Tuesday 21st November: The role of language in media trust

Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Chris. No new episode today, but watch out for a news:rewired special coming later this week in collaboration with journalism.co.uk.

There’s just over two weeks to go until Mx3 AI; a live event in London from Media Voices and Media Makers Meet. We’ll be featuring sessions on AI in local, national, consumer and B2B media, as well as discussions on innovation, developments and regulation.

Talking about trust in media is a tricky subject for me; it’s like compulsively prodding a sore tooth. On the one hand I love dissecting the practicalities of what does and does not engender trust among the public. On the other I hate seeing how poorly much of the media is doing in restoring that trust. This article on DCN by two University of Florida researchers has plenty of both — the practical, data-led approach to restoring it, and a good hard look at the obstacles to doing so.

“While the pursuit of trust is indeed a noble one, it feels more ambitious than the current climate allows. Therefore, journalists should ask the question: Is trust entirely in my control? And if not, what is? Our work has steered us toward focusing on what can be controlled: authenticity, intentionality and precision. We believe these elements can serve as the building blocks that lead to greater trust.”

And one of the things that is absolutely within news outlets’ control is the language they employ. That’s both in terms of their journalists’ articles and the marketing material they use to gain revenue — both of which can impact trust and distrust. And if you want more trust content, I’ve written the Trust section in our upcoming Media Moments ‘23 report, which you can register to receive here.

Speaking of Media Moments, I’ve also written the section on podcasting trends in 2023 and beyond. It would have been impossible to ignore the rise of video podcasts, which are greatly contributing to audience growth at the New Statesman and other publications. For PodPod, Adam Shepherd has taken a look at what it takes to launch a video podcast — and who should be doing it.

First off, I reject the idea that we shouldn’t have Taylor Swift beat reporters. I have no particular affection for the woman and her excessive private jet use, but to say that we shouldn’t have reporters dedicated to a celebrity with a huge influence on culture etc. is plain wrong. If we can have royal correspondents, we can have pop royalty correspondents. That said, there is a really good point in here about why we also need reporters embedded in Facebook groups and Nextdoor communities.

Finally, an oral history of the recently-shuttered feminist blog Jezebel, sacrificed on G/O Media’s block. I always really enjoyed Jezebel; it took a strident stance on matters of importance to its audience, was happy to experiment with formats, and provided space for a dedicated community to congregate. It also published some fantastic collections of ‘true’ ghost stories around Halloween that I tuned into every year. Here’s to Jezebel: I hope it gets a spiritual successor very soon.

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