Today's trust tip: How to talk about journalism with family and friends 

Hi there. Mollie here. 

As COVID restrictions loosen in many areas across the country and invitations to social events increase, it's likely you'll see friends and family that you haven’t interacted with in a while.  

And if you’re a journalist, this probably means you’ll get some questions — or hear some unsolicited comments — about your work and the media industry as a whole. 

If my own experiences at a recent family function are an indication, you’ll be faced with questions from folks who are genuinely curious or have valid frustrations about journalism but might not have a firm understanding of how it works.  

As journalists, it can be exhausting to field (usually negative) assumptions about your work both while at your job and outside of it. But only around 21% of people have ever spoken to a journalist before, research shows. So you may be the only journalist people know or have ever even met before. 

That means you have a unique opportunity to help people increase their knowledge about how journalism works. 

Here are some things to keep in mind as you have these conversations.

Don't defend the whole industry 

When people make sweeping statements about “the media,” it’s challenging to not get defensive. But there’s a lot of journalism out there, and not all of it is good journalism. 

So if someone is talking about how bad or biased the media is, take a deep breath and remember you don’t have to defend the whole industry. It can go a long way to show that you have empathy for their perspective by agreeing that there is unethical journalism you don’t stand behind. There is journalism out there that doesn't meet your ethical standards, that isn't careful with accuracy, that is improperly influenced by money or that has a hidden political agenda. 

Acknowledging this will drop some guardedness and help you continue the conversation feeling more on the same page. 
 

Get curious about news consumption  

Oftentimes when interacting with a journalist, people bring up a story or example of journalism they take issue with. So use that as an opportunity to be curious and inquire about where they saw this content — is it from TV news or a website? Or something a friend shared on social media? 

Many times when I’ve asked this question, what I've seen is people lump a lot of national news with local news, mistake opinion content for news, or are referencing something that didn’t even come from a news source at all.    

And while journalists should certainly do a better job explaining what is/isn’t valid news and different types of content (more on that here), asking some general questions like this can help lead the conversation forward. 

The goal of course is not to shame people or call them out for perhaps not having a very diverse or healthy news diet. Instead use the interaction to better explain how journalism works.    

Explain the breadth and cost of journalism  

If people are accustomed to getting news for free, it can be hard for them to grasp why they are now being asked to pay for news or why the stories you send to them might be behind a paywall.

On top of this, people tend to have a narrow view of what journalism is (thinking it's only crime, political coverage or investigations — more on that here.) But if they looked up the review of a new restaurant in town or a list of places doing socially distanced events during COVID — that’s all journalism. And all those stories cost money to make.  

So remind them that journalism is more than just bad news and that it takes a lot of resources to create.

Explain the time and effort it can sometimes take just to report one story, and why financially supporting news outlets is vital for journalists to continue doing the work they do.  
 

Remind them journalists are real people  

Again, only around 79% of folks have met or spoken with a local journalist, so you may be the only one they ever interact with. 

If they start making assumptions or using broad strokes to paint journalists' motives, gently remind them that most journalists are like you — people who are part of their local communities who are affected by what happens. 

By putting a real face to journalism you can help build empathy and understanding. 
 

Thanks for taking the time!  

While it certainly can be challenging to talk through some of these things, it can go a long way in helping people understand journalism better. 

And investing in these interactions will also help those people be better equipped to then turn around and have conversations with their own circles about how journalism works.  
 

Join us at ONA this month! 

The Trusting News team will be leading sessions during the Online News Association's 2021 online conference on June 23 and 24.

• June 23rd: Joy Mayer will lead a conversation with Ethan Zuckerman about his new book Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them.

• June 24th: Trusting News will be partnering with the Maynard Institute to look at how journalists can redesign their crime coverage to reduce harm to their communities.

Trusting News aims to demystify trust in news and empower journalists to take responsibility for actively demonstrating credibility and earning trust. It is a project of the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the American Press Institute.