Want credit for providing a public service? Explain your mission and priorities.

This is part of a series about earning trust during unusual times. It covers journalistic purpose, credibility, funding and engagement.

There are a lot of accusations and attacks on news organizations and their approach to covering COVID-19. Journalists are being accused of being sensational, enjoying and benefiting from reporting on the crisis and in some cases making all of it up. These accusations have probably come from people in your community in social media comments and have been made by TV personalities, federal leaders and local and state lawmakers.

We could ignore the accusations and pretend they are not happening. The problem with that though is that then the comments and misassumptions are out there for anyone to read and believe because we did not set the record straight. Our communities will not know how seriously we think about our coverage of this pandemic. Our communities will not know how difficult it is for us to report on the rising number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths as we worry about family, friends and the future.

If we do not explain why we are covering this pandemic so closely, no one will.

News organizations should always be willing to explain and share their goals and mission in reporting stories, but with the coverage of this pandemic, it seems these explanations are even more crucial. When we provide explanations we are eliminating the guessing game and providing our users with insight into how we operate, instead of leaving them left to guess our motives.

In a hurry? Jump straight to a tip sheet with suggested language on how you can explain your mission and news values.

When you explain your goals and mission, consider touching on the following themes:

You are committed to your community

Right now, many journalists have found themselves deemed as “essential” to their communities. While we did not need a government agency to tell us information is essential, it’s important to talk to your community about how you are working for them. Journalism is a public service and at this moment we are really fulfilling that duty during a time it is so needed. Make sure they know you are committed to gathering essential information and providing it to them. Make sure they know you are committed to them.

While talking about your commitment to them it can help to relate to what they are going through, since we are all going through this together. Have your journalists talk about what it’s like to work from home, take care of kids while working and how it feels to be unable to see family and friends. WCPO produced this story for its TV newscast that showed how the journalists are continuing to gather information while working remotely.

Big stories require a higher volume of coverage

When users see a lot of content about a particular story (no matter how big) they may be confused and wonder why. Eliminate the confusion and explain to them why you are dedicating so many resources to this story.

Talk about why this story is important for them to know about. Try to relate it back to your mission to serve the community. You can also explain what your community should expect from you. Talk about what types of stories you are focusing on and what you are not planning on covering. WCPO explained their coverage approach with an editor’s note at the top of COVID-19 stories and resources linked at the bottom of stories.

In this example from WEWS, they explain why they are spending so much time covering the pandemic. They also explain how algorithms on social media and search engines may impact the volume of COVID-19 related stories a news consumer may see.

It is not your intent to share only “bad news”

I hear this complaint from friends and family a lot, and I am sure you have as well. It’s the accusation that all journalists cover is “bad news.”

Unfortunately, right now, and in some other breaking news situations, a lot of what people should know for their well-being is not going to put a smile on their face. It is scary, unnerving and sad. We need to be honest about this to our users and explain that our goal is not to cause alarm, but instead to provide them with information to protect themselves, their family and friends.

The Arizona Daily Star wrote about how their goal is to inform, not scare or sensationalize. You can also highlight the “good news” stories that exist now and during any tragedy by creating separate sections, newsletters, social posts, etc. Be sure to be clear in how you set it up — tell them what you’re giving them and why.

You need your community’s help

Journalism is not a one-way street for information. Technology has allowed us to hear from people in real-time and we should be using these tools now more than ever. With traveling and physical contact with and around people being kept at a minimum, we need to know what our community is seeing, hearing and experiencing in their neighborhoods. Tell them you want to hear from them and make it easy for them to get in touch with you. This could be through a Google form at the bottom of stories or a bot on your home page.

Don’t forget about the big picture

In addition to explaining your goals and mission, you should also explain any changes in coverage and talk about your coverage priorities. Right now, your news coverage and story selection look very different compared to what your community is used to seeing, reading and listening. Don’t let them try to guess why a newscast looks strange or why a certain section doesn’t exist anymore. Explain it to them. Recognize the differences and talk to them about why there are changes.

Some elements to consider:

1. Explain changes in coverage: Without basketball, soccer, hockey and the Olympics, your sports coverage is going to look very different. It might even be non-existent. Explain how coverage related to sports, restaurants, movies, music and other interest areas has changed. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about how they are no longer doing restaurant reviews and that their food section would include a lot more recipes. The newspaper also explained how their print edition is going to include more puzzles and a coloring section. Some sports reporters are moving their attention to dogs. Because that is not something expected, explain why it is happening and how it relates to your journalism priorities and coverage.
2. Explain your approach to live coverage: Your broadcast schedule may look very different. If you are primarily a print/web news outlet, you may now be live-streaming several times a day every day of the week. Talk about how you are going to cover the live briefings from the federal, state and local levels. If your local coverage will be interrupted by national news coverage, talk about how you are going to approach these interruptions. Think about answering questions like these: If users want the local coverage, should they head to your website, social media pages or apps? Are you going to take all of the federal, state and local briefings or only some? How will you decide? If there is also a change in your approach to this coverage, explain that. KUOW wrote about why they are no longer going to be airing the White House briefings live.
3. Explain coverage priorities: With the sheer volume of new information, new cases and unfortunately new deaths, you won’t be able to cover it all at once. As time goes on, you may be able to catch up. But in the meantime, explain to your users how you are deciding what to report on and prioritize. Don’t leave them guessing. This could lead them to misassume you don’t care about their neighborhood because you haven’t talked about the one person they know who has been diagnosed or impacted by this pandemic.

There’s so much to know and understand, and there’s sure not a shortage of news stories. But we know that access to more stories doesn’t always make people feel more informed. Often, it’s the opposite.

You might be in a newsroom that sees its mission as sharing every new fact and every new angle in real-time. Perhaps that’s why people turn to you in the first place. But for some of you — especially in local news — it’s worth stepping back and thinking about what role you play. In a crowded news ecosystem full of constant, repetitive, overwhelming updates, what do you offer?

More support

• Want to copy and paste? Here’s our complete set of downloadable tip sheets with suggested language to use as you describe your work to your audience.
• What’s most getting in the way of trust in your work during these strange times? Please tell us in this quick form, so our work can be grounded in what you need.
• We send one quick strategy in our weekly Trust Tips newsletter. Subscribe here.
• We have a collection of 11 (and counting) curated Trust Tips for coronavirus coverage. Find those here.
• Our trust coaches are available to talk through your challenges or help brainstorm ideas one on one. Request a session here.
• Want data? We collect research (our own and others’) around trust in journalism. See the slick deck here.
• Want more newsroom examples? Our website has a database of newsroom examples, and we’re drilling down on examples from COVID-19 coverage.

Trusting News, staffed by Joy Mayer and Lynn Walsh, is designed to demystify the issue of trust in journalism. We research how people decide what news is credible, then turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We’re funded by the Reynolds Journalism Institute, the American Press Institute, Democracy Fund and the Knight Foundation.