CREDIBILITY IN OUR NEWS

WHY THIS TOPIC?

• Affects us very personally
• Media is very influential
• Voice for the underrepresented
• Most popular forms of learning news
• People like honesty and improvement

OVERVIEW/THESIS

• Loss of trust is damaging to media
• Excessive tabloid news reporting
• Feeling of enclosed info
• Uncommon values
• Disconnect with the public

AN EXAMPLE... MH370

• 2 months ago
• No real "new" news
• It is still reported daily
• Redundancy=less attention to other news

TOO MUCH TABLOID

• Entertainment news
• Usually not very important
• Focus on stories that directly affect people's life
• Speculations- just for ratings, not crucial
• Loss of credibility because not "real life"

"On October 1, 2007, the 24-hour news channel Cable News Network (CNN) covered Britney Spears three times as much as it covered the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Spears received 37 times more coverage than the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the African region of Darfur".
-"Tabloid Journalism", Facts on File News Services

"ENCLOSED" INFORMATION

• Public may think this because often journalists "gloss" over truth
• Report the news but the reason behind the event
• Public is not completely informed about the situation
• There is lots of confusion & false ideas
• Quickly relaying accurate info to public would increase trust

DISCONNECT WITH THE PUBLIC

• Can lose audience quickly
• Past 2 decades show declining faith in print/TV news
• Need to emphasize news that people find value in
• Create a trustworthy connection
• Audience should feel that reporters share similar moral values

"More people think media companies are motivated by profit, and put stories on the front page to serve that interest, and that reporters are motivated by their own career advancement more than any concern about the country".
-Patrick D. Healy
The New York Times

RELATIONSHIP MATERIAL

• News are personal- watched everyday in homes
• Honesty, reliability and quality create strong bonds
• Trust leads to higher credibility and ratings
• Public less suspiscious of values of news media
• More successful and keep viewers/readers satisfied

COUNTERARGUMENT AND SOLUTION

• Some may say media is doing just fine
• News councils used in other nations should be the model
• In some states already established and have been found useful
• Discussions would bring about positive change
• More experienced journalists should mentor less experienced

CONCLUSION

• Journalists/news reporters play significant role
• Need to stop the decrease of credibility in media
• Attention focused on important news
• Result in positive feedback from public

References
Chariton, J. (2014, April 14). Barbara Walters to Don Lemon: CNN Wouldn’t Do Nonstop MH370 Coverage If Not for Ratings. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/barbara-walters-to-don-lemon-cnn-wouldn....
Cramer, Michelle L. (2013, November). How to Be a Credible, Immersive, and Expert Content Provider. Gale Group.
Gourdeau, Jenna. (2012, December). Top 10 Tips For Young Aspiring Journalists. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/
Healy, Patrick D. (2005). Believe it: The Media's Credibility Headache Gets Worse. New York Times Company.
Hughes, John. (1997). Solving the Media's Credibility Problem. The Christian Science Monitor.
Jurkowitz, Mark. (1997). What's Behind Journalism's Credibility Problem?. Globe Newspaper Company, Inc.
Media Power and Bias. (2013, September 09). Retrieved March 19, 2014, from Issues & Controversies database www.2facts.com/PrintPage.aspx?PIN=i1800300.
Tabloid Journalism. (2007, December 07). Retrieved March 19, 2014, from Issues & Controversies database www.2facts.com/PrintPage.aspx?PIN=i1200650.