Between communities no longer covered by newspapers and declining trust in media, some people believe local journalism has reached a crisis stage.
The question of how best to pursue balanced and trustworthy journalism in an age when the public’s perception of the truth is sharply divided is the focal point of a discussion Wednesday at Duquesne University.
“The Importance of Local Journalism in an Age of Declining Trust in Media” is the inaugural event of Duquesne’s Institute for Ethics and Integrity in Journalism. Panelists include keynote speaker Kelly McBride, NPR public editor and senior vice president and chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at the Poynter Institute.
Also on the panel is Tribune-Review Executive Editor Luis Fabregas, KDKA’s Lynne Hayes-Freeland, Mila Sanina of Public Source and Pamela Walck, Duquesne associate professor of multiplatform journalism.
“Audiences don’t necessarily know where to go for information or they look for places that will maybe confirm what they already believe,” said Walck. “It only feeds into this confirmation bias and these silos of information that people go to.
“So when you’re not exposing yourself to local media, when you’re not exposing yourself to opinions and ideas that are different from your own, all of those things contribute to the state of media today and the state of distrust.”
A lot has happened on the media landscape over the past several years, and Duquesne President Ken Gormley said various forms of social media have helped create skepticism about journalism.
“A really good journalist is going to get at the facts and truthful information and that becomes the essence of the stories they share with readership. That is not true with a vast array of other people pumping information into various forms of social media that in many cases are specifically designed to get it wrong and just disrupt normal operations,” said Gormley. “So, I don’t blame readers for being confused. I am confused myself.”
The panel discussion will focus on the decision-making process of journalistic organizations and look at the impact those decisions have on the public’s perception of the truth.
“I’ve been troubled by the trend of people losing faith in our Democratic institutions and frustrated by the tone of our public discourse,” said Patricia Doherty Yoder, a Duquesne grad who worked in communications for various private and public institutions and provided seed money for the institute.
“We felt that the media was a strength in the business world and in our country, in our beliefs, and everything,” she said. “And so, it just bothered me a great deal that they were throwing about the term ‘fake news.’ It frightened me a lot because I thought that’s not the way it should be.”
A question and answer session will follow the panel discussion.
Click here for a full list of panelists.
Paul Guggenheimer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at 724-226-7706 or pguggenheimer@triblive.com.
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November 16, 2021 at 06:01PM
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Duquesne to hold discussion on local journalism as trust in media declines - TribLIVE
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