A recent article highlighted the issue of trust in the media, citing a Gallup poll that found only 28% of respondents had a great deal or a fair amount of trust in newspapers, TV, and radio outlets. However, local news sources are a different story. According to a Reuters Institute survey, regional and local newspapers and local TV stations scored 10 points higher in trust than the highest national newsroom.

Local Journalism

Alec Etheredge, publisher of The Shelby County Reporter, noted that local journalists have earned an advantage over national outlets by being familiar to their audiences and producing a more balanced mix of positive and negative topics. Etheredge said, “We are in a time when news media gets a bad rap, but local news is highly trusted. That’s what we pride ourselves in.”

The Shelby County Reporter is still owned by Boone Newsmedia and recently won the Alabama Press Association’s General Excellence Award in its division for the 20th year in a row. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of local journalists who are committed to reporting accurate and fair information.

Trust in Local News

A Pew Research Center survey found that 70% of respondents trusted local news organizations, compared to 56% for national ones. While this number has decreased over the past decade, it still highlights the importance of local news sources in building trust with their audiences.

Tom Arenberg, an instructor of news media at the University of Alabama, noted that some reasons for the low trust in the press overall are not the media’s fault, such as trust in institutions declining and politicians attacking journalistic credibility. However, some reasons are the media’s own doing, such as making too many mistakes and letting bias creep into reporting.

Original reporting: BirminghamWatch — read the source article.