) They also "shared a sense that RFA fellows’ stories were more about their communities than for them, but participants acknowledged that circulating more complete narratives about their communities was not a small thing," they report. Participants felt that the more nuanced stories from RFA reporters could make it more likely that outsiders might visit or invest in their communities.
People in focus groups said RFA reporters were motivated to cover Eastern Kentucky and Austin accurately and respectfully, but the RFA reporters said it was difficult to establish relationships with beat sources or deep relationships with the communities in general, the researchers report.
In Appalachia, focus-group members "had a number of ideas for new modes of communication that could improve relationships between journalists and residents like themselves. These ranged from town meetings about civic issues, to journalism literacy classes, to open office hours, to simply visiting senior citizen centers," the researchers report. "Participants also suggested that reporters create opportunities to crowdsource story ideas via text messages, and take polls via social media. One group suggested a weekly feature highlighting which local resources were available and to whom, covering everything from going back to school to post-prison reentry, by collaborating with people involved in various community organizations and initiatives."
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