Journalism Upholds Public Trust

Jul 12

Changes in the newsgathering industry are eroding Canadians’ confidence in their public institutions. Fewer reporters are covering specialized beats such as city hall, courts, the armed forces and education.

That’s bad for democracy.

Journalists work on behalf of citizens to measure the performance, independence, fairness and ethics of their institutions - and those who lead them. Consistent and timely reporting helps people make informed decisions and hold leaders to account. In healthy democracies this strengthens trust in institutions.

But that confidence and trust is falling everywhere around the world. On July 10, 2024, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its Annual Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions. While Canada scores well compared to other OECD nations, the results aren’t great.

“Only 41% of Canadians expect that public employees would refuse bribes to speed up service access, although still higher than the OECD average of 36%,” and, “Only 24% of people in Canada find it likely that government would refuse a corporation’s demand that could be harmful to society as a whole, which is lower than the average across OECD countries (30%).”[i]

In 2023, Statistics Canada found even lower levels of confidence in public organizations. At 36%, Quebeckers had the highest level of trust in their institutions.[ii]

While it’s hard to say who and what is specifically responsible for every percentage point, the decline of local news coverage is impossible to ignore.

Over the last 15 years, Canadian media companies have eliminated thousands of journalism jobs and closed more than 500 news outlets.[ii i] Some communities are considered news deserts. Earlier this year, British Columbia Premier David Eby said the country’s biggest news companies had, “bought up (local broadcast outlets) like corporate vampires, sucked the life out of them, laid off journalists.”

Today there simply aren’t enough human beings in any newsrooms to provide specialized, let alone in-depth reporting of all their community institutions. Disinformation thrives in this environment.

This should be deeply concerning to people leading public institutions. Without journalists to report on the purpose, performance and activities of any given organization, how would the public know what they do, how they do it and if they’re doing it well?

“In today’s complex information environment, with the rise of disinformation and polarizing content, how information is created, shared and consumed is closely tied with trust. Data shows evidence based decision making is a very important driver of trust today,” says the OECD.[iv]

In other words – institutions have an interest in making it easier for journalists to cover their work and activities. That means being more transparent and open to collaborating with reporters.

Here is where you can start:

1. Stop focusing on what can’t be released to the public. Ask your team what data, documents and information you CAN share on the website or annual report.

2. Stop assuming that you know what journalists are interested in covering; just ask them. Where you see routine data, the fresh eyes of a journalist might spot news or a human interest story.

3. Invite reporters on a tour and/or a technical briefing about your institution. Answer their questions and take time to dispel common media errors or misunderstandings about your organization.

4. Work collaboratively with journalists on a media guide that answers their questions, explains procedures, lists what documents they may access, translates jargon and anything else that helps them cover your organization.

For years, the U.K. charity Women’s Aid has worked with journalists and survivors to develop and update media guidelines for reporting on the domestic abuse of women and children.

“During this time, we have seen greater awareness of domestic abuse, the complexities of it and the sensitivities that surround reporting of survivors’ experiences, or tragically, the stories of victims who have who have been killed by an abuser.”

Choosing to be more open and accessible to news media does not guarantee favourable coverage. That’s up to the performance, ethics and integrity of the institution and those leading it.

What it does achieve, is make it easier for journalists to cover public organization at a time when fewer journalists are beings asked to do far more with much less. Independent and responsible journalism has never been more crucial in upholding our democratic institutions and helping citizens become more resilient against disinformation.

[i] OECD (2024), OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions – 2024 Results: Building Trust in a Complex Policy Environment, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-survey-on-drivers-of-trust-in-public-institutions-2024-results-country-notes_a8004759-en/canada_1d3c42d0-en.html

[ii] Statistics Canada, Confidence in Institutions and the Media, 2023, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240213/dq240213a-eng.htm

[iii] Local News Research Project, https://localnewsresearchproject.ca/2024/06/13/local-news-map-data-reports/

[iv] OECD (2024), OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions – 2024 Results: Building Trust in a Complex Policy Environment, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2024/07/oecd-survey-on-drivers-of-trust-in-public-institutions-2024-results_eeb36452.html