Trust in the Media & Public Information
By Priya Reddy
Introduction
In order for societies to function optimally, citizens’ trust in honest, accurate media and public information is critical. With access to, and trust in, accurate information from media and officials, residents are able to engage fully and critically with issues that affect their lived reality.
The concepts of trust and trustworthiness are distinct and, other things being equal, complementary. News organisations and public institutions that are committed to offer a multiplicity of voices, share news and information in an ethical and transparent manner and ensure accuracy and credibility show high levels of trustworthiness. If these institutions are seen to be acting according to trustworthy principles, their audiences will, absent their own political bias (Nielsen, 2022), trust that they are receiving information that is honest with and useful to them.
With audiences having increased levels of access through social media channels to user generated content, including both accurate information and disinformation, it has arguably never been more important for government and media institutions to be authoritative and credible voices displaying a commitment to fairness and truth.
According to a Statista report from February 2021 that examined viewpoints on the news media from 40 countries “levels of trust differed notably around the world. Western Europeans had greater trust in the news media than citizens from other parts of the world” (Watson, 2021), with Finland at 65% and the Netherlands at 59%. In South Africa, according to the same study, this figure was 52%.
South Africa
A number of noteworthy factors compromised trust in the media and government for roughly half the South African respondents in the study. During the presidency of Jacob Zuma, who was jailed on the charge of failing to appear in court on corruption charges, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), once a mouthpiece of the apartheid government, was severely compromised. Appointing an unqualified Chief Operating Officer (COO), the board of the SABC appeared to have a pro-Zuma agenda. In his three-year tenure at the SABC, the COO made questionable appointments, hiked his own salary and predominantly aired news that was favourable to the sitting president, despite Zuma facing corruption charges and a range of other scandals (Ciaglia, 2017).
At this time, the Gupta family, who allegedly funded Mr. Zuma and his associates’ political campaign and lifestyle in exchange for government business, started the New Age newspaper. Funded almost solely by government advertising, the editorial team ensured that reported news was heavily pro-government.
Political machinations are not the only reason for a low level of trust in the South African media, however. The Sunday Times, South Africa’s most widely-read newspaper (Breitenbach, 2022) has taken a number of ethical missteps in recent years. A story on police brutality, a so-called rogue unit in the South African Revenue Services, and articles about the alleged illegal expatriation of Zimbabweans all made headlines under the guise of investigative journalism. An independent panel, set up to investigate the veracity of these stories, found, however, that the Sunday Times had failed in the most basic tenets of journalistic practice and a number of retractions followed (Wasserman, 2021).
Trust in public information in South Africa has also taken a knock after years of government corruption, mismanagement, a growing backlog in infrastructure improvement projects and delays in the provision of housing and adequate basic services. According to a 2021 Afrobarometer survey, “elected officials, political parties, and representative institutions that rely on elections are among the least trusted (groups)” in the country (Hofmeyr & Moosa, 2021: 2).
The need for public institutions to speak with authority and credibility was seldom more evident than during the Covid 19 pandemic. In the City of Cape Town, a municipality of the Western Cape Province of South Africa, government communication played a critical role. Vaughan and Tinker (2009) point out that “a few missteps can trigger loss of trust in the government’s ability to manage serious public health threats, leading to unexpected and highly undesirable outcomes for vulnerable populations” (p. 324). They also go on to stress that certain communication missteps might be inevitable. Information during the early stages of a pandemic are untested and uncertain. Despite this uncertainty, it falls to communicators to encourage cooperation with health advice.
There were a number of factors that contributed to the Covid pandemic being a particularly important but challenging one for public information. These include the contradictory information received from global health authorities, misinformation, the inability of many residents to adhere to the restrictions, wide-scale job losses and the fear caused by the unknown. Nevertheless, during the various levels of lockdown from March 2020 to February 2022, the City of Cape Town embarked on a communication campaign to encourage residents to adhere to lockdown regulations. Because of what the World Health Organisation dubbed an “infodemic” of mis- and disinformation, particularly on social media, trust in Cape Town’s public information was of critical importance. By using the voices of influencers like virologists and scientists, community leaders and religious authorities, and ensuring that global health advice was adjusted to the lived reality of South Africans, as well as adopting innovative media channels in order to reach the majority of residents, the City created a broad-reaching communication campaign.
United Kingdom
In 2019, the United Kingdom went through two major political events. These were the elections, which the Conservative Party won, and negotiations on the Brexit deal. Both were divisive issues and the media were heavily criticised by both the Labour and Conservative parties as being biased against them and untrustworthy. Trust levels in the UK media falling during 2019 (Wylie, 2020), dropping to 28%, according to Statista, before recovering to 35% in the 2021 Statista survey.
“Divided societies seem to trust the media less, not necessarily because the journalism is worse but because people are generally dissatisfied with institutions in their countries and because news outlets often carry more views that people disagree with” (UK News, 2020).
The unexpected occurrence of the pandemic and its devastating global consequence left many people in the UK and around the world feeling uncertain, fearful and desperate for information that would keep them and their families safe and healthy. Nic Newman of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has speculated that the
“higher trust in the news – and in the sources people use themselves – could be related to extensive coverage of coronavirus. The focus on factual reporting during the Covid-19 crisis may have made the news seem more straightforward, while the story has also had the effect of squeezing out more partisan political news” (Tobitt, 2021).
It seems then that the authority provided by traditional media in a time of uncertainty and desperation at the beginning of the pandemic had the positive aspect of improving trust in the media.
With regard to public information, according to research conducted at King’s College London and the University of Sheffield (2022)
“trust in the UK government to tell the truth and do the right thing fell during the second year of the Covid-19 crisis [this followed a series of political missteps, including senior politicians breaking lockdown rules]. Despite this growing distrust, half the public still said the pandemic had made them appreciate the need to obey government rules even when they restrict our freedoms. Half the public (48%) agreed the experience of the coronavirus pandemic had made them realise it’s best to obey government rules, even when they restrict our freedoms”.
The willingness of the British people to adhere to government safety instructions points to a trust in public information delivered by credible experts such as scientists who were the most trusted communicators during the pandemic. Whether this was temporary or the start of a growing trend of trust remains to be seen.
Conclusion
Media and government institutions in both South Africa and the UK have work to do to build the trust of their audiences. This is more imperative than ever in an age of mis- and disinformation and in which social media platforms are easy to access and driven by user-generated content.
More dialogue between media houses, governments (particularly local governments which are tasked with grassroots, community issues) and communities is needed to truly understand what their needs are and how best to provide them with the information that is most important to them. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, notes two examples of these in North America in which “a Canadian Broadcast Corporation initiative embedded journalists in pop-up newsrooms in remote Indigenous communities and the Los Angeles Times’ “reckoning with its own history” of inadequately covering the many ethnic and racial groups it intends to serve” (Edmonds, 2022).
It is also important for media outlets and government administrations (rather than political parties) to connect with their consumers by reiterating what it is they stand for, who they are, the role they play and how they wish to serve their audience. Too often, large media houses are faceless, monolithic institutions that seem to create news far away (often in large urban centres) from the lived reality of those they serve. By personalising their identity and engaging deeply with their audience on their intentions and ideals, these audiences might trust them more. The concept of a Readers Editor or Ombud, one that is specifically appointed to look after the interests of audiences by addressing complaints and concerns illustrates a media platform that respects its consumer’s voices (Ribbans, 2021).
Journalists need to recommit to ethical reporting. Too often, journalists have been seen to have specific agendas or acting unprofessionally which has led to them being ethically compromised. There should be direct and public consequences for journalists who have brought their industry into disrepute by behaving in an unethical manner.
Lastly, more support should be given to community-led media, by both government institutions and large media companies. Run by the community, with a commitment to voices from the community, these media outlets can be powerful and trustworthy sources for local areas. When large media companies are associated with smaller community-led media houses, it can demonstrate that they care, not just about macro, national issues but also about grassroots matters. This could lead to increased trust. Government institutions should also support community media, without dictating the terms on which they function. This support can be providing venues, assisting with licences, equipment and training of staff.
Public trust in government and media institutions remains one of the cornerstones of democracy. A clear focus on improving these levels of trust will lead to better functioning democracies, a more informed electorate and a more accountable government and media.
References
Breitenbach, D. (2022). Newspapers ABC Q1 2022: Local is lekker but free is king. Retrieved from https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/90/227853.html
Ciaglia, A. (2017). Explaining public service broadcasting entrenched politicization: The case of South Africa’s SABC. Journalism, 18(7), 817-834.
Edmonds, R. (2022). Trust in media is low worldwide. Are media outlets reaching out to the wrong people? Retrieved from https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2022/a-trust-issue-are-media-outlets-reaching-out-broadly-enough/
Hofmeyr, J. & Moosa, M. (2021). South Africans’ trust in institutions and representatives reaches new low. https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/migrated/files/publications/Dispatches/ad474-south_africans_trust_in_institutions_reaches_new_low-afrobarometer-20aug21.pdf
King’s College London. (2022). Trust in government fell in second year of Covid – but public still receptive to obeying rules that restrict freedoms. Retrieved from https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/trust-in-government-fell-in-second-year-of-covid-but-public-still-receptive-to-obeying-rules-that-restrict-freedoms
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https://scroll.in/article/1026399/the-cost-of-courage-what-lower-levels-of-trust-in-independent-digital-news-outlets-actually-reflect
Ribbans, E. (2021). Life as readers’ editor: ‘Nothing escapes the readership’s attention’. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/membership/2021/apr/19/life-as-readers-editor-nothing-escapes-the-readerships-attention
Tobitt, C. 2021. Trust in UK news media boosted since pandemic but still lower than pre EU referendum. Retrieved from https://pressgazette.co.uk/trust-in-uk-news-reuters-institute-digital-news-report/
UK News. (2020). Public trust in media plummets in UK with just 28% trusting most news – research. Retrieved from https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/06/16/public-trust-in-media-plummets-in-uk-with-just-28-trusting-most-news-research/
Vaughan, E., & Tinker, T. (2009). Effective Health Risk Communication About Pandemic Influenza for Vulnerable Populations. American Journal of Public Health (1971); Am J Public Health, 99, S324-S332. 10.2105/AJPH.2009.162537
Wasserman, H. (2021). Public trust in the media is at a new low: a radical rethink of journalism is needed. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/public-trust-in-the-media-is-at-a-new-low-a-radical-rethink-of-journalism-is-needed-155257
Watson, A. (2021). Trustworthiness of news media worldwide 2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/308468/importance-brand-journalist-creating-trust-news/
Wylie, C. (2020). Public trust in media plummets in UK with just 28% trusting most news – research. Retrieved from https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/public-trust-in-media-plummets-in-uk-with-just-28-trusting-most-news-research-39289487.html