The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity

Trust in the media has hit a record low. Reasons offered for this breakdown are varied, and include the rise of social media, rhetorical attacks from hostile politicians, misinformation, and bad actors online.While these factors may indeed be contributing, such explanations lack self-reflection on media leaders' part - and are, in fact, out of step with the public's actual feedback. Journalist Tara Henley argues that the media's alarmed reaction to the first election of Donald Trump - throwing out journalistic standards and practices, including objectivity - kicked off a trust spiral that continues to this day.The economic precarity of the industry set the stage, with the media in a profoundly weakened state when Trump came along - most critically, failing to properly train the next generation in the rigors of journalism or provide them with a clear path to personal success and financial stability.To restore trust in the media, Henley contends, we must admit mistakes in coverage, publi