How much do people trust their news sources? And how do they decide which reports are trustworthy? It's an issue journalists and many readers are struggling with on a daily basis.

How much do people trust their news sources?

And how do they decide which reports are trustworthy?

For many in the news industry, that topic has become the elephant in the room as they watch fact-checked stories being drowned out in a sea of social media posts and "alternative facts."

It's an issue many readers are struggling with as well.

"It is exhausting to be a consumer of news today," said veteran journalist and Utica College professor David Chanatry. "I think people need to be smarter about the way they consume information. ... You go on Facebook and you get news and it reinforces the view you already have. Often, it's not even real news."

It's a widespread problem: In the wake of the 2016 election, a survey conducted by Pew Research Center indicated that fake news stories left 64 percent of American adults confused about the basic facts surrounding current events.

At the same time, Americans' trust in the media had dropped to its lowest level in polling history as of September, with 32 percent saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media, according to Gallup. This is down eight percentage points from last year.

With social media now a primary platform for people to get their news, the effort of sorting out sensational click bait from properly sourced stories can become too time-consuming for some readers.

But as WUTR News Director Tom Coyne points out, that effort is crucial.

"We don't want to do homework and yet it's necessary," Coyne said. "You have to be willing to get a second viewpoint."  

Adding to the confusion is the recent explosion in new voices reaching larger populations through the internet, a development that made the term "media" become more amorphous. 

"While 'media' might have been an encompassing term decades ago, with the advent of self-publishing on the Web, the line has been blurred — if not erased," Observer-Dispatch Executive Editor Ron Johns said. "The news industry is one that relies on fact checking, proper research and sourcing. Journalists in this industry are schooled in the proper methods to lead the charge to inform the readers while keeping tabs on government. 'Media outlets' and social media postings do not play by these rules, leading to rumor-mongering and widespread misinformation dealt to the public."

For the variety of factors that have contributed to the present atmosphere of distrust of the news industry, there is a burden to be laid at everyone's feet — publishers and public included.

"To ignore the reality of a problem of trust is a mistake," Times Union Associated Editor Mike Spain said. "The media organizations that make up the news industry must support programs that educate people about the importance of an independent media in our democracy and the First Amendment. The public needs to learn how to assess whether a source is reliable and credible. Is there proper attribution? Is it worded in a way that is balanced or is it intentionally pejorative and simply poses snarky questions?"

When it comes to public opinion, local publications might enjoy a greater measure of trust than the media at large.

Discussing the current push-back against widely accepted reputable news sources such as the New York Times, Joel Kaplan, associate dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, said that, to a degree, distaste for the news industry is directed mainly at national or larger news entities. 

"Most people also trust their news organization, be it the local newspaper or the local weatherman," he said. "Just like people say they hate Congress, most like their own congressman or congresswoman. But the climate is tougher now because you have the president of the United States going beyond complaining about the media — which all presidents have done at one time or another — to actually declaring that the press is the enemy, equivalent to the opposition party." 

Kaplan maintains that in order to put an end to fakes news, the media needs to return to basics.

"Journalists should be evangelists for finding the truth," he said. "They should not become defensive when attacked nor engage their attackers. They should let their reporting — and their facts — speak for themselves. If they do that, then the emergence of 'alternative facts' will go the way of space aliens." 

Other views

"The 24-hour news cycle is one of the worst things to have happened to the news industry. Now, you have the media constantly looking to outdo each other and treat every story like it’s a crisis or breaking news. They’ll put on any talking head to fill air time or inject their own opinions into their newscasts, so it has become difficult for the public to separate news from opinion."

— State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome

"I think people view the news industry with more suspicion than at any time in our history. Yet there is probably no time since the Watergate scandal more than now where we need an independent media to inform the public."

— Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi

"We as news people can't fight the 24-hour news cycle and immediate access to information, but we can control the quality and integrity of the stories we report on."

— Townsquare Media's Andrew Derminio

"In my mind, there is a difference between "news" and "commentary" - but those two things are being convoluted in the mind of the public. The proliferation of purported "news" sites on social media and elsewhere have only made the situation worse. When you have cable networks like FOX or CNN, the say they're news but clearly have a political agenda, that only serves to undermine the entire industry. How does the media turn it around: well, I don't think the onus is only on us, it's also on the public to think critically about information that is disseminated, to read and to be informed. None of us should simply be taking things at face value."

– Beth Coombs, Talk of the Town
