These handouts walk journalists through tangible ways to earn trust with their audiences

Here’s a link to the Trusting News resource page where you’ll find guides and checklists, like the ones pictured above, for journalists looking to earn trust with their audience.

One of the main goals of Trusting News is to give tested, tangible ways journalists can earn trust with their audience.

We want to offer the industry strategies and ideas that have worked with other local newsrooms, and make it as easy as possible for journalists to build transparency work into their day-to-day workflows and routines.

That’s why we’re excited to highlight a recent revamp of the resources page on our website. We’ve added handouts and checklists providing journalists with step-by-step instructions for earning trust with their readers.

Any journalist is welcome to use, download and share the information and documents posted here. The only ask we have is if you use any of these resources, let us know how it goes. You can reach out to our team on Twitter or via email at info@trustingnews.org.

Here are some of our favorite guides and checklists

• Opinion audit: Not being able to tell opinion content from news content is a frustration a lot of news consumers have. Go through a self-assessment of your own outlet’s clarity and transparency around labeling opinion content. It also includes a step-by-step guide suggesting changes.
• Transparency in stories: It can be tough for journalists to picture what transparency should look like in daily reporting. This handout is a step-by-step guide with questions, examples and ideas for how newsrooms can add transparency throughout daily coverage.
• Examining crime coverage: Traditional conventions in crime reporting, including publishing mugshots and arrest reports, can damage community trust, reinforce stereotypes and inequalities, and lead to flawed coverage. This handout offers questions and prompts to help you evaluate whether your crime coverage is serving your community.
• About page: Most newsrooms don’t clearly state their mission, goals, coverage area, or staff priorities to their audiences. This checklist guides news outlets through creating an effective “About Us” page.
• Explaining story selection: Does your audience understand why you cover some stories and not others? This resource gives you research, examples, and prompts to help you better explain your news coverage decisions to your audience.

To see the full list of resources on our website, trustingnews.org/resources.

Stay in touch!

If you have questions about any of this work or use any of these resources, reach out to our team on Twitter or via email. If you want to stay current with any new resources, research and findings from our team, sign up for our weekly Trust Tips newsletter.

At Trusting News, we learn how people decide what news to trust and turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We train and empower journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating credibility and actively earning trust through transparency and engagement. We’re co-hosted by the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the American Press Institute. Subscribe to our Trust Tips newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Read more about our work at TrustingNews.org.